Today Jeep is a division of the Stellantis automotive giant. Before that, it was a part of American Motors, and before AMC built them, the original manufacturer of the WWII light Army transport vehicle, Willys, did. After the war, Willys went immediately into converting its Army transport into a civilian version, leading to the Jeep of the modern day. Willys built a few additional models during its run, one of which is known as the Jeep FC.
FC stands for Forward Control, which describes the placement of the vehicle controls, i.e. the steering wheels and pedals. It was built much like cab-over big rigs or those school buses with the engines in the rear. However, the engine of the FC was up front below the occupants. Built on the same chassis as the Jeep CJ5, the FC provided ample hauling capability with an extremely tight turning radius, making it capable of doing the work of larger trucks in far less space. Willys managed to attain successful sales of it for eight years, with a total of about 30,000 units produced. Even after Willys dropped it in 1965, licensed copies continued to be built in India by Mahindra and in Spain by VIASA.
Engine options were the Hurrican F-head four-cylinder, or an L-head six-cylinder, and could be adapted into a variety of roles, including military duty. With such limited production, they are hard to come by today and they can cost you a bundle.
