1939 Willys 48 Series Sedan

The Willys Americar was a line of automobiles produced by Willys-Overland Motors from 1937 to 1942, either as a sedan, coupe, station wagon or pickup truck.  The coupe version is a very popular hot rod choice, either as a donor car or as a fiberglass model.  The car started production in 1937 with somewhat traditional styling, a product of the internal reorganization that turned Willys-Overland Motor Company into Willys Overland Motors.  It was itself an evolution of the aging Willys 77.  When Joseph W. Frazer joined the company in 1938, he decided that a modern-looking and cheap compact car was the answer for the struggling Willys.  Models 37, 38 and 39 gradually evolved into a more Ford-like appearance, culminating in the very much DeLuxe-like 48 Series model.  Only the 1941-1942 models were called "Americar", (441 and 442 models respectively), following the patriotic trend of the time.  It sold 22,000 units in 1941 and 7,000 more in 1942.  Its price was about $630.  As war broke out, civilian production was abandoned by all US motor companies, in order to assist the military, and the Americar was no exception. 

It was the car for everyman, although there were relatively few takers.  “On the reefs of roast beef and apple pie are socialist utopias of every society sent to their doom,” spoke Warner Sombart to the possibility of a Marxist-style revolution of the proletariat here in America.  In other words, fat chance.  Mark it down to the shortage of dedicated proletarians and so it went for every automaker that decided that America needed a proletarian car.  All met their downfall in the creampuff Oldsmobiles on the menu at every used car lot.  But the few that survived are cherished by their owners because let's face it...not everyone wants a Chevrolet, Olds or Ford.  That is exactly the case with the consignment, a hot rodded and flame laded Willys 48 Series sedan.  While keeping with the true to form Willys theme for the rear 3/4th of the car and then adding in a 1941 front clip and nose for a little extra pizazz.  Couple these great street rod looks with a worked over V8 under the hood, a snappy 2-tone interior and front disc brakes courtesy of GM.  This Willys in Darth Vader-esque black is one of our low hanging fruits ripe and ready to be plucked from our Hallowed Halls. 

Exterior
Very straight rust-free all steel panels with well minded gaps adorn all aspects of this 2 door sean.  The front clip is now from a 1941 Americar with its simple electric razor style front grille and bumper delete roll pan leading the way below.  The long beak-like hood leads back to an oval single pane lightly smoked windshield and on either side is a shiny Willys badge that looks just fab.  Chrome bezel headlights lead the way on the bulbous pontoon style front fender which diminish into the rear of the front fenders.  From here we can see designers tip of the hat to the blue oval boys with the slightly curved roofline that leads down to the sharply sloped aft section of the car with yet another tinted oval piece of glass and exposed chrome hinged trunk lid.  On the back are less bulbous rear fenders that melt into the rear roll pan holding the teardrop tail lights within shiny bezels.  The body is drenched in a deep end of the pool application of sinister black, (cue the Death Star), and a yellow nose leads rearward, transforming in licking yellow and orange flames with some cool fuschia and blue tips at their ends.  15-inch Rocket Racing wheels with polished lips and gray spokes are wrapped in skinny 185/65 radials up front and wide wide wide 295/50's in the rear.

Interior
Opening either of the doors we see an interplay of smooth black vinyl, vertical black tuck and roll vinyl, and black carpeting on the lowers all accentuated by red vinyl insert that mimics an EKG readout before turning into an outcropped armrest/door pull.  Moving inside I can easily park my posterior upon either of the medium back black and red buckets in the front.  Smooth black bolsters lead the charge for these seats and surround tuck and roll red vinyl inserts and some red piping is on for extra WOW looks.  A small storage area is behind these seats with the sides done in door matching red and black vinyl.  Racing between the seats is more black and red vinyl covering the custom console that races up to meet the dash and holds a pair of stainless cup holders along with the automatic shifter and a Pioneer AM/FM/CD stereo.  Up front a black metal dash has been fitted with the full gamut of silver face AutoMeter gauges along with a few indicator lights and a row of toggles down low.  Fronting this "killer" dash is a polished adjustable steering column with an AutoMeter tachometer strapped to the left side and sports a modern take on the banjo steering wheels of yore bolted on top.  Above is a tight paneled red vinyl headliner and floating all this is clean and plush black carpeting.  Also, a note to the trunk which has also been finished in black carpet and holds the stainless steel fuel cell.  All in very nice condition.

Drivetrain
The hits keep on coming with more eye candy under the hood in the form of Chevrolet 355ci V8 engine.  It is painted gloss black and has a single 4-barrel Edelbrock carburetor on top of an Edelbrock aluminum intake manifold.  A 3-speed TH350 automatic transmission is on back with a 10 bolt rear axle turning the tires.  All presenting well and very simplistic.

Undercarriage
As one would expect from this build all we see is nicely undercoated rust-free surfaces and barely any surface rust.  Giving the smooth ride is independent coil spring suspension up front and a ladder bar and coil over system in the back with disc brakes in the front and drums out back.  Headers work their way down from the engine and join up with Turbo muffler equipped dual exhaust on the journey to the back through the near perfect black metal field.

Drive-Ability
It was a bit of a tight fit for my crack decoder and myself as we squeezed into the front buckets, (thank the lord he wore deodorant).  It started right up with just a quick pump of the throttle and after a brief warmup we were off to the test track.  Here it ran very nicely with more than adequate power, good handling, bias free braking and smooth automatic shifting.  Everything was functional at the time of my drive, however I wasn't able to find that pesky Skywalker's X-wing fighter during my patrol.

A rarely seen model from the nearly the end of an era for the Willys group.  Hot rodded and modernized to a degree but still retaining the wonderful Art Deco styling combined with simple Willys charm that works together to bring this overshadowed model to the forefront.  Why not let this pre-war gem become the apple of your eye and when you drive off it will be a day long remembered.

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.