Vehicle Description
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 panleading 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 cansee designers tip of the hat to the blue oval boys
with the slightly curved rooflinethat 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 hitskeep 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. Headerswork 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.
