Frankenstein’s Roller Skate
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- Brave but funky, the Kaiser-Jeep FC 150 / FC170 brought “cab over” design to the off road world. This Franken-licious little pickup is from the very first year of production.
For information on buying this vehicle, send email to: paulcrosiervt@gmail.com
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A school friends uncle had a FC Jeep when we were in our early teens. Roger was a super cool guy. Jeff and I rode in the box sitting on the side of the box or when it was cold against the cab with the warm air blowing over us out the vent.
Jeff and I were about 13-14 years old when Roger gave us a VW Van with the plan of building a dune buggy. During the summer Roger fed us just enough parts that kept our interest. Years later I met Roger in a bar. Thanking him for the project that we never finished. Roger started laughing and said, "I gave you two the van to keep you out of trouble. We knew where you boys were and what you were doing for the whole summer." More kids need an Uncle Roger. We stay out of trouble and learned a lot about mechanics.
Our neighbor was a Trailways bus driver who bought one and put a snowplow on it..hoping to make extra money. Being a car guy, I was fascinated by its design. He told me once I turned 16, he'd let me drive it...I held him to it and what an experience..I still have my Auburn made rubber replica of the FC Jeep that I bought as a kid...keep it on my work bench shelf. Thanks Steve...great memories.
Hope you got to go plowing with him. My big brother had one. Every time we’d get to the end of pass and hit the snow bank the back wheels would come off the ground. Hitting the bank without any front end was scary 😊
I had that same Auburn FC150 toy Jeep!
Wishing you a speedy recovery, Steve. We are all pulling for you!
One of the cool freak trucks that no one though about saving until it was to late. I found one in the 80's but the owner wouldn't sell had to watch it Rot into the ground, what a shame. Great Video long live old Iron and Vintage Auto's
I tried to buy a couple houses that the owners wouldn't sell and watched those rot away until the city tore them down.
I had a neighbor with one rusting away in his backyard.
I wanted to buy it as a project but then one day it was gone :(
I owned a 1962 FC 150 it was a beast especially after I installed a Chevrolet 283 and a manual overdrive it had 5:56 gears in Dana 44 axle’s 10 x15 tires and wheels. Manual shift through all gears ,high and low range with the overdrive. Just a pure beast. You could start out in hi 3rd low overdrive and get to 50 mph them put it into high overdrive. Manual 4 wheel transfer case back then . Yep she rotted out. Put a Jeep CJ 5 body on it and then sold it.
Today was truly a classroom, first time I’ve ever seen a FC Jeep, thank you.
I love watching these and when Steve explains the details I say to myself "I remember those! That's what that is?!". So cool.
@David P Yes Steve breaks it down real good and gives us or me great knowledge on some off these rare vehicles. I’ve never seen one of these in person. 👍
Interesting, this is the first time I have seen you acknowledge your dog.
Every dog has his day. Thanks for watching and writing, Steve Magnante
I'm amazed, that FC is still wearing its original tailgate. I remember the Jeep dealer in Plymouth, back in the early 70s, used to have a FC-170, with a Meyer snowplow & a slide in wrecker boom in the body. It's nice to see these forgotten Jeeps getting some love. Another great video Steve! Stay warm!
Hard to find? Heck - in 58 years, this is the first time I’ve ever even SEEN one! Never knew they existed……😮
The design details on this truck go BEYOND austere - one could arguably classify this as a farm implement rather than an automobile!
I’ll never look at an Econoline truck or A100 the same way again - it”s kind of like finding out that song you really like from your favorite band is actually a cover rather than an original…….😂
Hello ddellwo, Thanks for watching and writing. There are so many odd little nooks and crannies in automotive history to be explored! I always have "I didn't know that" moments when I research these videos. As for realizing "somebody got there first - thus shattering my illusions", in music I was / am a fan of the Sex Pistols. They broke onto the music scene in 1976 and Lohnny (Lydon) Rotten seemed to be the first "don't care" lead singer in music history. Wellll. I recently heard of a German band called "Neu!" - active 1970 - 1986 which was like electronic music meets rock and roll. Their 1975 song "Hero" sounds exactly like Sex Pistols - TWO YEARS BEFORE Johnny Lydon became a "sensation". Hmmmmm. Anyhoo, if you Google "Hero" by the German rock band Neu! you might hear some Sex Pistols vocal stylings, BEFORE there was a Sex Pistols. Thanks again for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
Kinda' like The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Give the song "Midnight Moses" a listen and tell me that's not "punk".
