UPDATE: This post was originally posted July 29, 2016:
I finally snagged this “Jeep Multi-Stop Truck” brochure off of eBay. It is only seven pages. There are no details provided about the chassis used, but it does use the F-head.
The date on this proposal is March 1960. The first ad I have for the FJ-3 is in 1961. My guess is that this may have been 1) a competing idea for a cheap delivery vehicle or 2) the basis for what was restyled as the FJ-3. That AM General made a version of the Multi-stop right after jeep’s general and Military product division was spun off (1971) into the AM General Corp likely isn’t a coincidence.
According to some magazines of the day, the FJ was considered a Multi-stop van, so the description was used, though I don’t believe it ever appeared in any advertising. For example, this 1959 article except from Google notes the following, “office requirements for pickup and delivery of mail on multi – stop routes . The Fleetvan ” Jeep ” trucks , equipped with automatic transmissions , will feature compact cargo space , high maneuverability , maximum driver visibility ”
Is it just a coincidence that this 1973 AM General truck looks suspiciously like the proposed vehicle above?
https://www.usedvending.com/i/Classic-Ice-Cream-Vending-Truck-with-Nicholas-Music-Box-/MD-P-976G
Or this 1974 version (from a defunct website):
I have never seen this model, The early date 1960 would put it just before production of the FLEETVAN FJ3A, am I correct in assuming that? What’s the story, anybody know?
Never seen it either. Appears to be on the DJ3A chassis with the F-head engine. Looks like a small version of the later Jeep mail trucks.
Somewhere on eBay a couple days ago I saw a history brochure on AM General. It must have sold because now I can’t find it, but that would probably clear up how things evolved.
To me it looks like what would become the FJ-8 (http://fj8c.com), but I can’t find a start date for the FJ-8 production. The AM General history site (http://www.amgeneral.com/corporate/history.php) suggests “the company began its first civilian government program by successfully winning a bid to develop and produce a half-ton delivery van for the U.S. Post Office. More than 14,000 of these half-ton vehicles were eventually produced.” I think this was the FJ-8?
The one thing I notice here is what looks like a removeable metal plate over the rear wheel openings. What would be the purpose of such a cover? Seems counter productive for a commercial multi stop delivery van.
Mike,
I am not sure what value that provides either? Maybe it was just an added design to make it look “sleek”?
– Dave