THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

Ran across this on the Internet today -

http://jalopnik.com/5896703/jeep-mighty ... is-awesome

http://www.allpar.com/cars/concepts/jeep/FC.html

It's based on a stretched JK chassis. I suspect the stretch is to assure it doesn't do face plants when making a quick stop like the original forward control jeep. It is using portal axels which are apparently available from Mopar. You could get a nice 710 for the price of that front portal axel alone.

It would be cool if someone could get a picture of a Pinzgauer parked next to it at the Moab Easter Safari.

I know it was just built for show, but how well was that really thought out? Look at how hard it is to get into it. And people think the Pinz is tough to get into...

Also, I doubt that could be DOT legal given the headlight height.

The 16,000lb winch would pull that little frame apart.

I always liked the look of both those Jeeps...but I,m really old. The original FC Jeep is listed as having a 'Cerlist 3 cyl Diesel' as an option. Can any of you Americans tell me about Cerlist, I,ve looked but I can,t find any information. All I can find is that the US Navy used this Cerlist Diesel in its carryall versions........it was a 170 CID 2 stroke devloping 170lb ft of torque at 1900rpm.

From the looks of the cabin it would be hard to imagine my 6ft2 frame fitting in that!, also in one of the undercarriage pics I see some sort of a air intake filter in line with the front differential? is that to cool the engine when it sits in a mud puddle? But I will say I love those tires...does anyone recognize this tread? and the manufacturer? if they come in Pinz size..I want them!

I believe the tires are Pitbull rockers. Nice rock crawling tires, not too sure about road noise.....

Well,I'm sure hate will come my way for this,but I like it! It's nice to see something different,if for nothing else,some ideas.
Mark

I've always enjoyed Jeep vehicles, and my daily driver has been a Jeep for over 15 years (the latest one being a '07 Grand Cherokee SRT8) . So it's good to see Mopar putting together six show vehicles! Apart from the "FC" concept, there is also a 6.4 liter V8 conversion for Wranglers that makes me drool.

About the portal axles, it's nice to see a mainstream company offering them as a kit... but 23 grand for a full conversion seems like a lot of money, especially compared to the prices we are used to see for our Pinzes.

Edit: here is a link to the page of the company that manufactures the portal axles, with a comparison with Unimog axles:
http://www.dynatrac.com/products/axles/portals.html

those are cool as hell trucks, I had one years ago, 1985 and loved it. To this day it is still one of the vehicals I wish I never sold...


This picture is not my old one but looked the same minus the white paint on the cab.



Mine was a 1959



An old friend of mine took two of them and converted it into a Doka. He was after mine to do the graft. I sold mine to guy out of Inyo that flew up and drove it home.

Well, you can’t say Jeep’s FC concept vehicle isn’t larger than life.
If this makes it to production, it will probably have straight axles and 32” to 33” tires, lowering the whole vehicle 7” to 9” , and the tires would fit under the main body without much or any fender flares. At that point, hub step or a step in front of the wheel could be added for assistance to get in. Not so massive, and blend in somewhat with others on the road.

Using the Mopar available portal axles on the concept vehicle would be a way to advertise and to get people to buy “off the shelf” axles upgrade for their Jeep JK that bolt on rather than buy custom or adapt Mog axles that require custom fabrication…Also at $12.5k for an axle from hub to hub might be about the same as buying a 30+ year old 710, try pricing a new Pinz axle hub to hub with diff, I don’t think that price will sound too outrageous.

Since it is a JK cab, legroom and height would not be a problem for most. I’m 6’1” and my seat isn’t near the back it’s rails and I usually have the seat set for it’s highest point, and still have over 4” of head room. With the roof being from the JK8 conversion, the roof panels would be removable… I also see that it has the hinge for the fold down windshield…I see all the fun of offroad without the windshield , top or doors ( but expect it to have the typical Wrangler type ROPS)…. Imagine it fitted as some of the 716 /718s were outfitted as patrol vehicles or fast attack vehicles

As it is a concept and made to see if further development will proceed, there are tons of things to resolve… among which is engine access and serviceability. A tilt cab will be a must. Wranglers for 2012 got the 3.6L V6 that’s in a lot of Chrysler vehicle ( mine has been great so far and a vast improvement over the old 3.8 ) and the oil filter is on the top of the engine in the valley… not something you’d want to take out through the cab of a FC..

The bed is far from being complete, as it seems to be a flatbed with fold down sides like the old VW transporter pickup, and lot of wasted space underneath, but I would imagine it would be more like a conventional US pickup if it comes to market.

All in all, it’s cool as heck for a ‘Retro’ and suspect many would buy it for that reason

M Wehrman wrote:Well,I'm sure hate will come my way for this,but I like it! It's nice to see something different,if for nothing else,some ideas.
Mark

Sorry Mark,
All this group's hate is reserved for me.

I recycle it and use it to heat my house.

This was for sale last month in Lampasas Tx.

there is a guy here in the AMVCC that collects and restores these beast. He really likes the double cab.

well..l like the bottle opener..& chrome plated CO2 cylinder...

[top left corner inset]

It actually looks like the fender flares were installed over the doors, making opening the doors impossible.

Obviously the fender flairs are removable to facilitate entry and exit from the vehicle.

The boarding assistant removes or reattaches the flairs as necessary along with the boarding ladder.

Please note the ground crew option is not included in the price of the truck.



Actually in one view it looks like the forward portion of the flair is attached to the door and swings out with the door when the door is opened.

http://www.allpar.com/photos/concept-ca ... oncept.jpg