It took a team to bring ‘Willy’ back to life
Everyone has heard the stories of a car hidden away in an old barn. It seems to be elusive, or just missed by an eager buyer, waiting to be found by the right owner. This is how it all began.…
While sitting around talking cars at Beau’s Upholstery shop, talk came up about a 1940 Willys coupe that a guy had possibly for sale. Thinking it was just a fibreglass project that was abandoned, I never gave it a second thought.
A few weeks later, I stopped in again and the “Willys” topic came up again. I had just sold a Nova and was looking for a new project, so I said: “Let’s go see it.”
Arriving at Paul Boyer’s shop out in the back woods of North Saanich with fibreglass-car expectations, I was shocked to discover it was a real steel car — a true barn find! Checking every part of the car and trying to determine what was missing and where I could find it if I bought the car, my mind was racing.
I could tell Paul didn’t want to sell the car, as it had some personal history. A close friend of his had started to build the car, and had passed away midbuild. The car sat until Paul bought it from the estate. I think he could see my excitement, as this had been my dream car since I saw the movie Hot Rod back in the 1970s.
I made him an offer, and Paul said he would let me know. It was the longest and most painful week waiting to hear, but eventually he called and said the car was mine if I still wanted it. Then the stress began.
Building a car that would do justice to its previous owners was very important to me. As the build was already started, I decided to follow the original builder’s vision — with a little boost to it.
My thought was that Willy needed a blower, so this one got an 871 blower. This was followed by a Dart Big M572 block, a race-prepped PowerGlide trans with a trans brake, followed by a nineinch rear and four-wheel disc brakes.
The car was sent to Dave from Island Rod for all the fabrication and sheet-metal needs, then down to Garden City Auto Body to have Dan work his magic on the body and the frame. First the frame was completed, moulded and painted. The came time to install the suspension and engine, which was polished and chromed by the boys at Vic Plating. Assembly was taken care of in my garage, and when the body was done, the chassis was mated up with it, then off for wiring and plumbing.
At that point, it was time to go to where this whole thing began — off to the upholstery shop, where I left it in the hands of Beau Horvath to create what he thought best suited the car. Local tuner Les Hume was called in to put the final tune on the car, and it was finished.
It took 10 months and hundreds of hours to complete the finished product, but the outcome was more than worth it. A special thank-you to my dad, my sons and all that helped make my dream and this car happen. “Willy” will be on display at this year’s Rock and Roll for Little Souls Charity Car Show, from today through Sunday at Pearkes Fieldhouse. The 16th annual Rock and Roll for Little Souls Charity Car Show is a show for the entire family. Entry into the show is by donation, with all proceeds going to support children’s health on Vancouver Island. For more information about the show, check out rockforlittlesouls.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/RockandRollforLittleSoulsCarShow.