Jeep Forward Control

The Jeep Forward Control is a van which was then manufactured by Willys -Overland and Kaiser- Jeep from 1956 to 1965. It was also built in other countries. He had an arranged above the engine cab ( "Cab -Over- Engine" ).

Design

Willys made since 1947 almost unchanged vans forth. As more vendors huddled in the 1950s on the market, the management had a new modern series of vans develop. The designer Brooks Stevens was inspired by large trucks with lying above the engine cab. As a basis for the new vehicle was the CJ- fifth The drive was chosen against the controlled Willys Hurricane - motor and the side-valve four-cylinder engine.

The Forward Control was mainly marketed as a work vehicle for private companies, local authorities and military, but also for private use. The platform design was standard, but the customer was a variety of " Jeep -approved " assemblies from other manufacturers offered. This ranged from simple trays to complete tow trucks, dump trucks and fire engines.

The offer also included a " Forward Control Commuter ", one of the first minivans. Three functioning prototypes were built by Reutter in Stuttgart. Brooks Stevens was also involved in the conversion of these transporters in passenger vehicles.

FC -150

The FC -150 model was introduced in 1956 and had a short wheelbase of only 2,057 mm and a flatbed with 1,981 mm in length. 1958 got the car a new, wider chassis. The track rose from 1,219 mm to 1,448 mm.

FC -170

The FC -170 was introduced in 1957 and had a wheelbase of 2,616 mm and a length of 2,743 mm platform. This model is remarkable because for the first time the usable length (9 ft. ) exceeded the wheelbase. This could be achieved by the arrangement of the cab above the engine.

FC -170 DRW

This was a Eintonner with dual tires at the rear and a usable length of 3,048 mm. The cars were available with 3624 kg or 4077 kg gross weight.

Production

The Jeep Forward Control were presented to dealers on November 29, 1956 and shown to the public at the New York City Automobile Show in December 1956 for the first time. The FC -150 was from 12 December 1956 in the costs incurred by the dealer. The first customer demands for the four-wheel drive FC Jeeps was promising. Your best sales year in 1957 with 9,738 copies. After the introduction of the FC - 170 1957 FC -150- 1959 sales fell to 1,546 pieces, recovered in 1960 but returned to 4,925 pieces. Neither of the models has, as hoped for by Willys -Overland, the really big success. In 9 years, emerged just over 30,000 copies. In 1964, the production was discontinued.

Military variants

In addition to the civilian Jeep Forward Control, there were four models for the Army:

  • M676 - basically a civilian FC with minor changes
  • M677 - a four-door double cab with tarpaulin
  • M678 - FC with a bus structure
  • M679 - M678 as a medical transporter

Models outside the U.S.

Many versions of the FC model - usually not available in the U.S. - have been produced in many other states under license from the different owners of Jeep: Willys -Overland, Kaiser- Jeep and AMC:

India

Mahindra set forth in Bombay from 1947 vehicles from CKD sets. The production of the FC -150 launched in India in 1965 and later also the FC -170 was produced, as well as a constructed locally FC -160, was its size between the two aforementioned models.

The FC -160 ( and later the FJ -160 ) had a wheelbase of 2,330 mm. The platform body came from Mahindra and other bodies were also available. The version with chassis and cab of the FC -160 was in great demand for the conversion to minibuses, medical vans and other vehicles in the 1970s. Most have the front of the FC. The production of the Mahindra FC -160 was discontinued in the summer of 1999.

The truck FC -260 diesel was introduced in 1975. Currently, the FJ -460 by Mahindra ( launched 1983) and the minibus / van FJ -470 grille and front of the original Jeep FC. These vehicles can carry 11 to 15 people plus driver.

Spain

In the 1960s, licensed Kaiser Willys the VIASA ( Vehiculos Industriales y Agricola, SA ) for the construction of Jeep vehicles in Spain. The late 1970s, bought the VIASA the van manufacturer Ebro ( a subcontractor of Motor Iberica ). The vans SV Series was built on the chassis of the Jeep, just like the FC models in the USA. The special Spanish models were the Compeador ( Eintonner open), duplex ( Double Cab ), the Furgon ( Eintonner closed) and Toledo (9- seater bus). There were two engines to choose from: The six-cylinder Willys Hurricane Super and a four-cylinder diesel engines from Perkins.

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