Painting this war hero yellow may have been in style in the early ’60 (this one reminds me of the infamous ’59 International Harvester Travelall ), but it’s a bit like adding a bad toupee and a bow tie to Bruce Willis. It just feels wrong. Because underneath the two-tone wig is a legendary, rare piece of USMC history.
This bulldog of a machine in none other than the 1964 Jeep MC677 FC 170 – whose heritage starts from wiping out evil on the front-lines of Europe, carrying the Greatest Generation to victory. This grandson proudly represents its history, created by designer extraordinaire Brook Stevens (think 1949 Harley Hyrda-Glide, and Jeep Grand Cherokee) when he was tapped to develop the FC (Forward Control) series from 1956 to 1965. This particular (and perhaps peculiar) project was undertaken to secure a Marine Corp contract for a non-tactical garrison truck, capable of safely delivering 5 or 6 anywhere needed.
Thanks to reader Matt Williams, who found it here on eBay, this looks to be one of the only 50 made in 1964, and notes it has a 302 Ford V8. The original powertrain would have been the pioneering “Cerlist” 3-cylinder inline supercharged diesel, which produced (wait for it) 85 horsepower, but has a loyal and devoted following within the diesel fan world. Still, the owner claims the old V8 still moves it, but warns that electrical, brakes, and other rather important elements of mobility and safety need to be checked.
As a fan of the quirky and classic Willys Kaiser Jeep family history (I still miss my 1970 Jeep Gladiator my son and I rebuilt), given an unlimited budget I’d search the world for a surviving Cerlist diesel, and honor this veteran in any small town or big city parade that would have me!
I’d leave it yellow, and leave the existing motor as least for as long as it continued to run. My concession to originality would be to not make any irreversable modifications, with an eye to future restoration potential.
An original engine would be difficult to find. A genuine 2-stroke diesel. The engine might be hard to secure parts for but variations of the fuel system were used in a variety of different applications, a lot of which are popular today…
It’s pretty butt ugly if you ask me. But my vehicle doesn’t look much better. Haha
she is beautiful
I would leave the 302, go through the fuel system / brakes / electrical system, then restore the body to Army specs. Very cool truck.
You mean Marine specs 😉
My ex WW2 Marine Sgt father would make you see the error of your ways if he were still alive today. Marines are not Army. Think R Lee Ermey.
Sorry about that, my Marine recruiter nephew would agree with you totally. I meant to say military specs.
How about putting it on a corvette rolling chassis with a Ls 1 engine
I would drive the crap out of that.
Great looking USMC JEEPSTER !
Freaking cool. I came so close to buying a fc150 years ago and am still kicking myself.
Is update the 302, throw modern brakes and running bits under it(basically make it safe to drive), resto the interior, leave it yellow and cruise it around.
Id beef up the drivetrain and leave the body yellow . Just imagine this thing pulling up and just doing a killer burnout.
Sweet rig!
FC170s themselves can be very valuable. It will be interesting to see what this one brings. I bet if it had its original engine it could be a $40K truck.
If it had its original engine the buyer would likely swap it out for a 302 or 350.
2 WD?
this vehicle can tip…forward… onto it’s nose
These may be fugly as all get out, but I have always wanted one!
Wow! Winning bid:US $17,955.00
[ 45 bids ]
It’s Veterans’ Day, so I feel compelled to point out that the USMC spilled blood and took names in the Pacific, but not in Europe.
It would have been worth a fair bit more if it still had the running ultra rare cerlist diesel in it! They are a very rare engine and not many of made it out in this configuration. To bad it got replaced!