My first Jeep was a 64 Gladiator J100. Short box, three on the tree, with the infamous Kaiser OHC6, which was every bit as bad as everyone says it was. Too bad it was so badly made, because it had good torque, got 20 mpg on the road, and was pretty much unstoppable in snow. The Gladiator was indeed one of the coolest little trucks ever made. Its only near-fatal drawback, aside from the awful engine, was that it had the widest turning circle of any vehicle I've ever driven, such that it could be a challenge to get around corners on narrow city streets. I think they fixed that in later versions with open knuckles, as well as giving it a proper Rambler 6.
The FC seems a little closer to the roots, since the original FC was not that different underneath from a beefed up CJ. I'm a little less impressed by the Gladiator, though it's a step in the right direction. Still, if I were looking for a retro Jeep truck, I think I'd go for that FC.