@@SteveMagnante - Yes - kind of like how the first time I heard the Goo Goo Dolls on the radio I just assumed it was a new The Replacements/Paul Westerberg song that was finally getting played on mainstream radio……😂
Don't think I ever seen one! It is cool looking. Looks like this one could be saved.
It doesn't look too far gone, but all that broken glass has got to be a big issue
Grew up in Little Compton RI. Kids would take their macho Blazers and Broncos and get stuck in the surf. A little old guy had one of those Jeeps. The price of him pulling you out of the waves got higher and higher the longer the kids put off the inevitable. The old guy would always be able to pull them out!
Hey fellow Rhode Islander. Ever go to Helger's Shop?
Variants of this truck were continued in India at least into the 2000s.
Even a bus version!
Mahindra, among other companies built them.
My dad had an FC-170. Came with the Super Hurricane 6. He had that engine rebuilt but as was the case my dad was not satisfied with that so with the urging of a friend, that engine was replaced with a Buick V6. Never was the same. Ran too hot and you couldn’t hear yourself think inside the cab. Prior to that we would take it into the Sierra and go woodcutting, that Jeep could sure haul a lot of logs! All I have left of it are pictures. Fun memories though.
The FC-150 was the 81" wheelbase unit and the FC-170 was 103" wheelbase. Yes, they shared the same wheelbase as the CJ-5 (the FC-150, that is). Possible code DQE-12357-DAL Peacock Blue exterior paint, although it's possible it was painted over the years.
Yup, function over form. They weren't meant to be "attractive", but they actually were. My friend had a 2014 Willys Wheeler Wrangler and hers had a similar "4 Wheel Drive" graphic on the back. Every place there were small "Jeeps" as part of the logo. It was a fun vehicle to ride around in, but it didn't have much room. Now she drives a Mazda SUV. LOL.
The F head engines were used from 1950 to 1971. The FC line was discontinued in 1964, not 1966, but I believe they "lived on" as being contracted/built for the export market by partnered groups that had rights to the tooling and design from Jeep.
I've never seen one of these nor even heard of it. Fantastic content!!!
Was gonna say this. I grew up in the 70s on Long Island NY. Don’t remember ever seeing one then…or since!
I live upstate NY and there are at least 12 in a 3 County radius, apparently popular in farm country years ago
Always thought that hand style lettering on the back of those Jeeps look so kool when I was a kid.
Thats awesome. That jeep is in really good shape considering where it's at. Someone bring it back to life
Too much rust for that, but good as a parts truck.
I remember a friend of my dad who had a service station and he had one as a wrecker. It had dual wheels in the rear and it was used a lot due to it being the only 4 wheel drive wrecker in the area. The family that lived behind us, the dad had a dualie stake bed that he hauled trash with as a second job. He used it until it couldn’t be used anymore. I always loved to see them both doing their job day after day. Thanks for the great video Steve.
I remember in the early 70s seeing Sears use flatbed FCs to pull trailers. They were used because semis were too big for narrow residential streets
That's a rare car for sure. In Russia we had similar ones by conception built by UAZ.
Hello Russia! I'm amazed at the global reach TH-cam has. Not to sound like John Lennon, but doesn't it seem that we are all just about the same as people? So why do we seem to fight so much? Old cars bring people together. Anyhoo, THANKS for watching and writing. Tell Vladimir to watch Junkyard Crawl! -Steve Magnante
Mr. B. Here ! Morning to all ! Very good name Steve ! Your right as kid these vehicles were way out there ! Very cool !
The oil filler cap had double duty. The rivit in the middle held the dip stick. The F head engine was unique in many ways
I was amazed when I read of the existence of Jeep cab forwards, really the oddest vehicle from somewhat recent times.
I've always been a jeep fan and the FC was always my favorite. I managed to catch a restored one in the wild red with white grill and it looked amazing.
Boston and Maine Railroad had these fitted with small rail wheels to replace the old fashioned "Putt putt" rail service cars.The rubber tires supplied the drive service.
One of these sat on an old empty gas station lot for about 40 years near where I live, then one day the jeep truck disappeared and they tore down the old station building (it was from the 30's) and now the lot still sits empty to this day.
If i ever hit the lottery big, i will have all kinds of obscure old trucks like this. They are just plain cool.
My father had one . He only used it for plowing. Great visibility for plowing . It was perfect for driveways . As a kid , I loved riding in it.
Thanks Steve
My dad had one also. Used it for a plow truck. He would pull us on sleds behind it on snowy days. He used to let my younger brother drive it when he was only 13.
