Do You Remember the Jeep FC?

(Above photo by Bill Vance)

Some of you may recognize the name Bill Vance as a premiere pickup truck historian. For those of you that like to wander the tight aisles of a good bookstore, you'll find many of his selections in the Automotive section. We came across this piece recently and thought we'd share. We've got a short except below on the late 50s, early 60 Forward Control Jeep pickup truck and a small photo gallery we found below. You can read more on the Jeep FC by clicking here. Hope you enjoy.

"The cab-over cabin design had been used in big trucks since the 1930s, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that it was applied to pickups. The rear-engined Volkswagen did pioneering work with this driver position in its snub-nosed Transporter line.

Willys Motors Inc., of Toledo, Ohio, manufacturer of the famous Jeep, led the North American industry to the flat-nosed pickup (it could also be fitted with a stake truck platform). Its 1957 FC (forward control) models beat the compact Ford Econoline, Chevrolet Corvair 95 and Dodge A-100 pickups to market by several years.

The goal with the FC was to keep the rugged versatility of the small four-wheel drive Jeep CJ while providing more cargo space than the CJ’s minuscule box. Willys also built conventional long-nose pickups but felt there was a market for a more compact model with all of the traditional Jeep qualities."–Bill Vance