Late 1930s Willys Cars

The Willys (English pronunciation: Will-iss) survived the Great Depression of the 1930s by going small, as I wrote here.

Model 77 had some advanced styling features when it was introduced in 1933, but its basic body was somewhat old-fashioned looking to begin with, and it aged rapidly as competitors launched rounded, streamline-suggestive designs.  So Willys fought back for the 1937 model year with its restyled model 37 on a still-short 100.5-inch (2553 mm) wheelbase.

Its styling was in keeping with the times, but compromises from standard-size American car fashion were required due to the car's small size.

Gallery

This is a 1937 Model 37 coupe.  Its rounded prow can be justified because a conventional (at the time) vertical or slightly backwards-leaning front would have made the car seem stubby indeed.

Advertisement image of a 1938 four-door sedan.

A Model 38 two-door sedan.  The rain gutter on this and the car in the previous image creates an awkward distraction from the aft window profile and fastback that are otherwise in harmony.  My guess is that the shape was needed on the four-door model because, had it followed the rear door cut, rain water might have poured into the back seat area when the door was opened.  Even so, a better gutter trace could have been found.

Just for fun, here is a publicity photo.

The Model 38 was retained for the 1939 model year, but the Overland line was added.  Its wheelbase was 102 inches (2591 mm), the small difference added forward of the cowling.

The prow became less rounded, more assertive.  The grille opening was lowered in tune with styling fashion.  Headlights and their housings have a mean, aggressive look.  Note how the headlight housing shapes echo the prow and grille basic forms.

Another publicity photo, this of an Overland posed next to the Henry Dreyfuss styled Broadway Limited locomotive.

The 1938 Graham "shark-nose" design.  It appeared a year later than the Willys 37, but its frontal styling might have influenced that of '39 Overlands.  (Shannons Melbourne Auction photo.)

Early 1940s Willys Cars

I wrote about how Willys (American pronunciation is Will-iss) dealt with the onset of the great 1930s Depression here and its line of late 1930s cars in the 25 September 2017 post.

This post brings the Willys story into the 1940s to the point where American car production was halted by government order early in 1942 due to entry into World War 2.

Willys cars for the 1941 and 1942 had model numbers 441 and 442, but were advertised as the Americar (some background is here).  As can be seen in the images below, 1940s Willys's were a continuation of previous models, with a major 1940 facelift.  Changes after 1940 were minor.

Gallery

Setting the stage, here is a 1939 Willys Overland design that was given a major facelift for the 1940 model year.

A 1940 Willys 440.  Running boards are gone.  Front fenders are slightly reshaped so that headlights could be smoothly blended in.  The hood prow is less aggressive and the grille ensemble has been moved forward and redesigned.

This basic '40 coupe has less chromework on the front of the hood than the sedan in the previous image.

Here is a 1941 Americar 4-door sedan that is essentially the same as the year before.  The 1940 facelift included a modest bustle-back and a six-window passenger compartment.  As the plight of the model shows, the back seating area is cramped on a car of this comparatively small (for the USA) size.

1941 Americar Coupe.  This model year Willys can be identified by its grille lacking a large center bar.

Americars for 1942 were little changed.  The grille got a new center bar (compare to 1940) and running boards reappeared.

The Americar Coupe for 1942.

Willys cars were on the way out, being replaced by Jeep production.  Shown here at Fort Holabird, Maryland is a 1941 Americar next to an early version of the Jeep.

The Incredible Shrinking 1930s Willys Cars

When the Great Depression of the 1930s became manifest -- that is, by 1931 or thereabouts when no normal recovery had happened -- American automobile makers were forced to come up with survival strategies.  Some companies forged ahead in their traditional market segment, trimming back on the number of models offered and perhaps dropping one of their motors (eliminating a straight-8 while retaining a six, for instance).  Marmon actually went more upscale, adding a V-16 motor for 1931 (and went kaput in 1933).  Another strategy (there were even more) was to move to a lower market segment.  That is what Willys-Overland did.

Willys (pronounced will-iss for English speakers) had a fairly wide product range in the late 1920s, ranging from the upper-lower to upper-middle price/prestige brackets.  The lower end was served by the Whippet and the upper by the Willys-Knight, a car powered by a sleeve-valve motor.

For the 1930 model year, Willys-Knights had a wheelbase of 120 inches (3048 mm), Whippets had wheelbases of 103.3 and 112.5 inches (2624 and 2858 mm).  Some model and wheelbase juggling ensued through 1932 when the company teetered toward receivership, which it reached on 15 February 1933.  At that time all previous production models were terminated, the company basing its survival prospects on its new, even smaller (100.5 inch, 2553 mm wheelbase) model 77.  The 77 and derivatives served Willys for the rest of the decade.  So the company did survive the Depression and went on to become purveyors of the famous Jeep.

Gallery

1929 Willys-Knight 70B -- for-sale photo.

1929 Willys Whippet 4-door sedan.

Announcing the new Model 77.  That's John North Willys in the photo.  The sloping hood and headlights partly built into the fenders are advanced features for the 1933 model year.  Besides the low price, progressive styling probably helped sales.

A 1935 Willys 77 seen in a snapshot taken at a later date.  The hoodline is raised compared to '33 models, making the cars seem a little old-fashioned.

For 1937, the 77 line was replaced by the Model 37 with a revised body.  Pictured here is a 1938 Willys 38 4-door sedan.