Welcome back! Today we’re up to the letter W, and I’ve got two heavily modified 1950s classics for you to look at. One you’ve no doubt heard of, the other is probably new to you. I know it was to me.
Yesterday’s cars were familiar to all, and in one case, that familiarity seems to have bred some contempt. Those of you who said that the VW Jetta is probably in worse shape than indicated are almost certainly right. I know VWs of that era pretty well, and that one is not worth dealing with all the likely heartache of putting it back to rights. If it were a Scirocco, I could probably be convinced to tackle it anyway, but it’s not.
That leaves the Volvo, and it took home a well-deserved win. I’ve seen some really haggard 240s being sold for the same money as this one. I know most of you would rather have a wagon, but personally I’ve always been fond of the 240 sedans, and besides, the wagons are starting to command silly money. This looks like a fair price for a rock-solid car.
Modifying a car is always a little dicey, especially if you intend to sell it. You can’t go too far down the path of personalization, because it still has to have broad enough appeal to find a buyer. But here’s the strange thing: sometimes you have more leeway with a rare car than with a common one, because everyone knows what the common one is supposed to look like. One of today’s cars is reasonably common and has been tastefully and respectfully updated for modern roads. The other, I couldn’t even tell you what’s stock and what’s not – but it looks cool as it sits. Let’s check them out.
1955 Willys Jeep Station Wagon – $25,000
Engine/drivetrain: 318 cubic inch overhead valve V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Torrance, CA
Odometer reading: 16,000 miles (probably rolled over)
Operational status: Runs and drives great
During World War II, US soldiers fell in love with the Jeep, and after the war, Willys took full advantage of that by immediately introducing civilian versions. But a tiny, open-topped 4×4, as useful as it can be, is not the answer to every automotive question. Enter ace industrial designer Brooks Stevens, who designed a simple, all-steel station wagon that echoed the Jeep’s famous styling, but could be made easily and cheaply. It was the first all-steel station wagon, and Willys sold a ton of them. This wagon dates from 1955, after Willys had been bought out by Kaiser.
This wagon would have originally been powered by a Kaiser flathead six, but this one has had a bit of an upgrade, from a 318 cubic inch 1962 Dodge “Poly” V8. It’s backed by a Torqueflite automatic with push-button controls, and powers a Chrysler 8 3/4-inch rear axle. The front suspension comes from a Ford Mustang II, a common upgrade for hot rods, and probably the Mustang II’s greatest claim to fame. The seller says it runs and drives great, and is a good highway cruiser.
The interior is largely stock, and nicely restored. The transmission’s push-button controls and parking lever are nicely incorporated into the stock steel dash, and I would imagine that stock-looking radio is anything but. It doesn’t have air conditioning, but a couple of the photos show a period-correct window-mounted “swamp cooler,” which is better than nothing.
The body was restored and repainted in 2012, and it looks great. And kudos to the seller for keeping tall-sidewall tires on it, instead of some ridiculous low-profile nightmares that don’t suit it. I think I might have gone for wide whitewalls instead of the BF Goodriches, though.
1955 Woodill Wildfire – $36,900
Engine/drivetrain: 396 cubic inch overhead valve V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: St. Ann, MO
Odometer reading: unknown
Operational status: Runs and drives great
Here’s a new one on me. The story goes that Blanchard Robert Woodill, a Dodge and Willys dealer in California, proposed the Wildfire to Willys, but new owner Kaiser wasn’t interested, so Woodill decided to produce the car on his own. Only three hundred were built, mostly sold as kits, and it’s estimated that only about 25 survive. The Wildfire is also a first, when it comes to body construction: it was the first fiberglass-bodied car, beating the Corvette by a few months.
I found two Wildfires for sale, and neither one is anywhere close to original. This one has been modified with a Chevy 396 big-block from a C2 Corvette, and also features Corvette front and rear suspension. It has a Turbo 400 Hydramatic transmission with a ratchet-style shifter, power steering and brakes, and a big aluminum radiator to keep everything cool. The Corvette parts were originally installed in the 1970s, but the whole car was restored in 2013. The ad is full of terms like “investment potential,” and I get the feeling that this car hasn’t been driven much, but I think it deserves to be.
