Vehicle Description
1941 Willys 441 Coupe
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.
Only the 1941-1942 models were called "Americar", (441 and 442
models respectively), following the patriotic trend of the time.
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.
For consignment, a wild and wooly Willys, right out of the look of
1941. This street legal drag car has been 20 years in the making
and was completed in 2020. A consignor stated Keith Black 1966 Hemi
engine formerly used in a funny car is open for all the world to
see. We possess no documentation to back this up, so we'll take his
word for it. This is a sculpted fiberglass body on a tubular frame,
is painted in wild grape purple, and it has a beautiful gray/purple
accented interior with some conveniences.
Exterior
With front and rear bumpers as well as door handles shaved,
teardrop headlights, custom rear taillights and some massive side
exit pipes she's a runner and looks as though she's moving when
standing completely still. The purple uppers and fenders of the car
become curvaceous pieces of art framing large rubber below them. A
nicely rounded roofline melts into the trunk line which is flanked
by the rear fenders and rear roll pan which together they appear to
have the shape of CInderella's slipper. Up front, a curved vertical
ribbed grille is topped by a pointy V shaped but still bulbous hood
and the car looks great with or without it. Polished 15-inch Weld
Rodlite wheels are wrapped in deeply treaded rubber for both the
skinny fronts and steamroller wide rears. Lovely, yet frighteningly
fast in looks and performance. Purple rain?!
Interior
Slipping inside past the suicide hinged doors we are greeted with a
purple framed doors with very nicely sculpted two tone gray leather
curved panels. A billet locking assembly is seen within this padded
leather field. A purple suede strip is on for some highlighting as
well. Grabbing a spot in the bucket, in front of the billet styled
uber padded steering wheel, I plant myself in low back tuck and
roll insert and smooth bolster leather seats. These present in half
of the seat being light gray and the bottom half in darker gray all
leather. That purple suede strip is showing up on the upper panels
of the backs. The dash which is painted in purple, has a gaggle of
round shiny bezeled white faced instruments. These are TPI Tech
gauges and reside here along with some warning lights, and a few
billet style pulls. Power window toggles are here as well. Below is
wonderfully clean carpeting with a custom fabricated hump cover in
gray leather which is the background for the Lokar shifter.
Beautifully tight side panels and a near perfect light gray padded
headliner complete the comfortable look. Also noted behind the
seats is a custom fabricated shelf which houses an AM/FM/CD digital
radio and a storage bin behind a black padded white stitched door.
The trunk has been finished in gray leather as well and has side
storage which is hidden and a fuse panel on top neatly mounted into
the leather. Fab job!
Drivetrain
Under the hood or go naked with sans hood, is pure automotive art
in the form of a super shiny 426ci Hemi V8. Dual 4-barrel Holley
650cfm carbs are feeding it under a machine look blower and scoop.
Chrome valve covers add some extra bling to the Hemi and on each
side and these are capped with custom made headers. All braided
stainless hoses and HD Mallory ignition with red Taylor wiring are
used to help light the fire. On the back is a TH350 3-speed
automatic coupled with a Ford 9 inch rear axle. Pure machined
mayhem in this Hemi.
Undercarriage
Near perfection underneath with many polished parts, black painted
frame and floor pans, polished headers, and a purple bottom end to
the mill. Braided stainless lines snake their way around this
environment as well, and I see a rack and pinion steering along
with independent coil overs in front and in back, ladder bars with
coil overs. Wilwood disc brakes are all around and the polished
side exit pipes have no mufflers and peek out the sides of the
car.
Drive-Ability
These cars are waaaay over this writer's head, so I had my partner
in crime take me for a spin, and it was a neck snapper fer sur. We
experienced and I felt plenty of acceleration, good handling and
plenty of stopping power and with this car you definitely needit!
It had many creature comforts and all of the work. The radio and
horn were inoperable at the time of the test drive.
A true race car that can be driven on the street with awesome loud
paint, plenty of creature comforts, and all in pristine clean
order. Even the undercarriage you could eat off of, but please
nothing greasy! Show and go...like hell!
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.
