It is clear I have to much time on my hands then money as I have started to feed my need for another progect car. Can I get a cliff notes version on the differences between a 40 Willys and a 41 Willys? Also did they make a lot of 5 window 41's? I prefer the 5 window look over the 3 window but there are very few out there. Thanks
the only major difference i know between the two is the grille i believe the 40 has just a rectangle opening and a 41 has the split kinda half-moon looking grilles but im by no means an expert all i know is i love the damb things and would just about kill for one i dont think ive ever seen a 5 window 40-41 i have seen 5 window 33-34,s though
Well if cash is an issue forget the Willys. A restorable metal car is worth big bucks if you can find one.....................
40 willys had wipers above the windshield 41 they were at the bottom of the windshield also steel is real
Added that tidbit to my bank of car knowledge. The grills get swapped around so much that may be the only way to tell on an original steel body. My daughter has been after me to find her a 40/41 steel body coupe for the past 15 years and they are about as rare as rooster teeth and from what I have seen it is less expensive to buy a Deuce three window coupe in like condition than a Willys coupe. They Ain't cheap.
All the Coupes were 3W. There were Sedans and 4drs though. Pick-ups were 3w also. Rarely ever see the two-piece grill. Most guys opt for the one-piece grill.
I was just gonna comment about the 3 or 5 window thing-never made a 5 window. Also the front clip from 40 or 41 will interchange with the earlier 37-39 with the headlight pods on top of fenders.
Some Austrailian made bodies were produced with an opera window making them a 5 window but I don't think that's what you're after. The fellow I bought my door handles from told me the 41's were thicker than the 40's (I don't have any 40's to compare). Headlight besels are different as are hood trim pieces.
Yes, steel is real, but in the case of a 40-41 Willys, fiberglass is actually available and semi affordable. I'd love to have a steel body, even know where one is sitting in a garage, covered with bags of pop cans, but he won't sell it. So I'll build my glass car and continue to kick myself for not buying the stock one I was offered, for $50, back in 1967.
Thanks to everyone for the input. I know steel is going to be hard to find and expensive but glass is not in my vocabulary. No offense of course to my glass friends.
Tim, ye of little faith. I've just got a burr in my ass for a steel 41. Given the abundace of them by the time I locate one I may not even have the itch any more.
I have a 40 Deluxe Willys! The deluxe part is just xtra chrome on hood! I also have 1940 ford Deluxe Coupe! Heres a thought if you can't find a willys without robbing a bank! You might try a 40 Ford coupe It is a 5 window way better to drive Willys are very hard to see out of! I always called a 40 Ford Coupe a Poormans Willys! Just my 2 Cents worth! Tks Bill
id rather have a glass willys than no willys at all.with the cost of a rough steel body ,and the cost to make it close to straight....to me its just silly to not build a glass car. if you really want a willys... i damn sure do!!!!!
Not little faith, just a hard one to find. Good luck! You are going to run a Y-Block of course. I like this one, certainly not like all the rest.
"Tim, ye of little faith. I've just got a burr in my ass for a steel 41. Given the abundace of them by the time I locate one I may not even have the itch any more." In the mean time I would look into some medicinal help for that burr. The last Willys I found was in 1982.
The dash on a Willys was different each year, that's one of the quickest ways to see what year the main body is, since most of the outer sheet metal will interchange on a coupe.
Glass vs. steel. Here it all the time. I think everyone on this board would love to find a steel willys body. I got tired of waiting. I have no regrets. I am having more fun with my glass car than any other car I have ever owned. I have over 500 passes in it now. Won some races. Been a feature car at a couple races. Been on the cover of several magazines. A few t-shirts too....Won Best Gasser at the Detroit Auto-rama, all out of a glass car. The money you will spend on a shit steel body will amount to the tune I could build 2 Rebel Reapers...the only drawback I see with a glass bodies are magazines wont do feature articles on them. Who cares, build the damn thing and go out and have fun!
You probably have your heart set on the Willys but I would go along with the '40 Ford idea myself, always been one of my favorites. I even got a 59A all built sitin' in a crate for it.
I think Don sure summed up what has worked for him! His choice to build one and have some fun - is sure one way to look at it. I'd love to have a steel Willys - who the heck wouldn't, but I'd also like to find a solid 34 roadster project I could afford . . . and it would be cheaper and easier to find. Maybe you build a fiberglass one and get a car on the road . . . while you keep looking for the 'hidden barn find' that could cost $75,000 to just START the project.
