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Now a staple of the hot-rod community, the Willys was a modern-looking and cheap compact car that gradually evolved into a Ford-like appearance. The 1941-1942 models were called "Americar" following the patriotic trend of the time and sold 29,000 units in 1941 and 1942 at about US$ 630. The 41 Willys body is still being manufactured as a street rod or hot rod.

 

A little over a year ago I tried building a Willys coupe but didn't quite pull it off, with the result looking more like a resto-mod Ford. I really wanted to recreate this iconic hot-rod so I went at it again.

 

I re-shaped the rear end, changed the rear wheels, built new fenders (using a technique seen on Nathan's excellent '40s Ford truck [https://www.flickr.com/photos/proudlove/4642340721/in/faves-126492293@N08/] ) and redid the roof. I shortened the body, straightened the grill, and upgraded the engine. But the real eureka moment was the hood. I struggled a long time on my first attempt with the hood and disliked the result. This time I finally got it down. A couple of new pieces from the Caterham 21307 tidied things up.

 

Now I have a Willys Coupe I can live with!

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Uploaded on October 2, 2016
Taken on October 1, 2016