41 Willys

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:3dSMILE:

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.....

I love these!

Garstein, nice pics, and things look tidy. Have you had any difficulties with Street Beasts? Just curious, as many have complained about them in the past (mostly for their Cobra Kits).

I have looked at Streetbeasts for years....They had a bad rap a few years back...but when their Willys came out last year....I took a look....It looked so good that I bought it! They have come a long way! I am having a ball building this car and it is built by Streetbeasts very nice....I would recommend to anyone looking for a Willys Project.....I actually have another Streetbeasts Willys kit that I am looking to sell cheap, if anyone is interested...

I have an update on Cutting Edge Willys package.
I have been working on mine for several months
now and Have some new observations.
1. Body panels are very nice, composite material
is straight and strong, and light.
2. Kent Stauffer Racing frame itself is a high
quality piece, very strong, with very nice
tig welds throughout.
3. Ford 9" rear is a little rough. Some rust,
very gunky, Needs to be hot-tanked. I will
put in a new currie 3rd member.
4. Door hinging is a little weak, and rough.
5. Cowl area and above widshield needs additional
bracing.
6. Door hardware install was rough. Missing pieces,
lots of nuts,washers etc, jammed down into the
bottom of the door. Not complete.
7. Passenger door was cracked at the hinge, and
outer skin seperated from inner pannel.
8. Dash mount must be fabricated. Comes attached
with drywall screws.
9. Still havent received items that were paid for
in february.
10. The US distributor in Ohio has been very
difficult to deal with.
11. Car was delivered on an open trailer in the
rain, when it was agreed that the car would
be shipped in a closed trailer. Needless to
say, the car was full of water and full of
surface rust.

I went to the NSRA Nationals in kentucky, where most of the body manufacturers had there bodies on display, and I have to say that Nothing I've seen comes close to the quality of the Outlaw package.
If I had it to do over, I would wait for the Outlaw. No competition.

Jon.

I love willys! How is everyone making out with their projects?

Well, the first thing I had to do was find a buyer for the 55.. only room here for one hot rod at a time & I required the $$$ from the 55 to get started on a Willys. I happened to run into a local guy that runs a chassis shop (really does great work). I talked to him about my Willys plan & selling the 55.. he suggested I think about keeping the 55 & completely redoing it. After some serious soul searching & drawing up some ideas.. I've decided to keep the 55 & rebuild her. I would still like a Willys some day though.

Don,

Good move I love your 55 but dont worry you will have a 41 someday!

Thats tuff question...:whacked: That '55 has such a classic looking body style to work with and yours is already looking sooo good. But I can just visualize that engine from the '55 sticking outta the hood of a mean looking Willys coupe too....

Hmmm, I wish I had your problem in having to make that decission :3dSMILE:

Larry

Good to see you posting again Don.

Thanks for sharing that mental struggle. I'm not sure we talk about the hard decisions we wrassle with enough to let others know they're not alone. (No, I'm not going to call for a group hug here!:p ) But as a guy with a long list of "cars I'd like to have some day", I know what you mean. Sold my '64 Savoy SS clone three years ago in a snit and have been kicking myself since. Even tried to buy another one last week to duplicate that car, but got aced out. Probably just as well, don't need (yeah, like that really matters!!) another project at this point.

Thanks guys, this decision was not easy for me. I bought the 55 in pretty much the condition you can see in the pics posted. Like most things, the longer & closer you look at it. the more things you find that were done wrong :( I've found that redoing someone else's work is usually much harder than doing it right the first time. We first plan to to replace the frame rails & change the 4-link (installed wrong) to a 4-bar, replace the bed floor & re-tub with aluminum. Lots of other things to change/replace over the next year or so. I'll keep you posted. Don

Hey guys, any color on Bob Ida stuff? Wondering how his stuff compares to the outlaw stuff.

Thanks,
Jordan

(willys is on my ever lengthening list of cars to own :)

From the information I was able to obtain, the Outlaw package is superior.

Quote:

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Originally posted by JIMT
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.

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I am thinking about buying a cobra kit car, everything I need to build one except the motor and transmission. How much will it costs for the body and chassis, unassembled, including the wiring, gauges, lights, etc.

Quote:

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Originally posted by polarbear
I am thinking about buying a cobra kit car, everything I need to build one except the motor and transmission. How much will it costs for the body and chassis, unassembled, including the wiring, gauges, lights, etc.

---

bear, you'd be better off with that question on the sister site; www.clubcobra.com . The answer is all over the board, depending on what you value. If low price is your objective you sacrifice quality, market value, and esteem. If you're a value shopper then you'll pay more but also get more. And when the day comes around to unload the car, and that day WILL come, you won't lose as much money. (and you WILL lose money)

Hi,
I have an Antique and Collectable 41 Willys and it is top quality. There are no seams to fill anywhere. As noted all plastic cars have a few massage areas true. The fenders bolted right on and fit perfectly, the front end fit very well with only a small amount of planned trimming.. The alignment was a no sweat operation. The body and fenders and front end including making blind nut plates took only 6 hours to assembl. The motor bolted right in. Since I have their pro street frame the frame fit perfectly. I changed the rear end mount from a parallel 4 link to a true 4 link and there were some fit issues but nothing I couldn't work out and not unexpected. I just prefer the adjustability. Even the glass fit. I have power window that I installed and they were not a big problem. Saved a couple hundred doing it myself. The car will be left unpainted for the first go around as it looks just fine gloss black now. It will take only a buff job to remove the scratches I put in.
A & C service is # 1. I call and they have the answer no bull. They are real down to earth people.
The body and frame were shipped the exact day promised and arrived totally undamaged (excellent carrier too) on the day promised almost to the hour.
If you are going to build a Willys...be prepared to have a black hole money pit in your shop. I had a carefully prepared Excell spread sheet 6 months inthe making which I threw out with the first order of parts.:eek: :eek:
If anyone wants more info try the e mail thing here or post a request for more inf. I'll tell y'all how it really is from real life experience no bull or dreaming or 2nd hand BS.
I just recovered from a major computer problem so my pictures are still in storage on some cd someplace:CRY:

Outlaw and Dennis Taylor bodies cannot be beat for quality. The Cutting Edge Willy's body I saw several years ago looked pretty rough by comparison, but they may have improved the quality of their product over the years. I can only respond to the one I saw. Even though Outlaw and Dennis Taylor bodies are more expensive, you will have a lot less body shop time in getting the panels straight and the door and trunk alignment correct.

I have a dennis taylor '41 willys body that I mounted on a '67 Barracuda chassis. I hand built the chassis and welded the frame myself using the front frame rails ,steering , suspension and brakes from the '67 cuda. The rear section has custom narrowed 2.5 x 4 inch rails w/heavy duty 5 leaf cuda springs and a narrowed 489 casting 8.75" Chrysler rearend w/ 3.91 gears out of a '72 challenger. The body fits great and looks great. The engine is a '77 Dodge 360 w/ a '70 340 sixpack intake and three Holy duces and a TCI Torqueflite 727 trans. I've been working on this project for six years and I'm going to shoot it myself w/ candyapple red next week. I drove it to a car show in primer and no hood and bare bones interior and won best unfinished of the show. I was really pumped after that.