1941 Willys Americar pickup

1941 Willys Americar Description

This 1941 Willys pickup was built up into a mild hot rod by an Indiana builder in the mid 90's. He started with a complete rust free truck he purchased in California. He told me he bought it to build a gasser but decided the truck was too clean to cut up so this is the route he took with fine results, I believe. The original Willys chassis has been boxed for strength at strategic points and powder coated. The front end uses a Fatman Fabrications Mustang II style tubular A arm assembly with coil over shocks, disc brakes and rack and pinion steering. The rear end is held up by a posi 9" Ford on leaf springs and has drum brakes. The Willys is powered by a 350ci 300hp Chevy crate engine with an Edelbrock carb and aluminum intake covered with custom made Willys logo'd valve and air cleaner covers. A Chassis Engineering kit was used to adapt the engine and trans to the Willys chassis. Power is transferred to the rear by a 350TH trans controlled by a B&M shifter. The seats and door panels are finished in a comfortable grey cloth with black and red accents. The tilt steering column is connected to a very direct feeling manual r&p steering box. The is no heat or AC but the fresh air vent works great! The fuel cell and battery are mounted on the wood floor of the pickup bed and that is covered by a hefty custom made cover with a large Willys logo on it. The tailgate has been welded shut and has nice custom graphics on it. You might not be able to turn 10's at the dragstrip with this truck but it is a strong runner and the suspension makes it a very comfortable driver with the ability to handle backroad twisties amazingly well. I've owned and enjoyed this truck for about 10 years and find I'm not going out in it much anymore so its time for someone else to enjoy it. I believe it's well sorted and we've recently added a custom aluminum radiator and replaced the rubber fuel lines with steel. The builder provided me with an extensive photo album that goes all the way back to his purchase in CA and documents all the steps along the way as well as documentation on the aftermarket parts used in this build which will go with the truck. I do have a reserve on it but I feel it's very reasonable. I am not interested in a trade, trying to downsize.