History The Planets Align & I Buy a '41 Willys Coupe: Can you help track its racing history?

Man what a great film, Now That is a Great find!

 

G, I do think this is the same car, but I can't confirm it just yet. I think the reason no one up there could reach him is that by the time the ad ran in the Line Chaser, the car was already in Texas. Yes, it was ridiculously cheap. I never got any contact info from Richard for the guy they got it from up there.

That would be great if you could ask around about Shipshock.

 

Brian, I'll check the photos I have for a history of Mn Dragways project I'm working on. I just got 2000+ pics and slides from the opening of the track to the early 70's from John Foster Jr., his dad managed the track. I'll let you know if I find anything that might lead to the owner.

 

My buudy Ron Braun has been a GSTA member since the beginning and drove many of the GSTA dragsters, I'll check with him and see if he has any info, I'll be seeing him Tuesday.

 

My buddy Al talked to the owner of the Linchaser car and he told him it was sold already and going to be on a TV show, so I'm pretty sure it was the same car in the Linechaser ad

 

aWESOME VIDEOS THAT IS JUST WHAT I NEEDED THIS MORNING

 

Thanks for the update Brian....(post #307).... glad you found out more info about your Willys.

Looking forward to seeing the "build pics" & hopefully seeing it the next time we visit my brother in Dallas.

Have a wonderful Christmas.... ... No doubt Santa came early for you this year.... Dressed like a "Gas Monkey"..... L o L !!!!!

 

The red 40 Willys in this movie was awesome. Is that car and yours the same? Love the paint job on it. It looked like a fast motater for sure. Gran-ma. Funny.

 

Great car that is now in good hands...

 

Well, now we know where you got it from, congrats!
Any updates?

 

Congrats on the find Mr. Bass. I have a very soft spot for them as well, there is no feeling like it,, finding that Willy's coupe is well.... nothing like it. I wanted one since I was a kid and always told myself I was gonna find one, well I got lucky 7 yearrs later and found one. That was in 1985... the secound one I bought I found 2 years ago.. and those are the only two i have ever come across for sale and the rest as they say is history,, but I did not let them slip through my fingers either..

Looking forward to following the build and the history of this car and your talent..

Bash

 

Hahaha I was wondering when I would spot the thread on this car I remember watching the fast and loud episode where you bought it. Yea I watch that show main guy is a dumbass but they build good cars sometimes. Anyway I'm watching the episode and the mystery buyer shows up and it's boss's coupe and I almost went NUTz hollering to my wife about who was going to get out of the car and buy this Willys. It couldn't have gone to a better builder IMO. I agree with the build it your way crowd keep its heritage and or pay homage to it in your build but make it your way. Good luck. And awesome find. Congrats!


Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad

 

Awesome car I've really enjoyed reading through this thread.

 

ROCKET power!!!!!

 

Nice start to a bad ass gaser i know you will do it justice.keep us up dated with some build pictures

 

Brian, any updates on Willys?

 

Why are you not working on this car?

 

Porknbeaner has the absolute perfect engine for this car.
Original Olds race motor built by Chet something, complete with original fabbed sheet metal intake.
It's for sale, too.
r

 

i think you should sell this coupe to me !!!!!!!

 

COOL THREAD. GOOD LUCK BASS, THAT IS A VERY COOL CAR. ANY OTHER NEWS ON THE HISTORY? Knuck From Indiana.

 

Are there any updates on this one?

 

I was just thinking about this car, and found the thread, subscribed. Man if you can find some old picks of it racing would be the bomb

 

If you have Facebook you might want to check out the Minnesota Dragways page and see if they have pictures or info. https://www.facebook.com/groups/69286160134/

 

Hey Brian... any updates?

 

Inquiring minds want to know

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Wow. My opinion of you has now traveled way past the "oh fuck" mark......just so ya' know. Hope you are able to walk with just a little more pop in your step knowing that. Means alot. Talent, and luck do some crazy things on here. Congrats.

 

I don't have a lot to add to this thread just yet, but I'd like to give a quick update on the Willys. There really hasn't been much progress made on it since I first posted this, mainly because I own a shop and I rarely get to work on my own stuff...but to a greater degree, I just haven't had much extra capital to sink into it.

Right at the time I made the deal to buy the Willys, I was in the later stages of getting my '29 Roadster on the road. That was my main focus at the time as far as my own personal projects were concerned, and once I finally got that going, I had to switch focus back to working on the stuff that pays the bills.

