Features 1937 to 1942 Willys Picture Thread

nice collection

 

The 426 in this case would be his NHRA Competition number for the A/Gas class.

 

Biscaynes, Those are some great pictures of early gasser Willys Coupes.

 

Man great pics, haven't seen these before!

 

Pretty early for the Pontiac powered Fred Hurst pic I think.

 

pardon me if I repeated some eye candy

 

Check out this one TommyD posted over on Drag Cars in Motion thread.

 

I believe that his one belonged to Kiwi Kev back in the 80s. If I remember right it took him a long time to sell it.

 

That coupe is a knockout Dave. Can you give us a few details about and tell us any history that you have on it. A few more pictures would be nice too.

 

Any info on this one? Looks like the nose from "Eastern Automotive". I know the original car is in Staten Island NY on the street.
Pat

 

By Virginia N. Sherry | [email protected]
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on March 29, 2013 at 1:15 PM, updated March 29, 2013 at 1:21 PM




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"Everyone is so happy that it survived the storm,"€ says Joy Delfino of her husband's 1940 Willys coupe. "€œThe whole neighborhood was happy once John got it up and running again."Staten Island Advance/Virginia Sherry
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- “It’s an animal!” proclaimed John Delfino, as he revved the powerful engine of his 1940 two-door Willys coupe that survived the noxious watery onslaught that inundated his Oakwood garage during Hurricane Sandy last October.

The classic car was submerged in a nasty mix “halfway up to the windows,” he reported.

Delfino’s handwritten “Sandy” lettering proclaims the vehicle as a survivor of the historic storm.

Thumbs-up gestures that Delfino gets from neighborhood residents, since the car’s been up and running again, provides some heart-warming satisfaction as he and his wife, Joy, continue the difficult task of restoring their storm-damaged home. 

HISTORY

Delfino enjoys recounting the history of his prized vehicle.

It was formerly owned by Bob Lombardi, owner of Eastern Automotive, a speed shop on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn.

Lombardi raced the car, and in 1970, it set a National Hot Rod Association record, clocking 138.67 mph in a 9.86 seconds, Delfino said proudly, showing documentation.

Lombardi eventually sold the Willys, and it later came into the possession of Delfino’s brother, Robert, who lives in upstate New York.

“My brother put in a larger engine, and had it for 23 years, as a collectible,” Delfino explained. “I always liked it, and when my brother decided to sell it in 2012, I bought it from him.”

Delfino has big plans for the Willys.

“I want to bring it back to its original racing days of glory,” he said. “I’m waiting for a body shop to take it, and paint it gold. I might even race it myself.”

In his Oakwood neighborhood, the car is a sensation.

“Everyone is so happy that it survived the storm,” Mrs. Delfino said last week. “The whole neighborhood was happy once John got it up and running again.”

Tooling around Staten Island, Delfino notices that the car makes people smile. “And a lot of them don’t even know what it is. They never heard of a Willys,” he said.

Pat

 

Jack Merkel running Phil Coward's blown Olds Willys, Eddie Sanzo's A/GS PU around first or second time out.

Pat

 

All friends of mine, on the cover of Island Dragway newsletter. Only Jack is still around

Pat

 

We bought a short block from Sanzo and all the transmissions came from Vitar. Those trips to New York were epic...lol

 

This is a gasser from England.

 

Barbara Hamilton

 

great lady

 

This is the car that 1940Willys now owns. It's flat black with "SUCCUBUS" on the rear fenders. That was the nose off of the Eastern Automotive car, but that's not the nose on the car now. It didn't fit the car correctly. My uncle has the fiberglass doors from the Eastern Automotive car on his car.