The 1950s were a race to excess among the major American car makers. Cars grew longer, wider, and more elaborately trimmed. Marketing intensified the fight for primacy; take a look at this ad for a 1955 Pontiac Star Chief – the driver is about three-quarter scale! Oh, there were a few small cars around – the Crosley, the Rambler, the Henry J. But the financial distress engulfing these cars’ parent companies was a perfectly clear signal that when American companies tried to sell small cars, the public wasn’t interested. If a buyer wanted a compact, he bought a Beetle. But mostly, he didn’t want a compact. Into this fray, Willys unwisely rode, to dish up the Aero line in 1952. Five Aero models were sold – the Wing, Eagle, Lark, Ace, and later, the Falcon, all on a 108″ wheelbase. Here on craigslist is a barn-find Willys Aero-Lark with an asking price of $8750. This car is in Roy, Washington, and you’ll need a trailer to pick her up.
The primary differences between the various Aeros were their motors, rear glass configuration, and available body styles. The Lark received Willys’ 161 cid Lightening in-line six-cylinder motor, with about 75 hp. Performance was good – thanks to the car’s light curb weight – and the Lark was a gas miser. The standard transmission was a three-speed manual but overdrive was offered. A four-speed Hydra-Matic could be had but only in the Eagle or the Ace. Thanks to a long engine bay, there’s plenty of room to swap in a V8! The seller doesn’t provide an engine photo but does indicate that the car needs its radiator re-installed and a replacement water pump. The market is saturated with Willys Lightening water pumps so parts availability can’t be the problem…. Is this a good time to reconsider the entire power plant?
The car cleaned up well after its two decades in a barn, but rust bubbles on the leading edge of the hood and who knows where else give me pause. The trim needs to be re-chromed – not a cheap proposition. No photos of the interior are supplied, but here’s a restored ’53 for inspiration. The interior has a very European feel with the two-spoke steering wheel and large, round gauge.
The tidy design integrating the tail lights into the fenders also evokes European styling, though some would say the lines are reminiscent of the “shoebox Ford” of 1949. But that’s where the resemblance ends! Ford Customs sell at twice the price of Aero-Larks, and it’s a rare 1950s European car that sells for middling four figures these days. Aeros were not popular in the day, and that malaise impacts today’s pricing landscape. This seller needs to consult Barn Finds, where a beautiful Aero-Lark is up for sale for much less than our subject car. And it runs and drives!
There have been a few of these Willys cars showing up recently. This one looks fairly solid.
I always liked the general look and dimensions. Sort of like a shoebox Ford. A mild restomod….maybe a crate 304, automatic and a nice interior.
Love the badging, front & rear. Kind of evokes a lowkey “superhero” persona.
I would guess the prices stay low because few people have memories of that car.
Willys at the time had the stench of death on it. It was in bankruptcy before the war, reorganized as a defense contractor (MB) and while it did okay during hostilities, they still didn’t have enough to get back into civilian auto manufacturing.
IIRC, the bodies for these were contracted out to Briggs. Willys just couldn’t afford the stamping equipment that was required for postwar cars.
Of course, in the end, Kaiser Industries stepped in – buying Willys, merging it with the remnants of Kaiser-Frazer, downsizing product to Jeep-derived trucks and government contracts, and selling the auto tooling and rights. Willys and Kaiser both.
But the Aero-Willys (its marketing name at the time) was, if the right car, at the wrong time.
That deal with Kaiser was interesting. It was driven by tax credits. Willys was not actually doing poorly at the time of the Aero. It was earning substantial sums on the Jeep, which it somewhat unwisely parlayed into the Aero venture. But Kaiser was losing money hand over fist, and had been for some time. Consequently, it had accumulated substantial tax loss carry-forward credits. If it combined with a money-making enterprise, it could shelter the income for years. The existence of those tax credits drove the deal, though Kaiser also felt the compact Willys would be a decent addition to his Henry J. That proved wrong, but the rest of it worked – for a while. The “downsizing” happened because the market was never amenable to either the Henry J nor the Aero.
Incidentally, today Tesla makes considerable revenue selling its environmental credits promulgated by the government, to less environmentally friendly entities. That’s not to say taxes make the world go ’round for Tesla – the company is much more than that – but the tax credits certainly help.