In the summer of 71, I worked at a state park, and we had one of these, with the dump bed. A 61 model I think, and it didn't get much use. I was warned not to raise the dump all the way, as it didnt like to come down. Only drove it a couple times, very wonky feeling.
Steve, This is the freakiest Jeep I have ever seen.
Never seen or heard of this Jeep, a very interesting forgotten vehicle, do more shows about the very unusual ones..
Thanks for this video, Steve. The very first vehicle I ever drove was my father's 1957 Jeep FC-150. It was his first bought new vehicle, all of his previous cars being used. Ours was the same color as this one, but it was equipped with Warn hubs. In my early teens way back in the early 1970s, my father allowed my brother and I to drive it as long as we kept it in low range and never ventured out of the cow pasture. That's how I learned to drive! Later on I was allowed to drive to and from high school, which definitely beat taking TriMet busses. For many years the Jeep was our family's only transportation. We'd fit the whole family inside. Dad and Mom in the front seats, of course, with my brother and I sitting sideways atop the dog house behind the seats, with little sister on Mom's lap. Of course when the weather was nice, we'd sit in the bed. Who my age hasn't ridden in the back of a pickup truck? Our FC lead a tough life. From pulling out tree stumps to hauling firewood and hay while being my dad's daily driver. It was often overloaded with hay that we hauled from a local farm to our place where we had to ford a creek to eventually arrive at the hay barn. That could be scary. Eventually something gave out in the engine. So it became a giant paper weight. In my late teens I had grandiose ideas of restoring it from the frame up, but only succeeded in getting torn apart. Eventually someone saw its cab sitting separately from its chassis and bought the cab specifically for the windshield that their FC-150 needed. The remains of the Jeep were sold some 16 years ago while we were dealing with my parents' estate. How I'd love to have a fully restored FC-150.
My dad bought one in 1958. He had a custom dump box built. He also had a plow installed. I remember going out plowing with him. Great memories.
FC forward control? ok, i was lied to. I was told it stood for "frickin cool!" Only they didn't use frickin'.
This old truck is super 😎 thank you for sharing this kind sir! Hope you get feeling better Steve! Love ya man!
Once again, unicorn! Never saw one of these before. Great find Steve and super Shane!!
I used to play in one of those that was at an abandoned farm while I was a kid. Right next to it was a 48ish Ford 1 ton pickup.
What a cool and extremely unique vehicle this is. It would be the greatest bunch of fun and misery to restore it.
Whenever I see something like this I imagine how awesomely fun it would be to turn it into an overlanding camping rig.
Finding parts or at least being able to document them so they could be reproduced in order bring this baby back to life would be more than a full-time job if possible at all.
The results however, would be worth every struggle and headache.
When I was little around 1967 my dad and I were waiting at a red light in our Volkswagen van when the light turned green. My dad went forward about 6 inches and stopped when suddenly a Cub Scout den mother ran the red going an estimated 70 mph the other way.
She hit a car that had started to go and it sent her station wagon loaded with cub scouts flying through the air and it hit a light pole right in front of us. She missed our van by just a few inches. As she hit the pole her car flipped over and spun on its roof for at least 200 feet down the road. Well you can imagine what carnage there was with a car packed full of cub scouts with no seat belts to restrain them. I remember seeing a report on the evening news that night that stated many of the kids were killed.
After we finally made it through the intersection we pulled over and got out of the van. There were tons of fragments of glass and some metal stuck to the front of our car.
After that day I never, ever felt safe in our van again.
Great video as always Steve and thanks for all the digging through the archives of "Cardom".😉
I was working at a Shell station in the late 60's. They had me take it home when snow was forecast so I could plow my way through the piles of snow in the driveway. What a dog with a plow added it could barely move.
Very cool really enjoyed! 🙂
That's the best behaved junkyard dog
I've ever seen.
I am a car guy and I never heard or seen one of these, everyday a school day as they say!
Handy little wagon.
F head monster! So cool, Steve! A great piece of “junkyard gold”👍👍👍
Yeah Steve, I had a 'Tootsie Toy' brand die cast of one of these in my collection when I was a kid. It had a little trailer hitch on it too! Keep 'em comin' brother!
The safety factor is something I think about every time I drive my FC corvair rampside pickup, but damn! It's fun!😊
About as "safe" as an old VW microbus. (I still like FC150s---The government will never let anything new like that on the road).
