Panel trucks are cool in and unto themselves. In the decades before vans became a thing, the panel truck acted in much the same way although they offered less space and that’s why they all but disappeared by the middle to late 1960s. Before seeing this pro street 1949 Willys panel truck I don’t think I knew that there was such as thing as a Willys panel. With the Halibrand style wheels on the front and the fat Centerlines out back wrapped in huge meats, this is an aggressive looking sucker that looks to have the stones to back up its appearances.
The engine is a freaking 410ci Rodek based small block Chevy and by the sounds of it, the thing is basically a tuned down sprint car engine! The light weight and heavy duty speed parts bolted to that mill add up to a potent combo that is churning a built Turbo 400 pretty hard. Another interesting aspect of the whole package is the cool Franklin quick change rear axle which I believe it another piece that has use in the sprint car world as well.
I have no idea where the body came from or what kind of shape it was in when the builders got hold of it but it is in fine shape now. The hue of red that they chose is really nice and since there are elements to this thing that seem a little aged it is surprising that this rig isn’t painted in some crazy 1990s graphical scheme, or maybe it was at one point?
The one thing about this package that I’d change around is the interior. The look and styling of it strike me as 1980s. The Cadillac seats and tilt column can stay but the carpeted stuff needs to go, gauges need updating, and generally there’s some updating that needs to be done. Who knows about the wall thickness of the tubing or the quality of the welds but the cage looks decent and adds to the total package.
Recently McTaggart was asking if you were into Jeep hot rods or not. Well here’s one that you probably did not see coming!
SCROLL TO SEE MORE PHOTOS AND THE EBAY LINK FOR THIS 1949 WILLYS
I dunno . On one hand its well done and kind of cool . But on the other its completely counter to the whole JEEP ethos .. killing off any off road or utilitarian capabilities while trying to make an aerodynamic ‘ brick ‘ into a Pro Street drag car and not even bothering to chop the top to boot .. so ..
Errr … nahhh .. I’ll take a pass .
Pretense exemplified !
As a “JEEP” guy I struggle with these and jeepsters as hotrods. Thank god I don’t have much money. Wait maybe that coincides with being….a Jeep guy????
Well .. I kind of do .. and just might [ build a JEEP wagon or Jeepster hot rod ] The difference is it’ll be more resto mod than hot rod . If anything increasing the off road capabilities ever so slightly and adding just enough power and handling to keep up in the mountains and interstates .e.g. i want a year round Colorado hot rod .. for the road .. ski trips .. fly fishing .. exploring ghost RR’s and towns .. the whole nine yards
But hey . As far as JEEP guys lacking in the finance department ? So was that my problem when I went in as a Cash & Carry buyer .. no trade in or financing needed to every goram JEEP dealership on the Colorado front range seeking a reasonable … not fantastic mind you … just a reasonable deal on a brand spanking new Wrangler Unlimited Sahara which every dealer had multiples of in stock .. each and every dealer fed me with such a load of crap I finally gave up … said to hell with the brand and bought the damn Mercedes ? Because I have too much money ? Damn . Never in my life did I ever think that’d be a problem . True story by the way . Just last Fall . The details being even uglier than the synopses
I like it but I’ll pass. I’d spend more buying it and getting rid of the Chevy crap that I would building my own Jeep.
Agreed, HotRod.
Those panels are not at all common, rear doors are like hen’s teeth. I dig it except the tail light treatment and interior color. Since almost all of them were 2WD its a good way to go.