I see the old saying that opinions are like a..holes as everyone has one holds ture here. I do apprecaite all the input and after all I asked the question. At this time I will keep my options pointed toward steel but time and money may change my feelings and direction. Thanks
I don't know why everyone is so against the glass cars, we all know the willys from their glory days...the gasser years. The big names swapped all the steel over to glass as soon as the parts became available. Some of the most memorable cars were either glass or most of the parts on it were. I have built quite a few willys for customers and, 98% of them have been gassers and I crack up laughing when they tell me that it "has" to be all steel...you know, like the old days.. HAHAHAHAHA. My will pick up is in the Jackson brothers gasser files vol. 2 and its in there twice, once in the 60's running BB/Gas and once in the 80's running D/gas. The 4 piece glass nose has been on the car since 1965. I say build what you want, they way you want...we are all into these cars to enjoy them, and to drive them. You want to save money on a steel coupe and you like the 5 window veriety, buy an Australian body, they are inexpensive compared to the american ones. As for the difference between the 40-41, this could take a while. the windsheild wipers above the windsheild on the 40, below on the 41. The 41 also has a body line that traces the bottom of the windsheild and heads up the "A" pillar, the dash boards are different as Dave said, the grilles are different as well as the ornements and badges. The wheelbase on the 40 is 102" and the 41 is 104". The rear frame is wider on the '41 and the shape of the frame changed. The door handles and the holes in the doors are different, 37-40 have a riound hole and the '41-2 have an oval hole. The inside of the 37-40 doors have beads running horizontal, and the 41-2 are smooth. the american '41 coupes didn't come with running boards, they have rocker covers. The rocker panels on the '41-2 are taller and the floors are different. And remember with willys...anything is possible. They were notorious for using up their inventory on the next model year.
So what are the different kind of dashs? The body I have has drip rails and wipers on top but no dash. Are the door hinges different from yr. to yr.? Someone changed it to suacide and I would like to change it back.
The door hinges are the same, the aftermarket ones are very close. Your body is a 38-40, 37's dont have drip rails. measure your wheelbase if you have a stock frame and you can narrow it down more, the 38-9 dash boards have two glove boxes that are rounded and go from the windshield to the lower rail, the gauge clusters are huge and are in the center. The 40 dash has two flat glove box door,however only the one on the p-side opens, If I remember correctly the 40 has one big rectangular gauge cluster in the middle. There are plenty of other details but those are the main ones.
Just adding a few more "picky" details. '37's had 2 hood hinges like today's cars, All the rest up through '42 had a center piano type hinge that bolted to the cowl just under the windshield. 37-38 coupe tail lights were on a pedistal...all the others were not. 37-38 had the rear license plate on the driver side...the others were in the middle of the trunk. Not to confuse anyone, but in early '39, they had a model 48, which was nothing more than a '38, and had cable brakes. Before the end of '39 they had the Overland, which had juice brakes. The 40 deluxe had a column shift (1st year for it), but the 40 Standard had the floor shift. Bumpers on 37-38 were pretty much the same, and the rear bumpers were the same up through 40. '39 fronts were a bit different, and 1940 had two...the deluxe was slotted with a hole in the center, and the standard was the same shape, but no holes. 41 bumpers were totally different, a peak in the middle, and the 42's were different than any other year as well...sort of rounded. You can make most bumpers fit other years, because of the same body style. The 41-42 bodies were flared out in the rear floor pan, wheel well area to accommodate the wider frame. 41-42 bodies will fit all frames from 37 up, and 37-40 bodies can be made to fit the 41-42 frame with a little tweaking. 41-42 frames were a stronger design. 41-42 had an inside door lock stem on the passenger side, so there is a hole in the coupe door window moulding. The door latch part that goes on the b-pillar was different for many of those models as well, but I have made them work on cars that didn't come with them, so they are sort of interchangable. Last thing for now...all rear coupe finders will fit coupe models...37-38 (48) had large wheel openings, the rest were smaller, and the 41-42 had the gas filler hole in the pass. side rear fender, plus the bumper brace slot was in the fender (wider frame), not the body, as was 37-40...I know, I know...WAY more than any of you wanted to know...sorry about that...nothing better to do at this time of the morning. And as 58Fed stated with Willys anything is possible...I have turned up more weird stuff in my years as a Willys owner. g-willys
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