I understand the PC language, but quite a few analysts have pointed out that without those environmental rebates and running Bitcoin Ponzi, Tesla already was bankrupt. Taxpayers and racketeering propping it up. That is why Tesla wasn’t included in the Salton Lake mineral claims, which means GM, Chrysler (Fiat, Alfa), Ford and Toyota are the American based manufacturers who will be able to acquire resources to make batteries in USA. My understanding was Tesla couldn’t show their financials to SEC to qualify for a stake in minerals leases ‘auctions’. Now back to this Willy Aero: It’s already a gas mileage miser of the era. Which has historical importance. Europe was starving for fuel post-WW2, and of course Jeep would be highly aware given military connections. They were being responsible to domestic energy policies, fearing ending up like Europe, which we were heavily involved in those rebuilding years and certainly would be aware of the situation and resource shortages. I’d keep this gem original, but look for a modern transmission upgrade and fuel injection system. You’ll increase performance, reliability AND mpg. Highlight what it stood for. It was unfortunately something we should have paid more attention to. We are definitely heading to regulations on large displacement engines / ‘hot rods’. Exemptions will likely only be issued to V8 vehicles kept original, or, updated for fuel economy. Modifications that increase consumption probably will not pass inspection. Which don’t panic. The next phase of keeping modified cars on the road is electric and hybrid drivetrains. The young gear heads will be less about roids boys gatherings and geeking out on efficiency and projects that reflect those options currently only rarely done. There are shops already popping up that do electric drivetrain conversions in old cars that otherwise would sit in a garage. One shop bringing back anemic powered Fiats to life with hybrid drivetrains from new Fiat cars. Upgrading brakes and suspension as well. Dropping a V8 into this Aero would require brake and suspension work, and on a 4 door, it’s all investment lost. Keep it original in spirit for less expense, and something that stands for something historically important.
They made many CJ’s,wagons and trucks after the war till 1964. Hung on for nearly 20 years.
The name hanged on, yes.
Willys-Overland, the original company, was gone in 1954 – as Kaiser Industries (parent company of Kaiser-Frazer, Kaiser Steel, Kaiser Aluminum, and Kaiser Permanente, among others) purchased Willys. With all due respect to Michelle, I have to refer to my readings years ago – Willys was in trouble at the time, there was open talk of filing again for bankruptcy. Henry Kaiser, not so good with cars but a shrewd money man, saw a chance to unwrap K-F and get back into the business he knew – government contracts, in this case for military jeeps.
The company initially took the name Willys Motors (not Willys-Overland) and only in 1963 was it renamed Kaiser Jeep. That last was no reorganization; it was just a strengthening of Kaiser’s commitment to the company – something that wasn’t there in 1954, when Kaiser bought it simply because it was cheap and a challenge.
To give an idea of how strapped Willys-Overland was: As mentioned, the Aero body manufacture was outsourced. Meantime, the “Basket-Weave” station wagon and truck were given the style they were, because the stamping tools Willys had were primitive. What I’d read (David Halberstam) was, Willys CEO Charlie Sorenson had bought stamping tooling from a defunct appliance maker, and that equipment could only indent steel sheets so deeply. So Brooks Stevens did a styling exercise that put the Basket-Weave stamping in as swage lines to stiffen what otherwise would be nearly-flat side and roof panels.
Had Willys a choice, they would never have done that. And it took over 20 years for the Basket-Weave Willys wagons to become iconic.
Keep it stock and let it rock. The in-line 6 will allow you to time-travel with the utmost fidelity.
Right on right on. I’d freshen up everything and go through the brakes and suspension etc. There are fuel injection systems from BMW and Toyota that could be adapted to improve that 6 reliability, economy and longevity even more, and a transmission upgrade as well. That Aero could make 35mpg on the highway if properly done. No shame in that. And it will have enough scoot not to worry about acceleration. It’s a four door. You’re incognito cool. An original hyper mileage engineer, completing the project with the modern technology that it would have naturally gotten had we maintained sanity on consumption.
Forgot to say…”it’s buried under a big W”
WOW, talk about a true barn find!
The problem with the Willys Aero line of cars was that they were not priced where they should have been. A Plymouth was cheaper and had more power. This particular version will have a tough time selling as it has two more doors that most are willing to pay for a small power plant car. Nice design but not worth the money imho.
The Plymouth had an antique engine design only producing 100 hp out of 217 CID. The Willys Lark had a more efficient engine producing 75 HP out of a much smaller 161 CID, and the Ace and Eagle models had a super efficient F-Head engine producing 90 hp out of the small 161 CID. The performance of the Willys Aero’s was equal to or greater than the Plymouth since the Aero construction was a light weight efficient uni-body, instead of the heavy body and frame construction of the Plymouth. When new it cost Willys more money to produce their cars as compared to the big three, but with the Willys, you got a more modern, better handling, efficient design.
True, but they were considerably smaller and outdated looking , and a brand that was not as popular as Plymouth was.
Willys definitely knew when engineering the car about the situation in Europe with fuel supply limitations. Which drove efficiency in European cars. Look at Lancia and Alfa of the 50’s & 60’s. Americans forget those Italian cars beat everything on the track by focusing on light weight and better designs. Our corruption at the time was steel industry was used to the big production for the war effort, and lobbied car makers to buy more steel. It is a phase of American regression after just being pioneers in so many technologies. Paying war debts didn’t have to come with unintelligent mass consumption. Which we are still imbalanced from. We do it to ourselves. Disinformation domestically and abroad (Rushurrr Rushurrr Rushurrr!), but ultimately it’s on us as individuals to buy on logic and practicality. I am fine with vanity as long as there’s efficiency along with. Strapping V8 into anything that can’t pass a Ford Focus on the road because of insecurity is a mental participle that began at this fork in the road. Willys was trying to be responsible to national security on energy policy. Steel industry wasn’t ready to cut back or seek better outlets. Like maybe national commuter rail. Eisenhower meant well with National Highways, but that’s when it should have mandated tandem rail every mile of that project. Put that surplus steel into rail, and efficient cars mimicking the Euro efficiency would have avoided every war since WW2. Kremlin meddling only worked because of that same ‘V8 muscle car’ overcompensating boy mentality was embedded in DC as well.