The interior is all custom, with black leather seats and an engine-turned aluminum dash. I can’t decide whether I like it or not. It’s different, that’s for sure, but I think I’d prefer wood. Of course, I’d prefer a four-speed manual in something like this, too, but you can’t have everything.
It has been customized outside too, but of all the photos of other Wildfires I found online, no two looked exactly the same. That’s typical of a low-volume, hand-made car, especially one that was so often sold as a kit; builders put their own stamp on such cars all the time. This particular Wildfire seems to have been featured in quite a few places; I’m actually surprised I haven’t run across it before. But hey, that’s part of the fun of this job, finding cool stuff I didn’t know existed.
I imagine these are probably both a little old for a lot of you; hell, they’re a little old for me too. But I can appreciate well done customs of any age and any style, and these two are definitely well done. Which one is more your speed?
The Willy’s, not only for its practical size and shape, but more importantly, it has less questions about where to get parts and its mileage, this could occasionally be driven for the heck of it if you want to.
The Wildfire seems like its best used in movies or adds, or in local parades. Maybe drive it to a local Cars & Coffee.
The Willys is far from original, and the Wildfire never really had an original state for comparison. I dunno man. The Wildfire looks like a hoot but I can easily see a more realistic value for it being in the $10k range. Who the hell knows when you are talking about a heavily modified kit car? I’ll take the Willys because green.
Willy’s for me, as I love them. The Wildfire is interesting, but not interesting enough to overcome (or even approach, honestly) my love for the Willy’s, especially at $37k.
I wondered if one of the W cars would be a Woodill Wildfire, which I think I only knew about because of a long-ago Car and Driver reference. That said, it looks really sharp and fun.
But the Willys is a dead ringer for the one Terry-Thomas drove in It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World … so it wins.
Editing to add: Looking forward to the Xterra-v-Marauder X100 showdown tomorrow!
Hey now it could also be one of those Xtreme S-10’s!
Of course, of course. Or a Suzuki X-90, which is a far more Autopian kind of car.
Wildfires were used in some race car movies. I don’t have the wherewithal to look it up, but perhaps an Elvis movie? Tony Curtis? Both?
Did you know…. The Willys family pronounced their name Will-ess not Will-ies
I didn’t believe it either until I saw a vintage dealership training video on YouTube and the narrator was saying Will-ies like everyone else would, but the Willys executive featured in the video was saying Will-es
I wanted to like the Woodill, but just couldn’t. Would love to hitch up a vintage Airstream behind that Willys.
My aunt and uncle had a Willys wagon like that one. Just for the sake of nostalgia, I have to go with the Willys.
In 1956, my parents embarked on their honeymoon in a green 1954 Willys station wagon borrowed from my mom’s parents. Nine months later they welcomed me into the world. That Jeep wagon was the first vehicle I ever rode in, though in admittedly limited cellular form. Perhaps that explains my lifelong affection for Jeeps. Sadly, on the trip home through the mountains, my 19 year-old father badly missed a shift and launched a Super Hurricane Six piston into low Earth orbit, thereby beating Sputnik by nearly a year. The Jeep’s successor, a red ‘57 Willys wagon also played a role in my young life. In my fifth year I somehow managed to come down with measles, chickenpox, mumps, and finally pneumonia in the same year. In the aftermath, looking like a Holocaust survivor and weak as a kitten, I was scooped up by my grandmother and taken to their mountain cabin (my place of conception) to recuperate. I spent three months there bombing around the hills with Nana in her Willys. I had a blast and developed a real attachment to that car. Jeep gets my vote today.
Willys for me.
The Woodill just looks like a glorified kit car… and an overpriced one at that. Sure it’s rare. So are my farts. But, like my farts, it being rare doesn’t automatically make it valuable.
It’s definitely not as valuable to me as the seller thinks it is. And it having a slushbox doesn’t help.
Hell, I think that Willys is also overpriced… just not as badly.
And the Willys is a well known classic that is somewhat practical.
“Sure it’s rare. So are my farts.”
Suuuuuure they are.
As long as I stay away from the crab cakes…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB_4MNCjOP8&ab_channel=MareaHoin%C4%83real%C4%83
The Willy’s is a decent mod imo. The wildfire would be worthy if it hadn’t been hacked up so much. I suspect mods actually make it worth less due to the rarity of the car.
