1935 Willys Holden Project

Description for Willys Rumble Seat Coupe 1935

This is a very unique project for a restorer to create a very rare Australian car from the available components. The Model 77 Chassis was originally bodied as a sedan, nd was last titled in Montana in 1949. The Australian Holden Body came from Canada several years ago. The present owner is downsizing and has decided to let this project go.

Very little history is available on Willys Overland business relationship with Holden of Australia. Although it is known that several US car makers shipped "knock-down" chassis there for assembly and mating to bodies produced by Holden. How this body found its way to Canada is unknown. However there is no doubt as to its origin; the Holden nameplate is in place and the distinct Holden windshield shape is evident. The original rumble seat steps are present.The really unique difference is that theWillys bodies hadve conventional doors while the Holden version has suicide doors.

In 1937 Willys introduced a new body redesign which was in keeping with the general industry trend of the mid '30s toward style and streamlining. The body was new from front to rear with a distinctive "shark's nose" grill. Holden soon was stamping out similar bodies, ut some chassis still in the pipeline apparently were from the previous year and included the 1936 front end sheet metal. Therefore for a short time, erhaps several months, olden was matching up 1937 bodies with previous year's front ends. This made for a very unique and interesting contrast in the finished product. Please note in the "EXAMPLE" photo the obvious ingenuity of the final combination. These are extremely rare even in Australia as only one set of photos of a Holden bodied Willys 3 window coupe could be found for comparison purposes.

The chassis appears to be mostly complete with power train and running gear as rebuildable. The body will require some panel replacement in areas such as rockers, ender wells, nd lower doors. There are a few bullet holes as well.All body wood will have to be replaced. Instruments, rim, indow and door hardware are missing. The interior upholstery will have to be re-made. A serious restoration will result in a vehicle that probably has few if any comparable in the US. A number of new parts comes with the car as seen in some of the photos. New sheet metal and many body parts are available from Willys Replacement Parts due to the popularity of Willys bodies in the hot rod world. http://www.willysreplacementparts.com/index.html

The photos show the Holden body resting on the 1935 77 chassis. They are not attached. The combination will easily roll on the rims and the body could be strapped down for roll-on shipping or loading on a car trailer. A winch would be required, nd attempting to load onto a conventional classic car hauler semi trailer would be extremely difficult if not impossible. Purchaser pickup in Carnation, ashington would be ideal. However we will assist in any way at no charge.

A complete paperwork ownershipchain comes with both body and chassis including bills of sale and email strings. The seller will provide all along with a formal Bill of Sale.

This vehicle project is sold as-is where is with no guarantee. Buyer assumes all loading and shipping costs FOB Carnation, ashington and is invited to inspect the entire combination if desired.