2013 military vehicle magazine had an article on a diesel-powered forward control. Some fella found it restored it seem like it was a Marine Corps veteran truck. Also it was a crew cab. But yeah 3-cylinder diesel Factory for the military. Rare
When I was a kid the grade school I went to K-3 had a Phillips 66 gas station across the street and they had a wrecker version the same color I used to pass everyday.
I'll bet that was a nice gas station in its time. I like those old gas stations. I'd love to hang around one and help out/do work there in retirement.
Wow! The last time I saw an FC series was in Lawrence,Kansas circa 1987. It was a FC-170 stake-
bed that had been garage kept and only appeared in late spring and summer to haul flowers.
I think there was one of these used in the John
Wayne film, “ Hatari!”.
I had a 1957 fc150 with a myers snow plow back in 1971. Worked great clearing lots and sidewalks with great visibility.
I had one of these that was made by Spartan Motorhome Company, it was split down the middle and widened 24" and lengthened 36" and a beautiful factory Spartan Coach built on it. It was the coolest 4x4 motorhome I've ever had.
The short wheelbase 1/2 ton FCs had a big iron counterweight bolted to the rear of the frame to keep them from tipping forward under braking on a downhill when unloaded. I've heard they're fun to play with in an empty parking lot with the bed and the counterwieght removed, would never do anything as irresponsible as that myself of course
Oh, I'm sure you didn't !!!!
In the early 1960's Chevy demonstrated a Falcon Econoline pickup nose standing in a panic stop. Of course the Corvair based truck would not do that.
@@CBX1980 Makes me want an Econoline a little bit, lol
The counterweight didn't come in the first couple of years it was added later I drove mine around with no bed or counterweight while I was doing some repairs the back tires came up very easily and I almost had to be in 4 wheel drive because of a lack of traction
One of the girls in my church group (we're talking 1966-1968) gave me a ride in her dad's FC. Still remember the ride, unfortunately not the girl...
Options include a speedometer, cigarette lighter and ashtray. What more do you need.
Steve. I appreciate your in-depth knowledge of these pieces of Americana thank you
I'm currently restoring a "57 F150 and yes rust is a major problem with these Jeeps. Alot of Dings/dents as they where used as intended but I will have it looking better than factory very soon
I had a 1961. It was soooooo nice. Flat head 6, 3 speed column shift. 4x4.
Great Jeep. Forward Control was a blast! Remember cutting up your garden hose to cover the tailgate chains to prevent clanging and paint chipping?
This one would make a nice crawler! After a ton of money!
My neighbor still has his and its functional. Hauls firewood home with it
Very cool looking
I love different and funky......these always fill that bill. Cool truck.
I hear Lockjaw bark I every video he’s in.
He was quiet today
In the 1960s we had one at our local, rural, airport. It was a lot of fun to drive but weird because the wheels were NOT where they were in the average pickup. We used it mostly for towing seaplanes, on a trailer, down to the bay for launching.
AHA!!!!! Finally "Lockjaw" is recognized 😅🤣😃. Always love the automotive knowledge, but the unknown pooch was driving me CraZy🤯!! Thanks Steve 😁
Nice , thanks for the history of this interesting Jeep, Steve. Get well soon!
I’d love to see one of these restored. Great to see the dog again!
frankenstein creations of any type can be cool
The crew cab and van versions look even stranger. Always thought they were cool because they were odd! There were also companies that sold attachments for them, like a tractor, aimed at small farmers (like the Mercedes Unimogs of Europe)
Great historical info , thanks 👍👍👍🏴🏴🏴
Cool!! Also, that dog house cover latch is totally like the handles on YETI coolers!
Most of the Jeep’s of any model had those hold downs. It’s the 150 that I never knew existed. Good story
I always wanted one of these.
Never knew they existed til now , thanks Steve .
When I was a kid a guy named Vince Stokes had one of those. i tried to buy it for 30 years but Vince passed right before i had him talked into selling it to me (in my mind anyway). Gosh i wanted to restore that thing. His was in extremely great condition so it wouldn't have taken to much. I was simply going to rebuild the enhgine slap on new tires clean up the glass and call it WONDERFUL. Do you know if they were all that color? I'm profoundly color blind but to me the one you are looking at is the same color as Vince's.
No, I think that they were available in just about any Jeep/Willys color back in the day.
Super cool find Steve. Thanks for showing this gem. Paul
What an interesting little truck! I would imagine forward visibility was excellent when plowing snow, the driver/operator is right behind and above the plow! Cool, thanks Steve!