I’m always suspicious when the car is photographed while wet. An old trick to make the paint look glossier then it is. Also, no pictures of the engine, interior or bottom side. And pretty pricey for this model.
Also wipe it down with kerosene is a good way to get a semi gloss look on a flat finish
I had a ’53 Aero Falcon which might have been the rarest model. It was an OK car but you could see that Willys didn’t have much money to work with; note the exterior-mounted trunk hinges and two-piece windshield. How many other cars still held on to a two-piece windshield in’53?
The 1953 Aero Ace and Eagle had one piece windshields, and many of the Aero models went to hidden trunk hinges in 1954. Willys wasn’t behind the rest of the industry here. Also the Aero was the first car to have parallel wiper blades for 1953 on the one piece windshield models.
I like these cars,the lines.I wish they would make a plastic or a diecast model of this fabulous car!
Caution to the seller: about a week ago there was a black four-door about like this – in similar cosmetic condition, except the ad included a spectacular video of the car running and driving on a track. At $7500, buyers were not exactly beating the doors down to get it. It may have sold by now, but I have no idea what price it finally got. https://barnfinds.com/bf-auction-1953-willys-aero-2/.
It sold for $7k.
These first stake at a subcompact/compact cars get none of the respect that they deserve. Imagine bringing out a Pinto or Maverick during the excess period of the 50’s. Big fail as seen here. The after fore mentioned cars did fine in the late 60s??early 70s. This car was way ahead of its time and deserves to be preserved and loved. I cant afford it, someone that can afford, please give this lost puppy a good home, pretty-pretty please!
I left a comment earlier that the price was too high and cited evidence by way of another Barnfinds ad of a few days ago. Regrettably, my comment was removed, as though it was some sort of a slur on Barnfinds. NOT intended. I only meant to caution the seller that his price was higher than that for a running comparable example posted a few days ago.
These were nice cars. In fact when they came out, I was of the impression that Willys must have been doing quite well to expand their line beyond those inspired by the military Jeeps. I was wrong of course.
I had a 1955 Willys Bermuda 2 door hardtop and I crammed in a Chrysler 383 with a B&M transmission in a Ford 9 in rear end what a very fast ride it was a two-tone red and white
I had a 1955 Willys Bermuda 2 door hardtop and I crammed in a Chrysler 383 with a B&M transmission in a Ford 9 in rear end what a very fast ride it was a two-tone red and white
Nice odd ball car. Clean lines and a simple design. Would love to get a look at it in person. Love the simplicity of a flathead 6 with a 3 speed. There does seem to have been a few of these popping up recently.
If it really only needs a couple things, and is solid underneath maybe the asking price isn’t that far off?
It’s the perfect car to try a hyper mileage update. Transmission with more gears and range, fuel injection and CDI ignition.. you could squeeze more power, reliability and performance without junk V8 swap that would ruin the car unless you overhauled and updated all suspension and brakes. It’s possible to squeeze 35mph on the highway easily with a properly done update that maintains the original spirit of it’s intent we should have followed, instead of thirst for wasting fuel that skews military efforts towards importing fuel so overcompensating dudes can pretend wasting fuel turns on the ladies. Such an odd concept the Kremlin Cold War propaganda successfully imparted to the low minds among us. It only worked because our schools de-emphasized science in grade schools (Ben Franklin wouldn’t have sat still!) until really Steve Jobs and Apple showed Wall Street the possibilities of technology taught to youth. We are still clawing out. We’ll make it, but that whole ‘muscle cars and blue pills’ sector frankly reporting directly to The Kremlin subliminally for decades, voluntarily. “Ladies, does my gun collection drop your undies?” took forever to open that closet.
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The fact that it is a 4 door makes it even more intriguing.
Hi folks, Seller here. I just stumbled across this. I’m glad she is creating some discussion. This Willys is part of my late father’s collection. We put the rebuilt water pump back in and a new battery and the motor turns right over. The radiator we have on hand is the wrong one so another has been ordered. Points, condenser, radiator, oil change, and fresh fuel and she’s going to be a runner. I drained fuel out of her yesterday and the underbody looks good. There aren’t many issues here. She was in the back of the barn which shows she was one of his favorites – kind of reverse pole position! She is a really clean platform for someone. Only 29k original miles and very clean. I think they only built 7000 of these Aeros total and there can’t be many still on the road in this condition.