Beautiful pro-built Willys coupe. Outlaw body, custom chassis. 325 cubic inch HEMI, TH400 with Gear Vendors overdrive, cold A/C, 4-wheel disc brakes, Jaguar IRS, and much more! The way Willys rods should be built!

We love the look of this Willys coupe. Compact and muscular, it shouldn’t be a surprise that these were instant classics and remained popular with hot rodders for decades after they were built. This particular coupe was professionally built several years ago using a high-quality Outlaw body on a custom chassis. Then it was driven for a few years, racking up about 40,000 miles—a testament to the quality of the build. More recently it was freshened with a LOT of new work, including paint, interior, and that wonderful line of stainless trim along the flanks—it makes the car. The usual styling tricks are there, but there’s no denying the Willys DNA—from the split grille to the rounded greenhouse to the sloping rear deck, the car screams speed. The paint is Ford Poppy Red and it’s in fantastic condition with a deep gloss, excellent panel fit, and great attention to detail. There’s nothing radical or unusual, not even a set of pinstripes, so it will look right decades from now. If you’re building a Willys coupe, you could do worse than to use this one as a template.

The interior was recently refinished using cocoa and caramel leather on a set of bucket seats from a late-model. A custom center console was fabricated with built-in cupholders and secondary controls for the wipers, fuel pump, and fans, while the A/C unit was cleverly stashed behind the seats so you don’t give up any legroom. A tilt column with a custom leather-wrapped wheel frames a set of VDO gauges in a custom aluminum panel that kind of mirrors the Willys “W” logo. There’s also a column-mounted tach, an air/fuel ratio monitor, and an AM/FM/Satellite/Bluetooth stereo system, although we don’t believe you’ll ever use it. The A/C system is entirely new and blows ice cold and you’ll be surprised by how civilized this Willys really is. A custom consolette overhead adds an OEM feel and there are neat storage pouches in the door panels—an old-fashioned touch. The surprisingly spacious trunk is fully finished with custom Willys embroidery on the bulkhead, as well as an upholstered battery box with built-in battery tender. Nice!

A lot of guys go overboard with their Willys builds, stuffing too much motor under the hood and making them fussy and tough to drive. Not this one! A 1957 Dodge D500 NASCAR HEMI V8 is a great retro choice that fits perfectly and delivers enough performance to make it entertaining but it never gets fussy. The 325 cubic inch mill is fitted with a set of Ross 8.5:1 pistons, stainless valves, adjustable rockers, and a balanced bottom end. It wears a pair of 4-barrel carbs up top, properly tuned so that the engine lights off quickly and idles nicely, even when it’s cold. Electronic ignition certainly helps, and you’ll note that this is definitely built to drive with a giant Griffin aluminum radiator up front and careful attention to making sure everything works properly. Service access is decent, which we can’t say about some of the mountain motors we’ve seen in these cars, and everyone digs that little HEMI when they see the famous valve covers. Heck, just check out the hood prop, which was made by welding a pair of camshafts together—too cool!

Underneath there’s a fabricated Outlaw chassis supported by a custom Heidt’s A-arm front suspension, Carrera coil-overs, and rack-and-pinion steering. The transmission is a GM TH400 3-speed automatic augmented with a Gear Vendors overdrive unit, so this thing is a fantastic long-distance cruiser. In back there’s a Jaguar independent rear end with Koni and Aldan shocks, inboard disc brakes and 3.73 gears, making it quick around town and giving it a surprisingly supple ride. The exhaust system is simple with glasspack-style mufflers, so it sounds suitably vintage without being too annoying on the road. Yes, there are some signs of use, but that also means this thing is fully sorted, bulletproof reliable, and ready to hit the road at a moment’s notice. The stance is perfect, crouching low over polished Torque Thrust wheels and staggered 205/60/15 front and 255/60/15 rear performance radials.

Documentation is extensive, including build receipts, Outlaw certificate of authenticity, and manuals for all the various components that went into the build.

We’ve sold a number of Willys rods recently, but this one seems to nail the perfect blend of performance and comfort that most rodders want out of their cars. It has the right look, a nostalgic powerplant, and all the modern conveniences that make it easy to live with. Sure, there are mountain motors that you can stuff in there, but we can almost guarantee none will make you happy like the little HEMI in this beautifully built Willys. Call today!

NOTE: This car is titled as a 1940 Willys Coupe.

Harwood Motors always recommends and welcomes personal or professional inspections of any vehicle in our inventory prior to purchase.