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The Jeep Mighty FC Concept

Not Since 1964

By Fred Williams, Photography by Fred Williams
That is a 1964 crew cab FC in the background. Read all about it in Jp Magazine and at 4wheeloffroad.com.
That is a 1964 crew cab FC in the background. Read all about it in Jp Magazine and at 4whe

We hope they build it. We doubt they will. Moab Easter Jeep Safari is a honey pot for Jeep bees, and the folks from Jeep and Mopar always show up with some extraordinary concept that gets us, well, buzzing. This year it’s the Mighty FC.

In full editorial disclosure I must admit that I own a ’64 Jeep FC myself and am pretty fond of them, so I may be slightly biased, but how could anyone argue that this truck isn’t cool?

The Tafco tray bed of the Mighty FC is actually a raised platform with fold-down sides for easy access. It carries a giant chrome fire extinguisher, and the storage box at the front is actually an access hole to the engine. The front and rear bumper are from Hanson. And yes, that is a Star Wars AT-AT sticker on the back window—we can’t deny the resemblance.
The Tafco tray bed of the Mighty FC is actually a raised platform with fold-down sides for

The Mighty FC is a modern version of the oft-scorned, slightly odd-looking, pug-nosed Jeep Forward Control built in the late ’50s to early ’60s. The design was to stuff as much cargo space on as short a chassis as possible with a bulbous cab atop a frame running just an 81-inch (FC-150) or 103-inch (FC-170) wheelbase. Though the trucks were great for cargo, they were spooky off-road, especially with the short wheelbase when going downhill.

Under the deck hides the spare 39-inch BFG Krawler as well as the engine and the reservoirs for the King coilover shocks. The engine sits partially under the front of the bed and partially under the rear of the cab. The tailgate and rear corners are factory JK parts.
Under the deck hides the spare 39-inch BFG Krawler as well as the engine and the reservoir

The Mighty FC concept shares its name with those ancient cab-over trucks, but although the silhouette may be similar the guts of this new truck are far from what the Kaiser/Willys engineers were thinking back in 1956. The Mighty FC actually started as a two-door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (notice the windshield frame is all JK parts). Although the engine to rear axle layout stayed consistent to the two-door, the frame and front end were all pushed, stretched, and massaged into a truck capable of hauling loads across extreme terrain as well as rockcrawling, mud bogging and desert exploring. We have no doubt it could run with the best vehicles Unimog, Kamaz, Fuso, Rover, and Vovlo have to offer. Do we expect Jeep to bring this forward-thinking wondertruck on boulder-straddling portal axles to market? We assume the answer is still no.

Watch a video of the Mighty FC along with an interview with the head of Jeep Design, Mark Allen, about the concept at http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=C8FQGWmxqio

  • The Mighty FC is a tough-looking truck, and with good reason. Under the stretched JK frame is a pair of the new Mopar portal axles offering 5 additional inches of ground clearance over a standard straight axle and additional gearing at the wheel ends. Read more about them in “Living With Portals,” August 2012.
    The Mighty FC is a tough-looking truck, and with good reason. Under the stretched JK frame
  • The custom stubby nose and grille are fiberglass and hide a Steer Clear steering drop box that redirects steering input down and then back to a flipped right-hand drive JK steering box. The brake pedal activates a bell crank to a brake booster attached to the frame under the floorboards. The radiator hides with electric fans under the passenger bed side.
    The custom stubby nose and grille are fiberglass and hide a Steer Clear steering drop box
  • The descents are where the Mighty FC (and every FC, for that matter) can really get your blood pumping. The front may look unbalanced, but in fact it is very stable and the approach angle keeps the Hanson bumper, Warn winch, and IPF lights from ever touching down. The top is still removable, the windshield can still fold down, and there is a custom rollcage that supports the cab body structure.
    The descents are where the Mighty FC (and every FC, for that matter) can really get your b
  • In this behind-the-scenes build shot you can see the rollcage that ties into the frame, the King coilover shocks attached to Evo Manufacturing shock mounts, and the start of the rear bed body panels. The giant motor mounts helped locate the engine farther back for more balance, and the heavy portals axles help keep the truck planted firmly for off-road use.
    In this behind-the-scenes build shot you can see the rollcage that ties into the frame, th
  • The cab of the truck is from a Mopar JK-8 truck conversion, and below it the custom badges hark back to the original FCs, only bigger. The bottle opener is there for after a long day on the trail straddling boulders and testing your nerves on steep descents.
    The cab of the truck is from a Mopar JK-8 truck conversion, and below it the custom badges
  • The exterior of the Mighty FC may look combat ready but inside it’s party time with red panels, JK Wrangler dash parts, and red leather seats with wild plaid material from a snowboard bag. Driving the FC feels normal until you turn and realize you’re sitting directly over the front wheels.
    The exterior of the Mighty FC may look combat ready but inside it’s party time with red pa

Tech Specs
2012 Jeep Mighty FC Concept
Drivetrain
Engine: Pentastar ’12 3.6L V-6
Transmission: ’12 Jeep Wrangler 5-speed automatic
Transfer case: NVG-241OR Rubicon Rock Trac transfer case with 4:1 low range
Front Axle: Mopar/Dynatrac/Axletech ProRock 44 Portal axle, 4.10 differential gears , 1.5 reduction box, 6.15:1 final drive, ARB Air Lockers
Rear Axle: Mopar/Dynatrac/Axletech ProRock 60 Portal axle, 4.10 differential gears, 1.5 reduction box, 6.15:1 final drive, ARB Air Lockers
Suspension
Springs & Such: Teraflex control arms, King coilover shocks
Tires & Wheels: 39x13.50R17 BFGoodrich Krawlers on Hutchinson Rock Monster beadlocks
Steering: Steer Clear drop box to flipped right-hand drive JK Wrangler steering gear
Other Stuff: Gen Right aluminum fuel tank, Tom Wood’s custom driveshafts, Warn winch, Corsa exhaust, IPF lights, Burton snowboard bag fabric, Hanson bumpers, Tafco tray bed, Evo Manufacturing suspension components

Will We See It?
We hate to say it, but we doubt they’ll ever build a production version of the Mighty FC. The JK Wrangler is selling so well that the Toledo Jeep factory is running at capacity, plus the crash testing for a truck like this would be horrendous. That said, Jeep is now run by Fiat, and Fiat has a stake in Iveco, and Iveco has a small 4x4 cab-over truck in Europe called the Iveco Daily, and Iveco’s larger trucks won their class in Dakar in 2012. So would you buy an Iveco that was rebadged as a Jeep truck if it meant you could get something akin to the Mighty FC, just less mighty?

By Fred Williams
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