Just curious here, but what is the most widely used engine for a street 41 Willis (both original and repoped bodies).
SBC if you are talking modern street willys, usually one out of box. Back when the Willys was mostly iron and a popular race car olds and caddies were common engines in them. A few ran flatties. There was a pretty famous Willys from Santa Rosa Calif that ran flatties well into the '60s. But back to your question the most common engine in a modern Street Willys as far as I have seen is an SBC. Sometimes the fair grounds cruisers use BBCs.
Those most widely used and abused motor in the world is a SBC, and for all the right reasons! But by fare not the only possible choise! The SBC was a instans hot rod hit, and a post '55 milestone! But other good alternatives I can think off: 500 Cad, 331 Cad, Buick nailhead, Buick 215, Y Block, Ford 289, Ford 351M/400, olds 318, Rover 4.9, little red hemi, pontiac 350 or any big hemi availible near you. Don't go for a SBC because, everbody dos it, or somebody told you it was the only mill that would ever work! There is only two good reasons to run an SBC; you got one, or you want one! But that can be said about any mill!!
Chrysler Hemi is still a very popular choice for many street driven Willys, whether old g***er style or newer; preferably with a blower. Also BBCs for a lot of the pro street style. For street rod type, the SBC seems to be used fairly common.
****--- You are one of only a few people (that I have personally heard) who know how to pronounce the name Willys. I have no doubt you will get plenty of responses to your question, so just a couple of personal viewpoints here. There was a time that I thought a Willis had to have a 392 and a straight axle to be cool. And even though I'm a SBC fan, they have kinda gotten ho hum too. I guess like all car builds it boils down to the look you want and the level of "wow" factor you are after. A big factor within the crowd that actually drive any distance with a car is parts availability when getting off "the beaten path". Anymore even SBC (gen.1)parts are being stocked much less than they used to be, even at places like NAPA. It has gotten where it is pretty difficult to come up with new ideas for drivetrains, especially without putting yourself "in the pour house" by the time your finished. I will say that if you are fortunate enough to be starting with an original steel car, money might not be an issue. How about a R2 or R3 and most importantly a T-10.
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