So here we are two years later, and I finally had to make some tough decisions that would allow me to get this project underway...the biggest one of those was the decision to sell my '29 Roadster so that I would have the money to build the Willys. It left for its new home a little over a month ago, and since then I've started making some moves.

Another decision that had to be made was which engine to use. I went back and forth on that for a while...between putting an Olds back in it, and putting in a 392 Chrysler. The Chrysler was always my first choice, and I really wanted to put a 6-71 on it. When the car was raced back in the late '50s and early '60s, it ran 6x2s on the Olds. The thought of putting 6x2s on a Chrysler really didn't cross my mind at first, because I could see the car with a blown 392 and that was "it". But one day the lightbulb went off and I could see a way to keep some of the cars heritage, and use the 392 that I really wanted in the car.

So I made a firm decision to build the car with a 392 Chrysler (based on a nice '58 block that came out of Washington state), but rather than going through the added expense of putting a blower on it, I would use a 6x2 intake. If I built it right, the unblown and carbureted 392 would still make plenty of power, and the car would still be a handful to drive. And that brings me to another important note: I am building this as a dedicated street car, with the ability to take it down the strip occasionally....not the other way around.

I had a Weiand Drag Star 6x2 that would work for this combo, but it is the low-rise version which I was afraid would hurt the power output of the big Hemi. So I started looking at other options and came across an Edelbrock X-3 "Ram Log" Cross Ram. The only problem was that I couldn't afford it. Fortunately though, after the roadster sold it was still available and I was able to snag it for the Willys.

Here is the intake on my mock-up block:



I also just bought a whole slew of internal engine parts for the 392, including Ross forged domed pistons, a huge Isky solid cam, and big stainless valves. I'm using '55 331 "triple nickle" heads, and will do a light gasket match with the intake ports and manifold. If I figured everything correctly, I will end up with 10.6:1 compression. That should be enough to make some power and I'll still be able to buy gas at the pump.

Back at the Lonestar Roundup this year, I found and bought a complete '57 Pontiac rearend to replace the earlier Pontiac rear that was already in the car. The new rear came with a rebuilt third member with a '58 Posi and 5.57 gears. I think those are going to be way too steep, so I am looking at switching to a 4.30 or 4.56 ring and pinion. I may also need to step up to a new pair of axles.

To go with that and the Hemi, I'm weighing my options for a clutch and transmission. I have a nice Super T-10 4-speed that I've been saving for this car, but with such a low rear gear I am also considering a Tremec TKO600. That would not be "period correct" by any means, but it sure would make the car more driveable if it had overdrive....and it would still give the car a fighting chance to pull the front wheels off of the ground on the other end of the gear range. The Tremec's shifter location is variable too, so I could disguise it from the inside of the car to look like an old Hydrostick shifter.

For the clutch, I am looking at either a Ram single disc HD pressure plate with the sintered iron disc, or a McLeod twin disc. The Ram is half the price of the McLeod, but I'm trying to spend money where it counts on this car, and I may step up for the twin disc. I'm probably going with a billet aluminum flywheel with steel insert.

Along with the driveline parts, I've also bought some things for the car that it was missing. I bought a pair of original vent windows (it was missing one), a set of new rockers from Lee Kay, a pair of NOS Arrow headlight assemblies (just like the cracked ones that have been on the car since the '50s), a repro '51 Chevy accessory wheel (I'll use the horn ring and button from the original wheel that's in the car), an original Willys radiator (not sure if I'm using it yet), a pair of Anglia bucket seats, and a couple of different sets of Stewart Warner gauges.

I still need to find an original pair of Willys taillights, a good '41 grille, and a pair of rear window garnish mouldings. Other than that, I have almost everything for the body now.

Here is what the car currently looks like. I'm going to buy a pair of Radir pie crust slicks for the rear, and I would really like to go to a slightly smaller tire on the front. I'd also like to find a pair of magnesium Halibrands for the front, but I haven't had any luck there yet ($$$).

The original rear fenders are still in the trunk for the moment. I don't want to radius the wheelwells until I have the final rear wheel and tire combo and rearend mounted on the car.



I'll probably start a real "build thread" once I actually begin fab work on the car, but for now I thought this would be a good spot to share this...since the engine build has officially begun.

-Brian

 

Thanks for the update. I am excited to see this car get built.

 

Sounds like a great plan! I'm keeping an eye on the build, even if it takes more years to complete! If you can't find a '41 grille, a '58 Ford grille is VERY traditional!

 

Looks like a good plan Brian. Can't wait to see the build take place. Where did the roadster go?