'41 Willys Retro-Mod Street Rod Coupe

’41 Willys Retro-Mod Street Rod
(more pictures below)

This project was inspired by many different fat-fendered coupes done in a variety of styles. In particular I would point out a metallic blue street rod from issue no. 4 of The Rodder’s Journal, a typical late billet era street Willys with a blown big-block Chevy and a nose-down rake, and a few years later, also in TRJ, a battleship gray ’40 Ford coupe, also big block powered (‘though not supercharged) and severely raked. This second car was featured at a time when TRJ had finally found its style and, although very modern underneath, was almost totally stock on the outside with steelies adapted to the big-power rubber it required. And then, about 4 years ago my friend Raul Perez did a hemi powered Revell ’40 Ford coupe with a Revell Willys street rod chassis underneath and a wicked lowered stance as well as some sweet and subtle chopping and sectioning on the bodywork.

All of these cars were swimming in my head last month when a whole group of superb Willys coupes started popping up on the ‘net, including a pair of shiny black modern street rods which really got me motivated to start a Willys of my own. A .couple of years back I had purchased a Willys kit from a modeling buddy that included an aftermarket resin chassis that dramatically lowered the Revell street rod. As many of you probably know, the stance on the Revell kit is undistinguished at best, being rather lamely nose-high with a pan flat stance. Unfortunately the resin caster that makes this chassis has developed a poor reputation for service and I felt that if I ever used the chassis the chances were slim to none I could ever replace it. So instead I decided to use it as a model for how to lower the Revell chassis myself.

So when I started this project I knew I would lower the car, but with a couple of super-fine modern street rods just completed I felt obliged to do something different. I decided to combine the depression era color of the TRJ ’40 Ford with the stance and powerful look of the late-billet Willys from issue no. 4. Raul’s ’40 Ford would help remind me of what a fine street machine should look like. The result is what follows, a Revell Street Rod kit with the front end lowered some 3+ scale inches for a pretty severe street rod rake, a Hilborn injected Chrysler Firepower 392 hemi adapted from the kit mill for some serious retro action under the hood, and a diamond tuft upholstered interior to extend the backdating to the driver’s compartment. The only bodywork was adding a hood scoop from an AMT ’49 Ford coupe kit. The color I chose is Tamiya TS-19 U.S. Navy Intermediate Blue. With a minimum of trim and the Depression era color I thought the car might straddle the line between Retro and Billet. I chose to use steelies finished in body color to emphasize the slick single color theme, but without any of the machined aluminum bling. I used AMT ’40 Ford fronts. The rears are AMT deep-dish reversed rims from a ’29 Ford Roadster kit, stripped of its chrome and with the centers drilled out to take baby Moon caps from an AMT ’40 Ford sedan delivery kit, which are also used on the fronts. Tires are from the kit.

Other than the radical drop on the chassis, accomplished by raising the entire front suspension assembly, most of the car is straight out of the Revell kit. The other major change, eliminating the billet style interior, was accomplished by using an aftermarket floor panel from Altered States Models which combines the tubbed rear from the Street Rod kit with the interior bits from the Revell Stone, Woods & Cook Willys gasser. I cut the centers out of the kit door panels and added diamond tuft inserts along with a rear panel of the same sort. Add in a pair of diamond tufted buckets from the recent Stacey David Rat Roaster kit and … Instant Retro! The Firepower valve covers and Hilborn injectors were left over from a Ross Gibson injected 392 I used a few months ago, and the really nice 7” injector stacks are from Speed City Resin. The Hilborn injector pump is from Altered States.

That’s it for modifications. What I tried to achieve was a blend of classic hot rod styling with the smooth monochromatic look of the Billet period which I have always felt was well suited to the Willys coupe. A modern chassis with lots of Old Skool vibes in the details.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.