Projects 1939 Willys

I have a nice 39 4 door stock driver that I'm thinking of making in to a gasser 392 4 speed. My ? is Re body to a glass coupe or build the 4 door

 

if you do build a glass bodied coupe i suggest you get a different chassis for it and leave the stock one alone

 

I would use the body but likely get a fibreglass front end to not butcher up the stock one. The stock 2 door sedan bodies used a welded in rear door , so if the 4 doors is holding you back, I would do that. Glass Willys gassers are way more common than steel, and that body would be way more comfortable than a coupe inside. You would even have room to do a deep set back on the engine if you need to since the front end is pretty short for a big block and rad.


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

 

I may be interested in the Stock leftovers.... Engine******* and such.

Jeff

 

Just don't understand why would you cut up a all steel car to make a glass car when the glass cars have a frame that is made to fit and work with the builder of the glass car. To me it make more sense to build the steel car and if you want glass just spend the money and buy the kit and build it. What ever happened with what they call Common Sense?????? I have a Willys frame for sale, a guy contacted me about buying and then when I talked to him on the phone he found a steel car with a frame and wanted to use the cowl/dash and rear wheel tubs and frame to build a glass body coupe, just didn't make any sense to me, all of the glass cars I have seen already have all of that built into them. Oh well I guess it takes all kinds to make the world go around. Build the steel car that you have after all a Willys is a Willys and if you have one that half the battle already, I can see cutting up a rough one to build a steel Coupe or Pick-up but don't cut up a nice steel car to build some low class Fiberglass Thing. Sorry but that is just the way I feel about rare Steel cars, before butchering up a steel one, Just go buy and build a glass kit car. I would pay 50,000 thousand or more for steel car before I would pay a nickel for a glass car. They made Fiberglass parts for these car to make them weigh less and go faster, not turn them into glass kit cars.

 

I know this is a hot rod site, but I wouldn't touch it. Stock Willys' are becoming as rare as stock 32 roadsters. Just build a glass coupe, if that's what you want and sell the sedan to fund the project

 

Or contact Randy Ferguson who builds a coupe rear to be welded to a sedan front

 

I hope its not the beautiful Gray car I looked at a couple months ago. It would be a shame to not leave it alone. It's a sweet car that should be preserved. There are plenty other incomplete WILLYS to make a gasser out of.

 

2 door sedans do not have welded in rear doors. Welding the doors on a 4 door will look the same when done A friend did his sedan that way and he made a real neat gasser with his. I have a real 2 door for sale in the classifieds. Build a sedan gasser with the car you have. I like them

 

It is gray I just got it though so don't know if it's the one you saw.

 

Just buy and build the glass coupe.
Seems like a no brainer to me

 

I could not agree with you more and if I had any plans to keep it I would not make it a Tupperware fake But I have no plans to keep it. I plan to move this car as soon as It done. I have a willy's a 392 and if I put them together I still have to cut up a nice car and as sad as it sounds there are a lot of people that don't care if it's real. Most of the guys buying Gassers now have never seen a real one. If I had it in my power all glass cars would sent over seas and never seen again.

 

It is, I talked to Johnny Z today

 

Well maybe we aren't on the same page but if your plan is to cut the Firewall and install the 392 and build a gasser then that makes sense. But if it is a nice stocker maybe try and sell it that way, but if you want to make a gasser do a nice job. As ME.Gasser said the rear door were not weld shut they use just the door skin and then leaded the door gap to finish the body. Hopefully if you turn it into a 2 door you disclose that it was a 4 door and not try to sell it off as a real 2 door. I am not trying to be a*****, but it would totally p$$s me off if I found out later it was a 4 door. Most of us Willys guys are true to what the car are so that we don't give each other a bad rep. A 392 Willys gasser would be great so that is the way to build it and sell it. Yes 2 door look nicer but in the case of a Willys the 4 door would be cool to after all there were some really nice 4 door gasser built back in the day so whats one more plus you save yourself a lot of work. Well hopefully you will have fun building it and who know maybe you will want to keep it after your done. Just use good judgement in what you do decide to do with it.

 

Why don't you post some pictures of it? You might find a buyer here.

 

Build that 4 door, twice as much Willys steel!!

 

heres my glass / steel coupe. saved the steel parts from going to the salvage yard, now I have a really cool car. some people don't have $50 to $60,000 for a real steel one

 

just do what you want, do you have $50,000 for a steel willys? mine came out great and I saved stuff that would've never been used, it would've just rotted away. I have a steel willys also and I am keeping it as true as I can but this glass car I did is so cool and I have had a lot of compliments on it and have been offered big money for it too. use the original chassis, frt suspension, steering, rear floor, rear fender wells, dash, door A pillers for the hinges, firewall, it will turn out great !!

 

@Carl La Fong is probably making a pretty good call in this one. I would be torn but if it is solid and complete enough to restore I may do one of two things make it a restored driver or peddle it to someone who would enjoy one that way.

Now just to answer the original question, if I was going to build it I would build it as a sedan. I am not normally a big more door fan but there were some fast Willys sedans built back in the old Gas Coupe/Sedan days. A hot rod Willys sedan won't be one that you can park in a row of identical hot rods.

 

This car is for sale in the classifieds.