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Supercharged Hemi Gasser: 1940 Willys Americar

The Willys Americar had a short 5-year run, with models only being produced between 1937 and 1942.  After 1942, Willys turned their focus to the Jeep, and the rest as they say is history.  If you’re in the market for a mid-run Willys Americar that has the best of everything, this 1940 model coupe may be a good car for you.  Located in Bloomfield, Colorado, it can be found here on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $195,000.  Thanks go out to Barn Finds reader Larry D. for another great tip on this one.

I get a bit skeptical sometimes when a seller claims their vehicle has the best of everything, however, this is one of those cases where it truly does seem to be the case.  Gone is the original factory 60 horsepower Go-Devil engine, and now we have in its place a blown 528 Mopar Hemi Iron Block that shows 1031 horses on the dynamometer.  The engine specs here are pretty amazing, which include 8.7:1 custom JE pistons, 4150 steel crank, two Holley double-pumper 800cfm carbs set up for the blower, and way too much more to list here.  There’s even two sets of exhaust, one for the street and one for the strip.  Connected to that Hemi is a 727 TorqueFlite transmission with a 9 inch 4200 ATI stall converter, and it’s comforting to know there’s also a composite scatter shield in place just in case things go wrong inside the bell housing.

This Willys looks as good inside and out as it does under the hood.  The body is painted in a custom candy blue color and features pin striping and real gold leaf lettering, all hand-painted.  The front end tilts forward, making it easy to access that Hemi and entry and exit are also forward thanks to a set of suicide doors. In the back, adjustable wheelie bars from S&W are in place in case things get a little out of control.  Inside we find a fully custom interior and trunk, mostly white but with black carpeting.  A Moon steering wheel and gauges, B&M reverse gate shifter, and a pair of 5-point Simpson harness seat belts round out the interior.  The car even has power windows and door locks.

The seller says that replicating the car for this price would be nearly impossible, and after looking at the painstaking details and the amount of work that has been put into this no expense spared build I find that pretty easy to believe.  Sure, $195,000 is a lot of cash but the price seems reasonable for the build you are getting here.  The car also passed Colorado state inspection and comes with a clean street/strip title.  What are your thoughts on this 1940 Willys Americar?  Do you see it more as a weekend cruiser and car show mainstay?  Or is it more suited to put 1/4 mile on it at a time?

Comments

  1. Avatar bobhess Member

    Well done or not, if this was a restoration of of a real period car then it might be worth the money to the right buyer. As a clone, it’s not worth it. Appreciate good workmanship but can’t see being price gouged to get it.

    Like 12
    • Avatar AMCFAN

      Agree 100% It looks like those fake gas station signs at the flea market. An overdone clone of the original……only too nice.

      Since when did drag racers have wide white on their drag car?

      Like 8
      • Avatar egads

        If you look at picture’s of the early drag car’s (50’s-early 60’s), many of them used wide white’s.

        Like 16
      • Avatar Llouis200

        I have seen a few that had white walls on the back.

        Like 8
  2. Avatar Ike Onick

    Beautiful machine and workmanship.

    Like 17
    • Avatar Dave

      I agree, stunning.

      Like 6
  3. Avatar Steve Clinton

    I remember in the ’50s and ’60s there was at least one of these at every drag race.

    Like 8
    • Avatar Steve Clinton

      I had the AMT model, too!

      Like 7
  4. Avatar Mark

    Over the past couple of weeks I’ve seen a number of “1of X” cars with asking prices of $750k+.
    For me, driving this thing would put a bigger smile on my face.
    40-41 Willys rule the halls of gasser legends. GLWTS.

    Like 12
  5. Avatar Grumpyboy

    For that price you would think it was a vintage steel body, but no its a fiberglass reproduction.

    Like 11
  6. Avatar Derek

    Does it have any history as a racer? Photos, results sheets and so on.

    Like 3
    • Avatar Steve R

      There is no race history since this car was recently built from scratch to be a show/street car. That might pass tech at the track, but that was not it’s primary purpose.

      Steve R

      Like 7
  7. Avatar Tort Member

    Grew up in the era of the gasser wars so Willys, Anglias, Henry J’s , Tri Fives etc. were and still favorites of mine. This is a beautiful car, very well built with superb craftsmanship and talent along with high quality parts and materials. Saying that and if I had that kind of money to spend what would I do with it? Too nice to race it on a regular basis and too radical to drive at any distance so I guess drive it on very short cruises so that leaves just car shows. Beautiful car but if I didn’t do most of the work building it I personally would want to show someone’s else’s work regardless of how great the work was in building it. Lots of people buy finished show cars which is fine but just not me.

    Like 4
  8. Avatar ctmphrs

    If it was a real race car it would have 12 spoke spindle mount wheels on the front instead of those stupid 10 spoke wheels. Ctmphrs

    Like 2
  9. Avatar Doug T.

    I had one as a slot car when I was a kid. Always loved the gassers!

    Like 0
  10. Avatar John C.

    Really nice car but lets keep in mind that it is a fiberglass replica NOT 1940 sheet metal. Price seems a bit too high.

    Like 1

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