The Land Rover Serie II FC ("Forward Control") is a rather unique truck built on the basis of the legendary
Land Rover off-road utility Car. The initial IIA had a 2.25-litre petrol engine and LWB 109 in (2,769 mm) chassis, with cab positioned over the engine for more load space. Export vehicles had the 2.6-litre petrol engine and ENV (heavy duty) rear axle. They also had larger tyres with deep-dish wheel rims on the rear axle. They remained still underpowered for a 1.5 long ton payload. 2,500 were manufactured from 1962 to 1966 as troop carriers for the british Royal Army, then until 1974 superseded by the series IIB with a more powerful 2.25 liters diesel and other percs. They were retired in the 1990s.
Design of the Forward Control Land Rover
Development
Demand for better load-carrying capacity for the Land Rover was already a concern in the 1950s, as the regular serie I and IIa were rather as cramped as the olf WW2 Jeep. The same drive Ford to propose in 1942 a 6-wheeled Jeep, which was only adopted in limited numbers for trials. In the British Royal Army, the need was answered in 1962, with the launch of the Series IIA Forward Control vehicle (FC). This new vehicle was based on the Series II LWB or Long Wheelbase, meaning a 109 inches or 2,769 mm chassis. The greatest difference was the placement of the cab, now positioned over the engine, thus creating a vehicle somewhat close to a COE or "cab over engine" configuration, already known and used in WW2 for its advantages in vibility. But technically it was not for many specialists. There were true COE made by Rover though, the Leyland 15/20 based on the Standard Atlas.
This indeed resulted in a massively increased load space at the rear. The "car" was transformed into a truck. It also had a new rear sub-frame attached to the 109 inches chassis in order to superpose a brand new flat load space, infintely larger than the original space between seats in the standard Land Rover series II. The result was capable of carrying 30 cwt (about on ton and 700 kgs) on the road, and 25 cwt (One tonne and 400 kgs) cross-country. All this seems ideal until road trials and off-road trials were performed. While quite valid on road, the FC became a "dog" when opering off-road and on muddy, snowy ground. It's power to weight ratio, given the overloaded chassis and new payload, several folds what the standard car can carry, completely overwhelmed the engine, which was basically was stock, shared, as most mechanical components, with the car. Complaints about the Serie IIa FC led to a new version with a beefir engine, the Serie IIb.
Layout
The IIA Forward Control was not only given a modified chassis, with a new frame to support the flatbed and brand new cabin and radiator. I was also fitted with heavy duty axles and larger tyres to increase the ground clearance, something that was anticipated. Its body style was that of a "pick-up", as dimensions were those of a small lorry and due to the proportions of the ftabed compared to the cabin.
Unlike a standard Rover, only seating was located in the cab, open or closed. This new cab was carried on a front sub-frame, bolted onto the chassis. But for Rover, this allowed to present to th army a design that proved economical and required only a few new parts. It coild be produced rapidly with the same personal at a dedicated new facility, but with the same logistics as the standard Range Rover.
The front and rear sub-frame was alo a choice driven by economics, but was later criticized as it resulted in a much heavier vehicle compared to a purpose-built chassis integratng from the start a cab and flatbed like any standard truck. The designation in military nomenclature "110" recalled the chassis wheelbase. The Forward Control model procred indeed more payload and was accepted for production after the prototype first ran in 1960 and performed a whole range of guelling trials, made available as a Series IIa FC from September 1960. However many modifications led to a military production from 1962.
The Series IIa Forward Control was given as seen above the 109” wheelbase and managed to keep 75% of the standard 109” chassis components to sta attractive but this led to a number of compromise to lower the base price. It was only available with the Rover’s four-cylinder petrol engine of 2286cc (making it under powered) and iy was proven unstable, due to the combination of height and standard width axles.
Engine and Performances
Considering that the Series II's 2.286l petrol engine was retained, the result was a very underpowered vehicle. Tyres were of th 900×16 types on deep-dish wheel rims to spread the ground weight of this heavy vehicle. They were neither of the run-flat type, not fitted with a central inflation system. The 6 Cylinder, 77.8 x 92.075mm, 2625cc 7:1 CR was coupled with a S.U. H.D.6 carburettor on the SIIA. On the SIIB it was rated for 66 kW @ 4500 rpm, 176 Nm @ 1750 rpm (88 bhp "gross", 130 lb.ft albeit LRO Magazine states published that this 6 cylinder engine was detuned to 64 kW @ 4500 rpm, 173 Nm @ 1500 rpm (86 bhp net, 128 lb.ft).
The SII Forward Control Land-Rovers used a different transfer box than standard Land-Rovers to compensate for the 9.00 x 16 tyres and the main gearbox ratios were the same, but the gearbox was different, with a longer mainshaft used to interface to the Forward Control transfer box of the "Easy Drive" type, enabling to change from high to low range while moving. The SI/SII had the same main gearbox ratios, albeit SIIA ratios were different early in production.
