Still In The Barn! 1932 Willys-Knight 6-90

Socked away in 1970, this never-restored Willys sat idle while decades slipped away. Someone’s dream of restoring this handsome two-door sedan never came to pass, and now the 1932 Willys-Knight 6-90 in Medway, Massachusetts comes to auction here on eBay. At least five bidders have the sidelined classic’s market value over $1500 with about a week to go. The seller-referenced “6-90” refers to this vehicle series, but not a specific body type as you’ll find 6-90 roadsters and four-doors as well as this two-door. I found Willys-Knight cars with both the horizontal engine cover slats and this car’s rectangular vent doors, but I did not find any Willys-Overlands with these rectangular doors, not to say that’s conclusive. Suffice to say that vehicles produced by Willys-Overland are less fully-documented than more common vehicles of the day.

The central engine-turned instrument panel presents four circular dials, while some 1932 models have interesting art-deco semi-trapezoids. What looks like original upholstery is about shot, but offers a fascinating glimpse into the past.

Large rear glass and a slight rake to the roof make for sporty lines similar to the popular Fords of this era. According to OZRods, this body is the same whether two or four doors, so, like a Datsun 510, you can convert one into the other. That site also shows a similar restored two-door sedan.

The Pike’s Peak-winning Willys inline six cylinder makes 65 HP (the same as Ford’s V8) according to wokr, and features a central distributor and an updraft carburetor, common in early cars. Thanks to Lov2xlr8 for some details. The 193 cid six does not run and this vehicle comes in “as is” condition with a 1932 “Sworn Statement of Ownership” in lieu of title.

Model year 1932 represented Willys-Overland’s 50th or silver anniversary, with the Silver Streak engine which went away after 1933 as Ohio-based Willy-Overland restructured subsequent to financial strains of the Great Depression. What future do you see for this interesting six cylinder two-door?