GASSER MAGAZINE

528
O F L U S T O D D A R D
I’ve always loved the Willy’s coupes
and hoped that one day I would build one.
Back in the day I wanted to build a pro-street
but as the years passed I decided a gasser was
more my speed. I’d been looking for several
years when I finally came across a 1940 Willys
on eBay. It was a basket case but just what I
wanted. A few people bid on the car but it
never reached its minimum. I kept the seller
contact info and waited for a few months to
contact her.
THE BUY:
I live in Colorado, the car was in Chicago and
the owner lived in Florida. A family funeral
was going to take me to Ohio so I emailed the
seller to see if I could see the coupe on my
way back through the Midwest. I flew into
Chicago and took a cab to meet the brother of
her late husband. When the storage garage
was opened up, I could see that the car
needed a ground-up restoration. It looked like
all the pieces were there. One phone call to
Florida was all it took for me to be the proud
owner of my Willys. It arrived in Colorado
on a flat bed trailer, uncovered and full of
snow.
THE BUILD:
The next three years would prove to be challenging.
The coupe needed a complete frameoff
and rotisserie restoration. The frame was
blasted and then powder coated in a semigloss
black paint for a 60’s appearance. All the
rear end components were stripped painted
and/or chrome plated. The rear end was not
centered in the wheel wells. The front springmounted
axle also needed relocating and
extra gussets added for rigidity.