I was told today about a whippet roadster in a barn. I don't know the year or shape it is in. All I know it's been in there a long time. I don't know much about them. So my questions are. Is there anything to look for on them. And would their prices be in line with model a's. I don't even know if I will be able to look at it. But if I can I want to make a offer right then.
Made by Willys Overland in the twenties, they were a popular car in the Ford class, Willys low priced offering. They were stylish and fast but the motors did not stand up. To get the performance they were geared low and high speeds (anything over 40 was high back then) soon wore out the motor. By the way they kept making the motor, with improvements. By the time they built the Willys Americar 1938 - 42 they were a good motor, then they used it in the Jeep and they turned in an outstanding record of service. Last used in the early fifties in Jeeps and Henry J cars. If the car is complete it should be restored or, if possible, put back in commission with minimal changes. The are not a good candidate for a hot rod. Of course you can make anything into a hot rod if you throw away everything but the body and start from scratch.
Whippet 1927-30, very rare, but rare doesn't mean valuable. If it needs parts they will be very hard to find, no repreductions. And most of the generations that would be interested in it for restoration are dieing off with age. I'd think the most value would be to a hotrodder that wants something different. I think a Model A would be worth more because of the demand for it. The lack of parts availabilty and demand would bring the whippet down. Price is how much you like it.
I think the would be worth more allso. But I know it might be the only time I get to make a offer. That if I get to look at it.
Right now the economy sucks, everyone is broke and nobody has money for toys like old cars. So if you find an extremely rare, well preserved old car better scrap it fast because it isn't worth anything. Or you could save it and hang onto it until it is worth something. Just ask some of the old timers about the cars they sold or junked for pennies that later were worth big $$$$$ bucks.
I am a hoarder. I hang onto everything I buy. That's my problem. I spend my money on buying and don't fix. My wife is starting to put her foot down now.
I disagree - they make a bitchin alternative to the model A - if the 1926/27 model T guys haven't stolen the grille shell....
There is another thread about a guy who is taking another extremely rare car and rodding it. I'm not here to tell anyone what to do with THEIR car, but if it is indeed a Whippet roadster, I would restore it or sell it to someone who will and then build something more common. My 2 cents worth.......
It is called sarcasm. Lately I have heard of some very rare, potentially valuable cars being scrapped or hot rodded because the owner could not sell them for as much money as he wanted. 10 or 15 years ago similar cars brought big prices. I predict if the economy improves, in a few years old car prices will go back up again. Many people in the old car hobby can tell you about selling cars and parts for "peanuts" that later were worth thousands of dollars. It happened before and it will happen again. They made a lot of Whippets, they were the #3 or #4 best selling car of their day. But not many survive because they wore out quickly unless you babied them. Will they ever be worth a lot of money? I don't know. They are a pretty little car but were never an expensive car and are now largely forgotten.
The Willys Americar and Jeep flathead 4 cylinder were based on the Whippet engine but much improved. From memory, they increased the engine life at full throttle from 29 hours to 200 hours and doubled the horsepower. That may not be exactly right but it was a very impressive improvement. This was when Barney Roos was in charge of Willys. If the Jeep, Americar or Henry J engine would fit the Whippet it would make a great little car. I don't know how much they changed it externally. They did change to insert bearings, full pressure oiling, and other internal changes.
If its complete it would stay that way. If not maybe 32 rails for it. I just hope he lets me get in and look at it. If he does I'm that much closer.
Something about the Barney Roos redesign of the Whippet engine. My facts were a little wonky but I had the drift of it. "Had Barney Roos been hired by an industry giant -- General Motors, perhaps -- or even a well-financed independent such as Packard or Nash, his obvious course of action would have been to design a new engine from scratch (something he had done several times). However, at Willys that was impossible -- the company was virtually broke. So the resourceful Roos wrought a low-cost miracle. Taking that venerable Whippet-cum-Willys 77 four-banger, he tunneled out the intake ports and increased the diameter of the intake manifold. A Carter 1-1/4-inch plain tube downdraft carburetor was fitted. The compression ratio was boosted from 5.70:1 to 6.48:1; Aluminum pistons replaced the old cast iron jugs. Cleveland graphite micro precision bearings and manganese valve springs were fitted. The crankshaft was strengthened and counterweighted. A quieter air cleaner and fan were devised. Taken together, these modifications raised the horsepower from 48 to 61 and resulted in much greater durability, as well. Just to be sure he had it right, Barney directed his staff to run test engines wide open (4,400 rpm) continuously for 100 hours. That kind of abuse would have destroyed the original engine in short order. In fact, a test in which one of the older jobs ran for 22 minutes at 3,400 rpm resulted in scored cylinders and burned-out rod bearings. But the Roos-designed version held up admirably. The initial application of the Roos engine (eventually dubbed the "Go-Devil") came in 1939, in a new Willys model bearing an old name: Overland. It bristled with improvements, including hydraulic brakes and a larger capacity cooling system. Beneath it all was a stout new frame, reinforced by a rugged X-member. By any measure, it was a much-improved car with a much-improved engine. Without knowing it, Bantam and Willys had separately created what has become known as the jeep. Bantam, with its original body design, and Willys, with Barney Roos's "Go-Devil" engine, had conspired to lay the groundwork for the vehicle that would change the face of modern warfare and continue unchanged for generations to come. However, the two companies were still far from sharing their information. It would take the U.S. Army and a world war to bring them together."
I'm not sure what there value is, but I never see them at any shows... I would def check it out. By the way my avatar, is my 29 willys whippet body cut down to fit on an model a chassie.
If it is a 29-31 they are larger than a model A Longer wheel base and more room inside. Frame is good and easy to box. Floor is all wood
I did find some more out about the car. But won't be able to go look today because of work. I was told it was missing all the wheels and the hood. No top or interior. It is rusty but not rusted through.
Impossible to know that reading it on a post. You might want to use the rolling eyes emoticon rolleyes or something to make that clearer to us.
With scrap prices high. I see tons of cars and trucks going into the yard down the road from the landfill I run. There are a million places around here that have ten or so old cars sitting. That's a pretty good chunk of change for old folks living on a fixed income.
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