1940 Willys Americar Coupe 383 V8 Engine

Dressed and ready to roll, this all-steel Willys has been meticulously rebuilt to preserve all the innate appeal of Willys's popular Americar aesthetic. While that profile is decidedly conservative compared to today's ostentatious fiberglass creations, its ravishing paint certainly is not! That glowing pigment highlights an incredibly straight fuselage that was massaged into shape during a detailed, ground-up build. As expected, fit is good and finish is great. And overall, this road-ready cruiser checks all the boxes for an enduring, well-planned street rod. Power is easy thanks to 383 cubic inches of stroked and polished Chevrolet small block. Behind that mill, a tough 700R4 4-speed twists torque to a narrowed and braced Ford 9-inch. That first class drivetrain rolls on a custom, square-tube chassis, which cages modern coil-over-shocks in a traditional ladder bar rear-clip. Opposite that clip, a proven Mustang II front-half centers power rack-and-pinion steering between tubular control arms and two adjustable coil-overs. Soild stops are provided by Wilwood discs and old school drums. And at the corners, polished Torq Thrust IIs spin 205/65R15 BF Goodrich Advantage T/As in front of 31x6.50-15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman Pros. Pop the lightweight doors and you'll reveal a custom-tailored cabin that was installed in late 2018. A contoured bench stretches a tight leather hide under 2-point belts and billet buttons. An extremely cool dash wraps a tasteful combination of paint and leather around bright Daytona Instruments, modern Alpine audio and Vintage Air conditioning. A booted Lokar shifter rides directly between flowing side panels, which front modern power windows. And the driver spins a polished and leather-wrapped steering wheel around a polished, tilting column.