The Jeep Forward Control is a series of trucks designed by Brooks Stevens, the mastermind behind the design of the Weinermobile, and produced by Willys Motors, later named Kaiser Jeep. Produced between the years of 1956 to 1965, the layout featured a cab over engine (COE), another way to say forward control, design. The Forward Control models were primarily marketed as work vehicles for corporate, municipal, military, and civilian use. The Forward Control trucks included the F-150, F-170, F-180 and F-190. This particular example is a FC-170, the larger of the two smaller versions, having a 103” wheelbase with a 108” bed–such wild dimensions. The FC-180 and 190 were considerably larger, and rarely used in civilian applications. The 150s have the F-head four-cylinder engine, while the larger FC-170 boasts a 226 L-head inline six.  

Total production of the Forward Control series over its 9-year run was just over 30,000 trucks, with their best year being 1957, when the FC-170 debuted and 9,738 trucks were sold. By 1959, production dropped to under 1,600 units. Sales rebounded slightly to 4,925 in 1960, but by 1965 it was clear the Forward Control models weren’t going to be the blockbuster sales successes Willys had hoped.

So what’s the market look like on a Willys Jeep FC-170? As you can imagine with such a rare rig, there aren’t a plethora of data points, but Classic.com does provide us with some valuable insight on Forward Control models. In the last 5 years, 19 have been sold at auction (this includes 150 and 170 models), speaking to the rarity of this truck. This one is slightly above the 5-year rolling average, but if you look at some of the examples (mostly 150s), comparable examples are at or above MotoExotica’s asking price.