"Just Jeepin'" (macintux)
10/11/2020 at 09:34 • Filed to: Jeep
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"Just Jeepin'" (macintux)
10/11/2020 at 09:34 • Filed to: Jeep | 7
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Sharing this again thanks to the abundance of enthusiasm for last night’s Fleetvan.
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There were far more models than I knew.
http://www.offroaders.com/tech/jeep/Jeep-FJ.htm
Update : two more informational links, courtesy onlytwowheels:
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The Jeep FJ Fleetvans are so out of character, and so rare, that I have only heard of them 3-4 times, and while I sometimes think I could name every Jeep ever manufactured off the top of my head, the FJ proves me wrong.
I completely missed them for my !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (unless by some miracle I remembered them at the time but have forgotten I put them in...but I’m sure I didn’t). !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
The one above used to be for sale for the low, low price of $24k. Not only is it an FJ, it’s been converted to a hot rod. A hot rod van made by the company you’d never associate with vans. What a unicorn!
boredalways
> Just Jeepin'
09/23/2019 at 22:33 |
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...but will it Rubicon?
JeepJeremy
> Just Jeepin'
09/23/2019 at 22:33 |
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Just Jeepin'
> boredalways
09/23/2019 at 22:38 |
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If David Tracy can take a claptrap DJ on trails around Moab, I’d wager you can take this on the Rubicon.
It probably won’t get off the Rubicon, granted.
Future Heap Owner
> Just Jeepin'
09/23/2019 at 22:39 |
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Bizarre little thing. What is up with that windshield?
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Just Jeepin'
> Future Heap Owner
09/23/2019 at 22:42 |
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This model was built for the USPS so maybe that was to enhance visibility. Easier to see the mailbox as you pull up, and I suppose easier to make sure you’re not going to hit some random little kid directly in front of you.
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Future Heap Owner
> Just Jeepin'
09/24/2019 at 02:26 |
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I thought about that , but do you have to have that weird shape to have good visibility? Glass is pretty clear; why can’t you just have the windshield end lower down? Was glass quality a lot worse back then? Or is the index of refraction effect a lot larger than I’m giving it credit for at that angle?
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Just Jeepin'
> Future Heap Owner
09/24/2019 at 07:00 |
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¯\_()_/¯
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Future Heap Owner
09/24/2019 at 09:17 |
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GMC New Look buses also did t hat :
And International Sightliner cab-overs did this:
W
ith the Sightliner, you may notice it has something of a “yard truck” style reduced cab for better visibility out the sides as well.
I think not only was the Fleetvan trying to have visibility down low, but a straight up/down windshield probably doesn’t disperse rain as well as a slanted one, and may be less aerodynamic. So including the ability to have a higher windshield frame bottom and the refractive advantage with a dirty windshield, it’s *almost* a no-brainer.
Some of Luigi Colani’s streamline truck designs did a version, more recently.
Roundbadge
> Just Jeepin'
09/24/2019 at 09:48 |
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Hot Wheels has a version called the Bread Box .
A few years on, it’s way more apparent to me that the second pic I posted in that link was a ‘shop...but the Bread Box/FJ Fleetvan connection is definitely A Thing.
JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
> Future Heap Owner
10/11/2020 at 09:45 |
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Was glass quality a lot worse back then?
Yes, sort of. Manufacturing processes for auto glass have improved substantially since those days. Modern auto glass has a much lower index of refraction, and is stronger. The one thing that is absolutely sure, is that making that windshield (with the shape optimized for forward corner visibility) out of several smaller flat panels was exponentially *cheaper* than making it out of a single large molded piece.
Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
> Future Heap Owner
10/11/2020 at 09:47 |
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A Grumman mail van mated with an aircraft control tower.
ranwhenparked
> Just Jeepin'
10/11/2020 at 11:22 |
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Remember when outward visibility was considered a desirable feature in vehicles? Guess that went out of fashion with bench seats and smooth ride quality
onlytwowheels
> Just Jeepin'
10/11/2020 at 11:24 |
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http://newjeep.blogspot.com/2013/07/jeep-fleetvan-story.html
https://jeep.fandom.com/wiki/Jeep_FJ
dogisbadob
> Just Jeepin'
10/11/2020 at 11:32 |
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wow that’s cool
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Just Jeepin'
> onlytwowheels
10/11/2020 at 11:34 |
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Thanks, added those links to the post.
Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> Just Jeepin'
10/11/2020 at 11:46 |
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I really love the FJ. I feel like you could simultaneously make Jeep bros mad and delight/horrify the purists. I’d still take a Forward Control but I feel like that small cab over van could be a pretty useful little thing to have around. What sort of role were they intended to fill? Postal carriers?
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Just Jeepin'
> Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
10/11/2020 at 11:54 |
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Per the linked articles, mail and ice cream delivery trucks.
Converting one of those into something capable of tackling serious off-road use would be fascinating and absurdly expensive (or at least requiring lots of fabrication skills) . Showing up at a Jeep Jamboree in one: priceless.
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Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> Just Jeepin'
10/11/2020 at 11:56 |
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While that would be funny, they are so hilariously unsuitable for off-roading I would really prefer to use one as some sort of shaved ice dispensary and rake in the big bucks at the Jeep Jamboree.
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onlytwowheels
> Just Jeepin'
10/11/2020 at 12:02 |
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Here’ s more:
https://www.xr793.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1961-Jeep-Fleetvan.pdf
https://cj3b.info/Siblings/Fleetvan.html
https://www.jeep.com/history/1960s.html#fj3a
http://www.ewillys.com/2020/07/21/fj-3s-make-their-arrival/
Taylor Martin
> Just Jeepin'
10/11/2020 at 13:58 |
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I get the logic, but that pointy windscreen looks right about where a pedestrians neck would be... albeit , pedestrian safety didn’t exist in the 60s and 70s...
Simpler times...