Thread: 41 Willys

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I've had a burning desire to build a 41 Willys for years. Lately, the urge is getting very strong. I've been checking into several of the the manufacturer's of 41 glass coupes, but without any feedback from actual owners, it's difficult to sort them all out. Anyone have any information about these... or know someone who owns one? I like the looks of the Outlaw body & frame package, but there's some out there that appear to be similar for substantially less $$$ Any feedback would be welcomed... thanks, Don

Street Beasts out of Florida started offering one last year but after seeing a couple of the 427 Roadsters they make I would be a little cautious. Granted they are using different molds than the roadster but the body lines and panel fitment were not up to a standard I was willing to pay for on a Cobra.
I talked to one of their customers that was in process of building one of the roadster kits and the body guy they were using is fairly well known and he was estimating about 100 hours of body prep to get it ready for paint.

Just my opinion for what it's worth.
Sorry I couldn't give you something better.

Thanks Xlr8or, I've also heard that these folks cars require lots of hand fit & finish time. I spent an hour talking to an Outlaw dealer yesterday. He has convinced me that the additional $$ for an Outlaw is well worth it. I'm thinking of selling the 55 as a roller & transplanting the 502 & TH-400 into a Willys. It looks like there's a 10 month wait to take delivery of a completed frame & body package. I can use the time over the winter months to freshen the motor & have the blower overhauled. Maybe my 40 year dream of owning a blown Willys might come true

I've always liked the 41 Willy's too.

But I have my sights on a big block Cobra or a Daytona Coupe.

I just don't want to sell my 40 coupe or my truck to do it so I wait..... hopefully by this time next year I'll be building one.

Good luck on your 41.

Hey Don,

There's an old saying, goes something like this:
"The bitter taste of poor quality lasts far longer than the sweetness of a low price".

Street Beast builds DOWN to a price, not UP to a quality level. This company is the latest incarnation of the old Classic Motor Carriages out of Miami, a company (CMC) who was famous for giving the shaft to a very long list of customers. Word is the Street Beast people are trying hard to clean up their situation, but the product still speaks for itself.

I've known two guys that have built Outlaw cars (both 34 coupes) and both just raved about how little work was required to get the body straight for a first class paint job and fit. In the example above, if you even take a modest hourly rate of $40.00 per (about 2/3 of what it would be here locally) that 100 hours would mean an additional $4000.00, and that's just for the appearance part. The structural, both body and chassis, may still be suspect unless more dough is tossed at it.

There are other quality Willys producers as well, Dennis Taylor for one. You may want to do a little more research, contact the vendors and some customers, and get a feel for their quality attitude, and then narrow your list.

Keep in mind too that building a car is always more expensive (in real cost) than buying a comparable one that is already finished from a private party. You end up making some compromises on certain features (either color, upholstery, engine set up, etc) but the potential for saving money can sometimes offset any one of those items, and the time to getting it on the road will be substantially less. Of course you still need to do your homework, and give the car a thorough going over to make sure you're not buying someone elses heartache, but good cars can often be had this way.

Another alternative (albeit one that takes some serious hunting) is to find one that's partly done (the more the better). The world is full of projects where some guy thought he had the drive, skill, pocketbook, time, space, commitment, family support, etc. etc. etc. to build a car from the ground up (even starting with a good basic package) and then he gets into it and finds out it'll take twice as much money and three times as much time to complete as he figured. He loses interest, the car collects dust, the wife gripes about how much money he's dumped into that "pile of junk" taking up the whole garage, and whamo!!! At first he tries to sell the pile of parts for what he's got in it and thinks the rest of the world should accept that that's reasonable. After a couple of months of not finding a good hearted soul to bail him out he might come around to the reality that he's going to have to take a loss. Is this unfair? NO! It's the way the world works. Unfinished projects aren't appealing to very many people, so there's a pretty short line of buyers willing to bid up the price. Well FINISHED cars rarely fetch a price anywhere near their cost of build, and those that do are an exception not the rule.

Time to put the happy face back on! Willys coupes are way cool! I hope you make a good choice and find the one that fits your need. Just take your time and check out all the alternatives, you've made a good start by checking here.

Take a look at Antique & Collectibles-they recently began offerring a Willys. They recently had a car on the cover of Kit Car. I just finished one of their Cobras and I'm thrilled with the quality of the car and the customer support. They also give you two years to pay the car off. WWW.ACAUTOS.COM check them out, I'm glad I did.

One of my best buddies just finished building a Dennis Taylor '41 Willys (photo attached)... Like all repro bodys there were some areas that needed a little work but over all I thought the quality of the car was very nice... I would be happy to get you intouch with my buddy, he might be able to answer any questions you might have... You can drop me an e-mail if you like and I will give you his e-mail/phone number... My address is...

dangeroustoy7@yahoo.com

Dennis Taylor Reproductions number is 501-675-2870

FYI: This car is currently For Sale... As of last week it had less than 10 miles logged on the odometer... Everything new Corvette LS1/6 speed, 18's front, 22's back, air bags...

Hope this helps...

Dave Brisco

P.S. I added a few images of this car in my photo gallery if anyone wants to see some more shots of this car...

Thanks guys, I'll be sure to check these out before I decide on anything. Over the years I've made lots of BAD mistakes building cars...mostly due to a lack of feedback from folks that have "been there ..done that". This will probably be my last project car, so I want to be sure that I'm headed in the right direction. Thanks again, I really do appreciate the input. Don

Check out Cutting Edge Street Rods.

http://www.cuttingedgecomp.com/rods/

I Received my 41 Willys body about a month ago
and I have to say that I am extremely pleased
with the strength and quality of the body and
the frame package. The body has no gel coat,
it comes primed. They are a fairly unknown company, at least in my neck of the woods, so
I kind of took a chance on them. Worth a look.
Jon.

Jon,

If your door, fender, hood, etc. gaps are as nice as the ones on their demo photos that alone saves a bunch of time/$. If the primer they use is thick enough for a thorough blocking job, all the better! Very impressive!

Below is a link to hotrodhotline's Willys ad forum... There is an ad on this page listing a Willys that is For Sale that is unfinished for $18,5... I thought it looked like a good deal and remembered this thread so I thought i'd post a link just incase anyone was interested in looking...

http://www.hotrodhotline.com/bazaar2/willys.shtml

Dave Brisco

Hi,
I'm not Willys fan but check this page out: http://www.larsab.se

I was there in Sweden in step 1 course last winter and I know this guy (Lazze) is a Wizard.

Jani

That is some great stuff!!! Thanks for posting that link...

Dave Brisco

I am currently in the process of building a Street Beasts 41 Willys...I know it's not an Outlaw or Dennis Taylor but it is an excellent kit right down to the frame. I don't have the money for an outlaw or DT but this Willys will look great when its done for about half the price. If you are looking for a fun time building a project with not a lot of money, I highly reccommend the Street Beast kit....

Here's a pic of the body.....not bad at all.....