Jeep Fc170

Ok, since every other thread I have has this in the background I figured I should put up a thread on it. 

Don't expect any real updates for awhile. If I don't get the ghia drivable before jumping on another project my wife will kill me. Already been distracted a few times.  

So, sad to admit, I've had this jeep for about 20 years now. My dad and I did a job for a guy and got it as partial payment. So I was about 12 or 14 can't remember now. 

So it use to be a grounds trucks at the jeep plant in Toledo OH (remember the old smoke stakes?). It was originally a single wheel rear and they converted it to a dually and it was a tanker truck. The guy we got it from had a dump flatbed put on it and used it on his farm. Then the brakes went out and sat. 

I eventually sold off the original chassis and running gear and is now sitting on a 95 f350 chassis. 

Oldest picture I have of it, well i have some actual pictures somewhere. 

So history time in picture form. 

Cab being taken off the factory chassis. 

Mockup of the cab onto the f350 chassis 

Too tall, I think that was like 8.5ft tall. 

So lowered it and moved it forward. Rattle canned it just so it was one color. 

Lower cab was rusted (remember this was a OH then MI truck) so I cut off the one remaining cab corner and used a piece of 2x4 steel to make a new solid piece to mount hinges to.

So onto the hinge.

Pivot point

Then I put on a trailer fender. 

Held on with some tek screws

I remember this in some of your posts. Thanks for sharing.

So its funny how tiny those tires look. Those are hummer 37s, I told my wife I either need to get stock leaf springs and drop it down or get bigger tires. She said it needed 42s, lol.  

I never really planned to start on it like a did a year or two ago. But the 95 f350 fell into my lap for a tow bill to my house. It was a parts truck, missing the trans and transfer case, driveshafts, and fuel tank and pump. Some of the wires were cut here and there. But I picked up a v6 with the Borg Warner transfer case off a late 80s for $200. Spent a couple days putting everything back together and was able to get it running before I took it the ford cab off. Odometer read 220k on the 460. Not really the drive train I want. Really don't have the length for a cummins without the motor going back under the cab. And I really don't want the engine under the cab if I can avoid it. As it is with the bbf/c6/tcase I'm only going have about 18inches or so for a rear driveshaft. So I'm open to other ideas on drivetrains. But remember I'm in Texas with 80mph speed limits. 

Me seeing how I fit. I picked up an old set of suspension seats. 

My wife laughing at me making vroom vroom noises [before I lowered the cab]

These are such cool trucks.

If you want diesel torque but can't afford the length, why not the Cummins 4bt? It's literally just the Cummins Inline-6 with 2 cylinders chopped off.

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

Two reasons, one people think they are made out of gold, I can get 6bt cheaper. Two is the cost to make them have enough power to be useful in a full size truck that will be used as a truck. 

bigfranks84 said:

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

Two reasons, one people think they are made out of gold, I can get 6bt cheaper. Two is the cost to make them have enough power to be useful in a full size truck that will be used as a truck. 

 

I do agree they are expensive as they aren't as available as the 6bt and their small package makes them very appealing, but they aren't too hard to get to ~250 hp/500 ftlbs. get a gov. spring, swap valve springs (which can be done with the head on and piston at TDC), then just turn up fuel and boost and adjust timing, maybe throw on a hx35 from the 6bt. All the same tricks the 6bt uses.

I'm not opposed to a 4bt. But everyone one I've seen is going for 3-5k for just the engines. For that I could pickup a whole Cummins 6bt truck.  

I could slide the engine forward under the cab.  But I'm worried it would be too loud in the cab.  

I'm jealous. Jeep FCs are the best. The local Jeep dealer had an FC that was converted to a dually with a wrecker body on the back that they used as their tow truck into the 2000s, before they went out of business during the great recession. They also used to have a Jeepster and a normal FC parked in the showroom.

NickD said:

I'm jealous. Jeep FCs are the best. The local Jeep dealer had an FC that was converted to a dually with a wrecker body on the back that they used as their tow truck into the 2000s, before they went out of business during the great recession. They also used to have a Jeepster and a normal FC parked in the showroom.

They also look great on top of a C5 vette powertrain. I saw this at the Goodguys car show a few years back doing the autocross course, it was amazing

My girlfriend's grandpa has three FCs parked on his property in CA in varying states of decay. Allegedly one has a 289 in it. Either way, they're super cool rigs. I like your idea of putting one on F350 running gear. 

Very awesome

In reply to edizzle89 :

It would have been better If I had never seen that, now I have ideas.