Willys Americar
Encyclopedia
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 pick-up truck. The coupe version is a very popular hot rod choice, either as a donor car or as a fiberglass model.
. 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 '40 model.
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. Howewer Willys was one of the companies awarded a contract to produce the highly successful Jeep
. After the end of the war they managed to secure the trademark on the "Jeep" name, and the much higher sales of its civilian "CJ" version kept the Toledo firm from resurrecting the pre-war models, sealing the fate of the Americar. Despite failed attempts in 1940 and 1945 (both times with Frazer's 6/66 prototype), the 1942 Americar would be Willys-Overland final "civilian" passenger car model until the Willys Aero
, ten years later.
Models
There were three variations -- Speedway, DeLuxe and Plainsman -- offered, each with a coupe and sedan, plus a DeLuxe four-door woody wagon.
History
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 77Willys 77
The Willys 77 was an American car first sold in 1933 by Willys-Overland from Toledo. It was a successor to the Willys Whippet.In the same year Willys-Overland went into receivership but the 77 was still released on the market....
. When Joseph W. Frazer
Joseph W. Frazer
Joseph Washington Frazer was a 20th-century American automobile company executive employed in succession by Chrysler, Willys-Overland, Graham-Paige and Kaiser-Frazer Corporation...
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
1937 Ford
The Ford line of cars was updated in 1937 with one major change — the introduction of an entry-level 136 CID V8 in addition to the popular 221 CID V8 unit. The model was a refresh of its predecessor, itself based on Ford's V8-powered Model 40A and was the company's main product. ...
-like '40 model.
The Americar
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 US$ 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. Howewer Willys was one of the companies awarded a contract to produce the highly successful Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
. After the end of the war they managed to secure the trademark on the "Jeep" name, and the much higher sales of its civilian "CJ" version kept the Toledo firm from resurrecting the pre-war models, sealing the fate of the Americar. Despite failed attempts in 1940 and 1945 (both times with Frazer's 6/66 prototype), the 1942 Americar would be Willys-Overland final "civilian" passenger car model until the Willys Aero
Willys Aero
The Willys Aero was a line of passenger cars manufactured first by Willys-Overland and later by Kaiser-Willys Corporation from 1952 through 1955. The father of the Aero was Clyde Paton, former engineer for Packard Motor Car Company. The Eagle and Lark models were built from 1952-1954...
, ten years later.
Models
There were three variations -- Speedway, DeLuxe and Plainsman -- offered, each with a coupe and sedan, plus a DeLuxe four-door woody wagon.
Hot rod career
Critical engine failures, lack of reposition parts and the sheer lack of assistance from Willys turned many Americars into perfect targets for the nascent hot rod community - the "Go Devil" engine was replaced with many other alternatives, some weaker, some much stronger than the original specification. It became such a favorite that today a 100% stock Americar is a very rare find.