Willys Speed equipment and vintage racers - looking for info, history, photos

Looking for info on Willys Speed Equipment for the Willys built L134 engines and Willys powered vehicles in general.

So far I have come across aluminum heads by Vic Hickey and the Willy Willy head from Australia for the L134 and the Alexander and Du Vall conversions. 2-1 intakes from Burns both with conventional carburetor mounting and at 90 degrees. Willys based rear ends used in 1930s/1940s sprint cars and midgets - Bennett, Casale, Krech, and Turco.

Does anybody have any photos of any of this stuff and of vintage Willys powered vehicles - sprint cars, lakes cars, off road or whatever? Here's a photo of an engine I am currently putting together for a Willys 77.

If anyone can come up with information and photos, it must be the HAMB. Thanks guys.

 

Try the CJ web sites: http://www.cj-3a.com/ http://www.g503.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=19
http://www.thecj2apage.com/

 

search the WOKR on this. Carl Hagan

 

Sorry bout that, 'willys overland knight registry'. It pulls up by typing WOKR in your search engine. Carl Hagan

 

Thanks Carl - I have contributed a number of the photos on the WOKR site, which is run by Paul Young in Australia, and have combed several of the Willys sites including the Jeep specific sites.

I am hoping that there may be some HAMBers who have some info or photos of Willys powered or Willys based racers from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s from their own archives. This Willys stuff is really obscure and tough to ferret out.

 

Here is an old trick. Willys manifold turned upside down and heat riser opened up to allow two two bbls or some such. Also a Kaiser Supersonic high compressiom iron head and a way fast finned side cover.

 

Any of you guys have any information or pix on the aluminum Testa Gallia head made for Willys engines in Italy post WW II?

 

This is a post I wrote for another board about Willys cars in the ARCA before the Hitler war.

Langdon Quimby, the 1934 ARCA Champion in a stripped down Willys 77, partnered with Arthur Pickett, the New York distributor for Willys-Overland to build a team of somewhat purpose-built cars for 1935. Quimby’s 1934 car (we’ll call it #1 as it was both the car that carried the #1 number and was also the first of the Willys cars built) was used as the basis for one of the racers while Pickett came through with another(#2.) #1 maintained a 100” wheelbase (I’m not sure if this was the stock wheelbase for a 77) but #2 was shortened to 92”. Barron Collier, Jr., who probably introduced Quimby to Pickett, coordinated the transformation of the cars into racers: the bare chassis were re-bodied into sort of upright, two-seater Indy junk formula roadster form at the General Sheet Metal Company in NY while significant engine modifications (in the form of new aluminum cylinder heads, and some hot rodding) were performed at Zumbach’s.

Collier drove the #1 car while Quimby chose #2 (ARCA number 11) for the season. I am not sure if any other modifications from stock form were made to either car.

Results for the Willys Team in 1935:

ARCA Grand Prix of the United States of America – Briarcliff Manor, NY – 6.23.1935

#2 L. Quimby: 1st Place
#1 B. Collier, Jr.: DNF (Fuel line)

ARCA Cape Grand Prix – Marstons Mills, MA – 6.29.1935

#2 L. Quimby: 1st Place
#1 B. Collier, Jr.: 2nd Place

ARCA Climb to the Clouds – Mt. Washington/Gorham, NH - 7.14.1935

#2 L. Quimby: 2nd Place

Early in the summer of 1936 the cars were again re-bodied by General Sheet Metal, this time into the single-seater form. Preparation of the cars was done by the Collier/Rand "Motor Sport" organization. The chassis maintained their ARCA numbers from 1935.

ARCA Climb to the Clouds – Mt. Washington/Gorham, NH - 7.26.1936

#1 L. Quimby: 1st Place Overall
#2 Bob Heller: 4th Place Overall


ARCA Round the Houses Race – Alexandria Bay, NY – 8.15.1936

This was a handicap race with the Willys both being placed at heavy disadvantage to the rest of the field.

#2 B. Heller: 2nd Place
#1 B. Collier, Jr.: DNF

After the 1936 season the #2 car was sold by Pickett to South Africa. The #1 car (now ARCA number 7) would go on to compete for one more season before it disappears from competition records.

