Thinking about buyin an FC - what do you think?

its in a barn down the road from me, don't know the condition yet but supposedly a 150 and 170 have been barn stored, ones is a '59 i think and the other is a '63?... haven't seen them in probably ten years but the man that owns them said he would make me a deal on them if i ever wanted them.

first off - Parts - are they even available or are we talking massive fabrication project?

second - aftermarket parts - what kind of options are available as far as a lift etc - nothing major - probably 2-3"

third - assuming they are complete with no rust, what kind of price would i expect to pay? I've never run across an FC other than the two in his barn that he has had since they were new.

TLowery04 said:

its in a barn down the road from me, don't know the condition yet but supposedly a 150 and 170 have been barn stored, ones is a '59 i think and the other is a '63?... haven't seen them in probably ten years but the man that owns them said he would make me a deal on them if i ever wanted them.

first off - Parts - are they even available or are we talking massive fabrication project?
Good luck!
second - aftermarket parts - what kind of options are available as far as a lift etc - nothing major - probably 2-3"
Again, good luck Parts for these are almost non-existnt.
third - assuming they are complete with no rust, what kind of price would i expect to pay? I've never run across an FC other than the two in his barn that he has had since they were new.
Check Ebay and other sites. There are a couple sites about old willys Jeeps. They should be able to help

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We own a 170 and I would love to fix it up but parts are super expensive and almost impossible to find. Not trying to discourage you. I would love to fix another one up. Just want you to be aware of what you are getting into.

yeah that's pretty much the conclusion i have come to, I've been searching online all day for related material but can only find a few dreary message boards and pictures of events that have taken place. one ray of hope - Willy's America - they're website has a book for sale - 20$ - that supposedly will tell me everything i need to know and maybe have parts available if I'm REAL lucky... They seem to be so rare that i kind of discounted eBay given the few i see are all usually a frame with a cab and the usually assortment of rust and dents or fully restored.

I have been adamantly hunting barn trucks since moving back to my dads house this summer while i finish college, he has a big shop building and i REALLY want a project...

I have always liked the older trucks and only recently remembered them being in his barn, the neighbor across from me has a ~6000k mile 5 window something or other with 4x4 and a factory olds rocket (or something like it) flat head v8 in it (i used to write in the dust)... belonged to his son who died in a car wreck back in like 1958 or something, son had it for a year or two and after he died his dad just parked it up on blocks and hasn't touched it since.

the rarer or less popular older jeep models can be almost impossible to find parts for. As for aftermarket stuff, forget it. Sometimes aftermarket products were made when the model first came out, but they will be extremely pricey and nearly impossible to find. Message boards tend to be the best place to find info about parts and such. If you don't find it there, you may be SOL.
I have a hard enough time finding parts for my C101, and it shares some components with the CJ series. I suspect the FC would be very expensive to restore, and some parts might very well simply not be available at any price.

Are you wanting to keep it factory as a collector's item or just get it running as a nice toy? If you're not trying to make it a collector's item and just want to restore it, use newer off the shelf parts for the major running gear, just keep the cab and frame.

i *think* what i want to do is get it up and running as close to a DD as possible, and as original as possible. I kindof take the rat-rod approach to "restorations" - they tend to not be factory specs but simply whats available to make it work well. I was already thinking about if i could put in a ford 2.3l drive train out of an older ranger pickup, but then i ran across some articles about people putting 6 and 8 cyl engines in them (i would think your butt would get REALLY hot) so im open to that too. If i had my choice i would re-power with a 4.0l but i dont think the long block will fit and unless i want to hack and weld on it i may just be looking at 4 and maybe some smaller 6 cyl engines.

oo i just thought about some oddball engines... maybe a small mercedes deisel, or even a rare mazda rotary engine.

decisions decisions... but i havent bought it yet... so its all in ma head. good thing they arn't going anywhere :laugh3:

buy it and dont think twice. i kicked myself forr not buying one when i had a shot to

buy it. id buy one in a heartbeat.

The Mazda rotary would fit no problem! You could even slap a small turbo on to get enough power to keep up with modern traffic...

don't discount the dodge 2.5l turbo motor from the daytona, with the dakota tranny and transfer case. with a 2.4l 16v head swap and a good computer that would be a kick ass little motor!

all good things in time, I'm pretty sure he will save them for me, found out he has an old cj with nothing but lucas in the trans, and he knows where an old cj-5 is sitting in a barn a few miles away.

gotta save up some money and clear a spot in covered parking for it, i would hate to leave it outside :laugh3:

that just leave s me to figure out what to offer/pay for it...

You would be suprised by what you can fit in one for a motor. My dads has a Dodge 318 with a 727 tq flight auto

Nice! any idea what the weight distribution is between front/rear wheels?

im afraid it might be wearing tractor weights in the rear to keep it from face planting... that one of the things i've heard horror stories about

TLowery04 said:

im afraid it might be wearing tractor weights in the rear to keep it from face planting... that one of the things i've heard horror stories about

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The 170s aren't bad. The 150s are scarry as hell. I've heard that with good brakes and lots of traction they will do endos.

I'd get one if there were any hope at all of running it, and not worry too much about parts. Something will turn up, and FC Jeeps are unique.

Make sure it hasn't rusted too much. The cabs are pretty tricky construction and tend to rot off, at least in the rust belt. If the one you're looking at ever had a snowplow, be prepared for severely beaten-up front end and springs.

I would not get my hopes up too much for a daily driver, though, especially for a 150, which was not noted for good handling. In addition, those old front knuckles reduced turning radius a good bit, and if you're used to more modern vehicles, you may be surprised at how clumsy it is.

surely it cant be any worse than my first car, a 1980 ford pinto pony model. No a/c, no radio, no power... er this is easier, it had windsheild wipers and a horn for power accessories.

TLowery04 said:

surely it cant be any worse than my first car, a 1980 ford pinto pony model. No a/c, no radio, no power... er this is easier, it had windsheild wipers and a horn for power accessories.

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Yes...yes it can.

TLowery04 said:

surely it cant be any worse than my first car, a 1980 ford pinto pony model,...

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Oh man! If that's you're idea of a bad handling car, you should buy the FC and get it running just as a learning experience!