Anyone have any info on my willys? I bought the car from Sunny Chapman in Ashville N.C. in Dec. 1982. I believe he had it for 8 to 10 yrs. I remember watching him run at Bristol around '76 or '77 in the D/MP class. I think the car was in Greer,S.C. area before Sunny had it. I think the top was chopped before he got it. (more pics in my album)
PM Temporary Rod. He bought bad company II from sonny in hte mid 90's and new this car well. he can put you on lots of folks with info. I'll pm his cell number as well.
Friend of mine talked to Scotty Cannon once at a race and he said he remembed watching my car run when he was young and that it was kinda his inspiration in buiding the original "CANNONBALL" willys but since I never got that straight from horse's mouth I kinda took it with a grain of salt.
Hi, I have years of info on your Willys.............I'm 54 today and I have been watching this old willys since before I got drivers liscense. So friends in Hendersonville NC , Mr Bill Harper of Harpers Yamaha in Hendersonville NC I believe, I'm told, built it. It was a C/Gasser back then. Then it was sold to my neighbors for a while, then I almost bought it and it was somd to a man in Asheville nc, mr Bill Revis, Then to Sonny Chapman of Asheville NC. Last time I saw it was over in Ashland KY one night and I hink it had a BBC and a Glide then. Some Friends of mine may be friends of yours at the track in Kentucky Mr Bill Sammons and Mr John Sammons of Huntington W.Va. At the start this old willys was Orange much as a small block chvy would be painted. Nice old car, really a crowd pleaser with the 5-speed in it when Sonny had it, Sonny blew a head gasket one time and the radiator filler was inside mounted on firewall, The steam and hot water blew all over him and he just locked the brakes down, it turned sideways and rolled 2 or 3 times at Greer SC. It was repaired andran a little while then sold to W.Va guys. Later he built another one and then I saw them both and they were both painted alike. We were on our way to Indy and just stopped in on Ashland track. Thanks John Walker, Flat Rock NC, cell 1-828-808-6736
Neat old car, remember seeing it run at Mt Park in Kentucky several years ago. Believe it was a IHRA points race. Appeared as it does in that photo then.
Wow,that's some history that I had no clue about. I didn't know of any history of the car before Sunny had it. When you saw the car at Ashland,KY(River Cities Raceway) that would have been me and yes it was running a BBC & glide. It still has the same motor today. The chassis is the same as when Sunny ran it. The car was painted Kandy Bradywine in 1992 and is still the same today. The fact that Sunny's second Willys and mine ended up the same color was just by chance as we where not in contact we each other. Thanks for the info,it certainly gives me more to look into.
I used to make several races a year at Mt.Park. During the time I ran there the car would have beige in the 80's and candy red after 1992,just like in my avatar.
just a fyi, Mr.Sunny Chapman has passed away a few years back, heart trouble. Back around 73 or 74 the neighbors owned it and ran it in C/Gas around Spartaburg SC and Newport Tennesee area, it had a 327 w/ 2 4 barrels and a Ford Top Loader 4 speed, a heavy hitter in the area for C/Gas at the time, saw it in the finals alot and at that time the time slips were around 10:80 for C/Gas, Saw then sign in for D/Gas when scales were broke and then take all the weight out, just like everyone else did. It got sold to a man by the name of Bill Revis of Asheville NC, It was named Lil Rebel on the doors with a little southern soldier and a rebel flag on the door, motor and trans were up graded and let the wheelies begin. Later Sunny bought it and he liked the band Bad Co and thought it looked like it fit on this chopped top willys. It was a crown pleaser everywhere it went, He even had a old Dale Earnhardt featherlite enclosed trailer to haul it in, after you guys bought the car I bought the trailer, later it went all the way to pasadena California. Somebody really wanted that old trailer. Back to the old willys it had several redo's over the years to chassis, wheelie bars and drive train, When you are thru racing it sure will make someone a great street rod that big money will always want to be paid for others to have it, its unique old car.
I never really got to talk to Sunny very much. I looked at the car for about 5 minutes,told him I would take it. Me and a buddy went down the street to get something to eat while Sunny and some guys that worked for him pulled the motor and tranny. We got back to his garage(old gas station) about 1/2 hour later,I paid him and we loaded the car up,waited a little bit for his wife to come and take a few pictures. They were predicting a lot of snow coming(it was Dec.) so we left as soon as we could. It started snowing on us around Bristol and kept snowing all the way back to Charleston WV. By the time we got to the WV turnpike it was snow covered but I had a 4 wheel drive so I kept going. It was one of those trips you don't forget. I always figured we would cross paths at a race somewhere and I would be able to catch up on the history of the car but it never happened. Next thing you know 28 yrs. have gone by and I'm 58 yrs. old. So recently I started to try finding out more about the car. The info you have provided is much more than I expected to find. Many Thanks! I have learned that this car was indeed the inspiration for Scotty Cannon's first "CANNONBALL" willys built by Quain Stott. This was posted by Bobby Bennett,the editor of competitionplus.com on one of the Pro Mod boards. "Here's a bit of trivia linking two drivers. Scotty Cannon won his first crown after finishing No. 6 the year before. Quain Stott won his first title after finishing sixth the season before. Stott built Cannon's first Willys, and the Willys was not inspired by the gassers ... Cannon's Willys was inspired by a local favorite -- a guy named Sunny Chapman, who had a small block, with a Doug Nash. Car was called Bad Company."
Here is a drawing of my car that was in August,1985 issue of Super Stock & Drag Illustrated. There was no story about the car,they used to put drawings of different cars on the same page as editorial or tech columns. This drawing was made sometime when Sunny owned the car,the numbers on the windows are none I have ever used.
I put together this video with pics and video clips on history of my willys. I hope to be able to add more about earlier years soon.
That video was great. Your lucky to know so much of the history on the car. We weren't able to trace ours back very far. One of the gentleman that use to own it had passed away and his wife didn't know anything about it. Are you going to be at Beaver Springs in June?? Would love to see it in person. Gasser Girl
One of the original builders is still alive and I'm told that the guy that chopped the top is still alive also. All the previous owners except for myself lived around the Hendersonville area of N.C. After starting my search for info here on the HAMB, I have learned more than I expected. I hope to meet the original builder this spring but right now I don't really have any travel plans beyond that.
I added this short clip to another one of my car when it was owned by Sunny Chapman in Ashville N.C. Both clips were sent to me by Quain Stott If any of you have missed his thread on restoration of Gene Cromer's "Moonlighter" Willys,you really need to check it out. Gene (Moonlighter) Cromer's A/G Willys Resurrection
Harper's a good guy. do you have his contact info? if not let me know. I do. he's building cars for the great american race with flat cad power last time I talked to him.
I grew up going to Greer Dragway and live in Asheville, Nc. As a teenager Bad Company was my favorite race car. I just couldn't believe you could twist a motor that hard and shift like Sonny did! I love watching the videos on Youtube, they bring back a lot of memories.
I believe the first pass is at ShadySide Dragway in Boiling Springs, NC and the second pass is at Greer Dragway in SC.
What a great story and a great car. Nothing like the sound of a sbc hittin' the twilight zone...somebody ought to post this over on the 'best sounding motor' thread Sonny definitely had her wingin'... Thanks for posting & great ride you've got there, history & all.
The Jalopy Journal