ARCA Climb to the Clouds – Mt. Washington/Gorham, NH - 7.11.1937

#1 Miles Collier: 5th Place

ARCA Round the Houses Race – Alexandria Bay, NY – 8.7.1937

#1 B. Heller: DNF (Crashed; car ran in the race as number 3)

This marks the last mention I’ve found for these two cars in ARCA competition. Some of the regional notes and newsletters list cars for sale but I have yet to see any that mention the #1 car…Joel Finn notes that the Collier “Ardent Alligator” Riley Special ended up with the engine from the #1 car at one point.

Interestingly enough there were at least two other Willys 77s that ran in ARCA races, one run by Bob Love, the other by Eb Lunken.

(Info from various ARCA publications as well as Joel Finn’s American Road Racing-The 1930s.)



Ad from the back of the ARCA Journal, Vol. II, No.2, 1936



Tom Dewart leading Bob Heller at A-Bay.



Langdon Quimby and Bob Heller at Mt. Washington in 1936.

I hope this adds some to the discussion. I will add more pictures as soon as I scan them.

Cris

 

If I said that was way bitchin' it would be an understatement to be sure . I have a Nash motor and a twin carb aluminum head I plan to install . Had started to lose interest til I saw your post . Now the juices are flowing again . Thanks

 

Nice report Cris! This being the HAMB we need to see the early version of the L. Quimby car #11 with the 1932 Ford shell. See you at Hershey on Tuesday!

 

Duvall Overhead from the 1939 issue of Ray Kuns Automobile Racing

 

Bob,
Was that car the one Eb Lunken owned then rebuilt after an accident? I know that car ended up with a Ford grille but the car you pictured looks a little taller.

Yup, see you on Tuesday.

Cris

 

Cris, I took that photo out of the John C. Rueter book on the ARCA, there are others of both cars with the '32 shells, I always thought they were matched cars, both early and later bodies.

 

2 Year bump.
I've been looking for info aswell. The only info I've found is from the here:
http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/wocv/willywilly/willywilly.htm
But you guys knew that al ready.

Jeff

 

Lifted from the January 2010 Banger thread:

 

More:

 

This is my Willys Go-Devil powered speedster
41 Willys Engine, 37 Willys Trans 41 front and rear axle
Body built out of leftovers, chassis 1920'S Morris
Engine pretty much stock but I have a Darland dual intake for it, runs pretty good, revs well
much better than a Model A Banger.
Last year I scored a boat tail body off a 1930's racing MG which got restored and am going to fit that soon.

 

Bump, And a request for more pics of your speedster. (Engine)
How'd the boat tail work out?

Jeff

 

Not an engine, but I've always fancied the cut-down Model 77 at the bottom of this page:



-Dave

 

Boat tail hell! What about that beautiful gal????
There are some things more important than old car speed equipment! OK, the list is very, very short, but there are some things (only one I think of) more important.

 

Here's some pics of a Chuchua Alum head that was on E-bay.... I did not win but saved the pictures:

Jeff

 

Willys love BUMP...

Jeff

 

Bump and some more speed part pics.

Jeff

 

Cool! Thanks for posting this one. I find Willy's car vintage and that's what I like about it. Willys parts and accessories are unique at all. Simple yet classy and parts are detailed too. That's the important thing to consider too. Above all, engine performs well .

 

Rise from the dead.

I picked up a '52 Kaiser Supersonic with a goofy transmission that appears to have overdrive? It was cheap and I thought it might make a neat engine for a Model T.

The engine is stuck as of now. It will be a while before I do anything with it, but for now I'm looking for info and this popped up.

 

Back in the 50's I ground many cams for the Yakima Ridge Runners guys.
They were all Willy's flatheads or "F" heads.

 

DuVall OHV head

...

 

Did we ever get to see pics of the boat tail? Or I'd be happy just to see some profile shots of the car in this form.

 

Here is a no name high compression aluminum hear for a 33-39 Willys. Does anyone know who made it?

 

That's cool! Almost looks like it was cast in somebody's shop class.