Steve thanks for all the great videos Always enjoyable and an education too! You may or may not be aware that Corgi Toys made many models of the FC150 between April ‘59 and 1965, in various forms including pick up as you have there (with or without tilt covering), cherry picker/hydraulic tower wagon and load conveyer. As a result, hundreds of thousands of UK kids (and beyond..) were well aware of the FC Jeep, but quite possibly never saw one in the ‘metal’! Hope yourself and Shane keep up the great work 👍
A buddy of mine had one back in 1969. We were following him after school one day and he took a left turn too hard and fast in our subdivision and laid it on its side. Seven or eight of us jumped out of our cars and we were able to push it back upright. Nobody got hurt. He got back in it and drove off. SMH!
I had just seen one of those for the first time a few years ago going down the road on a trailer it was so cool I had to follow the guy and get pictures of it lol
Cool old odd ball Jeep! Great video Steve! 👍👍💯🇺🇸
Something so rare in the hands of a good fabricator would probably be not to difficult to restore.
Thanks for covering an FC. If I remember correctly Stevens designed this before WW2 ended at the same time the wagon and truck as well as the Jeepster.
My uncle had one of these when I was a kid some 60 years ago and stuck a 283 Chevy engine in it. It ran well foe a small 4x4 truck.
The only Jeep based vehicle that was less aerodynamic is the Zamboni! Dad worked at Willys back in the day, and had stories about how management would have tradesmen on the shop floor mock up new product ideas. He passed on purchasing a Kaiser Darrin when offered the chance, which would have been a neat car to have in the family today. Drove a gold 68’ Galdiator p/u for a few years - just remember it seemed like it had zero suspension travel over rough city roads.
Land Rover had an FC in the mid 70s it was designed to pull guns for the army. The FC design came about to maximise usable space in aircraft. A garage local to me had one equipt as a wrecker and some forestry crews used them due to their off-road and load carrying abilities. They were based on the 101" wheelbase with a 3.5 V8.
My Dad had one of these when I was a kid, I remember it was blue with faded paint and he had to keep getting in and out of the cab to work on the motor once.
My uncle had a Plymouth dealership in Haverhill, Mass years ago and brought one of these home to his place in Merrimacport (I was a kid but realize now it was a trade in) . He loaded us all up and proceeded to get it stuck in the muddy woods behind the house , had to haul it out as it was up to the axles deep lol !
That's a very disciplined dog.
Good one from the archive that I forgot about. Thank you for sharing this. Great evening to you.
Uncle had one he ran all around lake George in Georgetown Florida for yrs i loved it
I remember working for a Jeep dealer in the mid 60's. The 'old man' that owned the business always raved at Jeep because they wouldn't make a 2wd version. The Post Office wanted to buy a lot of them and it may have led to more individual sales as well.
Back in the 70's-80's the factory across the street called The Himmel Bros Co (1935) had a dark metallic green FC Willys. I dont know the exact model but it was the maintainance guys truck plus they plowed the property in Winter. I saw it many years then suddenly in the late 80's a Chevy pick up appeared. Rarely ever did I run into anyone there outside the gated driveway but several years later I did and asked the guy what happened to it. He said the engine blew a bearing so they parked it in the garage and only recently junked it! Shame because the body looked in great shape. Same thing with Hamden Memorial funeral home. They had a 57 Willys CJ5 in blue they used only in Winter to plow their driveway and kept it in the beautiful Art Deco stucco garage in back. There was a gas station across the street so it didnt have to drive much on salted roads so the body was in great shape. That Jeep was simply sold off in the mid 90's due to age when the place got sold. The church around the corner had a red 62 CJ5 they plowed with also in decent shape. That got junked when they had a landscaper also do the Winter plowing. I had 3 chances over 15 years to score 3 nice Jeeps right in my back yard and blew them all if I had only been nosey sooner and inquired!
One of my best friends father still has one in very good shape
When I was a kid , I remember my uncle had one like that ,same color. He used it for his cig machine business in Hopkinton Ma. 🇺🇸 Good Video
Fred Williams from Dirt every day has one.
YES! What's in the Box!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great to chat with you yesterday. Always hit the like button.
Hello "Dar", when I mentioned that a Jeep FC was coming up "the day after tomorrow" I misspoke. It was scheduled for today. Tomorrow is the GMC 6-wheeler. Great talking yesterday. -Steve Magnante
I worked at a camp in 68 in New Hampshire. I used one of these for the hauling and utility work there. I remember it was in great shape. Always wondered what became of it.
In the mid 90s two of my older boy scouts drove one of these to school daily