I love a good roadster, but the Wildfire does nothing for me. 3-spd automatic behind a big V8 and cheapass Douglas tires from Walmart just screams old man revving the engine down Main St at a local car show. I imagine it handles like crap and rattles more than an overcrowded nursery.
At least I can push a couple of buttons in the Willys and that it an old car that remains desirable and shouldn’t lose value if you keep it maintained.
318 Poly is NOT the same as the later 318. Nothing fits between the two.
I love that the Willys body was stamped out by an appliance manufacturer instead of expensive body presses. Brooks Stevens was so good at the low volume cleverness.
But I voted Wildfire because it’s yellow and fun. Ish.
True about the appliance factory. That’s why it was designed with mostly flat panels.
This is a good point about the Poly engines, as they are dramatically different from the LA engines – I think the only parts that can be shared between them is the crank (I recall Hot Rod using an LA crank in a surprisingly stout Poly stroker like two decades ago). The Poly isn’t a bad engine, but parts for it are harder and harder to come by these days.
Not a bad engine at all. TBH probably a better choice than one of the contemporary Hemis – most of the benefit, half of the complexity. Still a bit funky on the valvetrain, but the wedge shaped chamber is pretty much what the modern Hemi had (it wasn’t hemispherical – A: a true hemispherical chamber is an emissions problem, B: that layout is also a bit soft on low-end compared to other designs, it seems. It breathes great, so winding it up makes the big power. You wait and then go)
Anyway – the Poly *is* an A, so there will be a family resemblance to the LA (aka “low-A”), but more is different than is similar. I’d believe the crankshaft commonality, tho.
Polys are no joke; good engine. But it’s a Mopar, and a rare Mopar, so everything will be hard to find and a million dollars.
If I remember correctly, as it has been a while since I dug into the details of the Poly, I don’t think they had any factory performance packages for them nor much aftermarket support when they were new-ish, so parts that can be found are mostly limited to factory ones. And you are right on the money about the cost of Mopar parts.
Yeah, this thread is a quick primer. If you’re really determined, sure. But it’s going to be expensive and time consuming and will require custom work.
I’m certain that a good running 318 Poly in a Willys station wagon is FINE as is. Plenty of power compared to the original six. Mopar A V8 is also SUPER HEAVY, so that’s fun. Maybe it rides better.
That’s a nice looking proto-SUV. You’re probably getting it for below what it cost to put it into that kind of condition at that price.
The Willys is great and easily gets my vote. The Woodill looks like a knock-off Cobra kit car, and its “investment potential” might be over estimated.
Wow, wildly wonderful well worked weekend warrior Willys walk-off with weird wily wantingly waiting Wildfire.
I would rather be seen driving the Willys, so it gets my vote. The Wildfire surprisingly ugly.
I voted for the Willys, because it looks fun enough to go one weekend adventures in, and it’s presumably reliable enough for chore work. The Wildfire just has too much of a ‘we’ve got a Cobra at home’ vibe for me
I voted for the Willys, but that roadster was a lot more compelling than I would have guessed from the headline. Either would probably be fun to own.
Neither of these are daily drivers. They’re either investments or toys. Cars as investments aren’t my cup of tea so I’ll take the roadster because that’s what I would have the most fun with.
Willys, even though I should prefer the Wildfire.
Neither is terribly attractive to me, simply because they’re not period-correct. I’ve seen two Wildfires in the real world; one had a flattie, the other a 265 Chevy under the hood. Either would have worked fine instead of the Jeep’s Continental “six.”
In hope the extensive chassis mods have changed the Jeep’s propensity to be a hard-riding, rattly son-of-a-gun, and thus made it a bit more useful, I’ll take the Green Monster.
I love that Wildfire, but for the money, I’d take the Willys. Way more usable as a driver.
I love that Willys so much, but the temptation to inevitably die in a Wildfire is too great.
Willys for me, but I almost clicked Wiiiiiiiiiiildfiiire just for the song reference. Now that will be stuck in my head all morning.
The Wildfire is trying really hard, but meh. It looks awkward. Gimme that pushbutton green box.
Since money is no object here in Fantasy Land, I’ll go with the Wildfire. I love both but really would like a roadster for weekend cruising.