The power issue (of lack thereof) was partly addressed in 1966 with the advent of the Series IIB Forward Control. This added the 2.286l diesel engine and 2.6l 6-cylinder petrol engine as options. The 6-cylinder petrol engine was adapted from the Rover P4 and P5 cars and considered far more reliable. And for stability, the wheelbase was slightly lengthened but more importantly, the wheel tracks were widened by four inches (10 cm). The head lamps were also lowered (externally the only way to tell). The side lights were relocated to a higher position as well.
These vehicles had a turning circle of 14.9m (49ft) for the IIa and 14.6m for the IIb, a ground clearance of 10" (254mm), the height of load bay (unladen) was 1.04m (41"). The body width (internal) was 1.60m (63 1/2") and the body lenght was 3.14m (123 1/2"). Payload was two in the cabin and 1,525 kg (30 cwt) on road, 1,270 kg (25 cwt) off road (with standard 109 being rated for 15 cwt. It shoud be noted that some Forward Controls were fitted with a hydraulic winch, driven from the power takeoff aft of the gearbox and the hydraulic fluid reservoir holds 30 litres.
Variants
After 2500 Series IIa were manufactured, the Army wanted a massive improvement, and the transition in production started in 1965. The new Series IIb started production from 1966. For this, Rover engineers completely re-designed the vehicle. The underpowered aspect was solved by the adoption of the six-cylinder petrol engine of 2625cc. However it was longer (110 in (2,794 mm)), so this needed to move the front axle forward of one inch (2.5 cm) making for an increased wheelbase to 110 inches, hence the new designation.
This Series IIb was introduced in September 1966 and also comprised modifications such as wider and stronger axles to adress the stability aspect, and a stronger transmission to cope with the new engine, which had a much greater torque. It also had front anti-roll bar and revised rear springs mounted above the axle rather than below it. The easiest way to distinguish a Series IIa extrernally was its high headlamps compared to a Series IIb with low headlamps. The other way to tell the 110 from the 101 apart when on their side, is to count the number of nuts holding the wheels on, from five studs to six to match the Howitzer gun that it was designed to tow, and in turn it matches the Unimog 404.
- Series IIa: Original LWB variant with the standard 2.3L engine, prod.1962-66 3,193*
- Series IIb: Re-powered variant with a 6-cyl. 2.6L and longer wheelbase. prod.1966-73 2,303**
- Series FC 101", LWB chassis, for the civilian market, confidential production.
- Llama: Export version, exists in prototype form only.
*2-1/4 petrol 1 910 kg: 2 091
2 1/4 diesel: 5
2.6 6cyl petrol: 1 097
**2 1/4 petrol 2 050 kg: 527
2 1/4 diesel: 524
2.6 6cyl petrol: 1,254
specifications IIa |
| Dimensions L-W-H | 4.9m (193") x 1.92m (75 1/2") x 2.24m (88 1/4") |
| Wheelbase | 109" (2.77m) |
| Axles (track F/R) | 1.36m (53 1/2") |
| Weight | 1948 kg (2.25p), Kerb Weight (with water, oil, and 5 gal fuel) |
| Crew | 2+12 |
| Propulsion | Rover 1.6L |
| Suspension | Leaf springs |
| Speed (road) | 70 kph |
| Range | c300 km |
| Armament | None (personal weapons, crews and infantry) |
| Production | 2500 |
specifications IIb |
| Dimensions L-W-H | 4.9m (193") x 1.92m (75 1/2") x 2.25m (88.6") |
| Wheelbase | 109.75" (2.79m) |
| Axles (track) | 1.46m (57 1/2") |
| Weight | 1970 kg (2.6) |
| Crew | 2+12 |
| Propulsion | Rover 2.8L |
| Suspension | Leaf springs |
| Speed (road) | 70 kph |
| Range | c300 km |
| Armament | None (personal weapons, crews and infantry) |
| Production | c3500 |
Service
The compromised IIA and IIB FC were never a success, albeit production was maintained for the British Royal Army until 1974. It was to be replaced by the more sophisticated 101" Forward Control (FC), never sold to the civilian market, only retained by the army. Most IIAs and IIBs were sold as in the 1980s as work trucks on the Civilian market, and worked hard, which combined with relatively low production numbers, meant very few survived. Many survivors were conversions, such as camper vans and fire engines which had a relatively less arduous career.
The Serie IIa was not popular. Young, inexperienced driver often misjudged theis stability underway and this never ended well. The full payload, combined with harsh terrain meant the trucks often broke down, as a combined result of a relatively unreliable engine, which was completely overstrained in this new condition. The attrition rate was such in the 1960s a solution was asked to Rover. One solution was to better train drivers, the other to just lower the payload. The most practical was to use the vehicle as troop transports, carrying twelve men each with their own equipment (plus the drive and co-driver). A standard Land Rover could only carry six. Even after the introduction of the IIb, the Army continued to use these as troop carriers. Somes took part in the BAOR deployments of the cold war in the 1970-80s, until replacement.
There are private collectioners that parade them today, notably yearly in Land Rover gatherings across UK and abroad. They always surprises the general public, oblivious a truck was derived from the car they know so well. However, production figures are hard to come by. The number generally accepted is 2,500 for the Series IIa, and around 3000 to 3500 for the IIb. This was not considerable compared to more standard military trucks in service at the time.