Lynn Park's willys is featured in the April 2008 issue of Street Rodder Magazine if you want more inspiration.
You should also see the April 2013 issue of Street Rodder Magazine. There is a 40 Willys deluxe coupe built in a similar style.
The next things I wanted to improve was the shape of the right front fender, and the widened rear fenders. The shelf behind the seat is missing so I will make a new one. And the car has been checked, the idenity , weight and meashurements. I now have a clear title and license plates.
When I had modified the rear fenders I focused on the tailpan it was pretty bad, hammered, welded and not the correct shape. Therfore I called Lee Kay, Kayskustommetalworks. And ordered a new tailpan, much better,Thanks Lee. Then I made my own panels on each side. The headlights where pointing in every direction so I made new panels around the headlights.
Some new pics, when I changed the tailpan the trunk lid didnt fit, had to modify it a little. I have also made a new floor obove the rearend. And filled a lot of holes in the firewall, and installing a Chrysler Voyager seat. The seat has the right width for Willys. The modifications around the headlights are also finished I think most of the welding on the outside of the body is done.
Nice project and work so far. The new grille looks much better Guess I will be seeing it at car meetings soon Is the blue 32 in the background of your avatar picture yours also??
This Willys is confusing the hell out of me. Bumpers and front sheetmetal are 1942. Floorpan appears to be 1941/42 type with drop down section at rear to accommodate 1941/42 104" wheelbase chassis with 2" flare from just ahead of rear wheels. Rear bumper brackets exiting through rear fenders say wider 1941/42 chassis (1937-40 bumpers exit through notch in tailpan). Top mount wipers say 1937-40 body, as do the doors with one piece glass and the gas filler neck exiting through the body - 1941/42 gas filler necks exit through the RH rear fender. I am suspecting that this is a 1939-40 body that has been welded on to a 1942 floorpan and mounted on the 1942 chassis. If the oblong serial no tag is still on the front crossmember that will give the answer as will measuring the wheelbase - 104" makes it a 1941/42 and 102" makes it a 1939 Overland or 1940. Engine may well be a Willys Do Brasil - finned head looks vaguely similar to Kaiser Supersonic head I have.... http://ww2jeeps.com/engblk/Engheads/supsonhead.jpg
Hi you are correct about most things but I think the fllorpan is 39 or 40 because its to narrow for the chassis in the trunk area. It was modified for a home made gas tank therefore it looks like a 41-42 trunk floor. Iam not sure if the body is a 40 because there are no holes for side trim on the doors and quarterpanels, did Willys sell 40s without sidetrim? But the dash looks like a 40 to me.
Just to confirm the floorpan comment I made earlier, here is a shot of a stock, never molested, never repainted original 1941 Willys coupe which shows how the floorpan steps down at the rear. This was done to clear the new style gas tank on the 1941/42 - very different from the earlier cylindrical gas tank used from 1933-1940. Bottom photos show Kiwi Kev's 1940 coupe with earlier type floor pan - note also hole in floor for gas tank filler neck to pass through on earlier floor....
I have never seen a 40 without the side trim, but there were '39's with the same dash as the 40's...I had one. Still have the guage trim that fits the opening in your picture. More proof that with the Willys, you can expect almost anything. g-willys
Tomas, I have looked again at the photo of your rear floorpan and it seems as if the rear section has been home made to approximate the 1941/42 type step down floorpan. You still have the filler neck hole in your floor so that would suggest that part of the floor is indeed 1940. Your dash is 1940 for sure. But the notched fenders and the 1942 bumpers still suggest that the Willys may be sitting on a 1941/42 chassis. Do you have any photos of the X member and rear of your chassis. You can also measure the width between the frame rails where it kicks up over the rear axle - it will be 2" wider than the 1937-40 frame at that point - 43.5" or 1105 mm between the inside of the frame rails and 47"/1195 mm outside to outside. Your rear fenders appear to be modified 1939 Overland/1940. Although 1939 Overland/1940 rear fenders appear to be almost identical to 1941/42 rear fenders (except for the gas filler hole in the 1941/42 RH rear fender and bumper notches), the wheel opening in the 1941/42 fender is actually set about 1" further back, to accommodate the longer wheelbase of the 1941/42 chassis....
I have seen 1940 Willys trucks with two large round holes in the center of the dash a la 1939 Overland. All 1940 Willys coupes had trim - even the base Speedway model, which did not have the hood 'whiskers' of the De Luxe model. 1937 through 1939 coupes did not have body trim as far as I know, so seeing as how Tomas has a 1940 style dash in his coupe it could actually be a 1939 Overland body which shared a similar dash with the 1940 Willys - note running boards on the Overland coupe - these became optional in 1940 except on the Station Wagon where they were standard....
A few still down there but most are rough and prices are pretty optimistic when you consider shipping and import duties on top: www.arcar.org/willys-1940-59884
Weasel, Good examples and good explanations, as usual. My factory literature calls that model a '40 Standard...no holes in the bumper, no hood wiskers, and the shifter still on the floor versus the deluxe with the 1st year of the column shifter. I did notice an interesting 3 spears on the 1939 overland hood (between the louvers and hood top) from your South American ad. Never seen that before...South American add on ??? Also wasn't there a '39 with some gaudy chrome on the nose...I think called the Californian??? Where do you find all that odd stuff? One other thing...I was told that trucks sold in '39 did not have the '39 shark nose (had '38-model 48 stuff), and that all trucks with the '39 nose was put on after the fact...that info came from the late Wayne Artega, and the guy who restored the Hairy Canary '39 truck... can you confirm? g-willys
Many of the 1940 de Luxe cars were also shipped with a no hole bumper. The 1940 bumper with no holes has a distinct peak in the center. The bumper with the holes was weak and often replaced with the no hole type too. Early 1940 factory photos of the prototype 1940 Sedan and an early coupe show a slot type bumper. 1939 trucks were all Model 48 with the rounded 1938 nose. Dash was 1939 Overland type with rectangular glove box doors with two round holes for the gauges - this was also carried over to certain early 1940 models as I mentioned earlier. However I think this thread is getting a little derailed - my apologies....
Thanks Tomas - trying to get back on track, what are you going to do for an engine - stick with what is in there now or swap it out for something else?
I bought a 1941 Willy's Americar coupe when I was 16 (1953) for $35 and drove it all through high school with very little down time due to any type problem. Not a dent in it till I passed it on to my younger brother who promptly wrecked it. I think the junkyard gave him $15 for one needing a bumper, grill, and hood but which still run and drove fine. If only we could have seen the future.
I will swap for a small block chevy 350 with a th 700 transmission, Ford 9" rearend and Mustang II frontend .
A couple of suggestions for you, based on many years of playing with Willys - if possible retain the stock firewall for maximum legroom and use a crossflow radiator with electric fans set deep in the nose to get as much room for the engine as you can. This is how my Willys coupe is set up and it is amazingly comfortable. Also I use a GM 200 4R trans with a non lock up converter. This is the same size as the TH 350 (the 700 R4 is longer) but gives you an overdrive gear for easy cruising - this saves you from modifying the original X member. 70 mph/112 kph at 2100 rpm with a Ford 9" with 3.89 gears and 29" tall rear tires. I have pretty much the setup you are describing - heavy duty Mustang II suspension with a power T bird rack. The channel at the front is where the radiator mounts - cushioned by rubber....
The Jalopy Journal
