Willys (Willys-Overland) Willys Americar History

Beginning in 1937, Willys built a small, low-priced car that wore a succession of names through its run — the 37, 38, Overland, and Speedway — before settling on 'Americar' for the 1941–1942 models 441 and 442. Joseph W. Frazer, who joined Willys in 1938, pushed the idea of a modern, inexpensive compact as the struggling company's way forward.

For 1941 the wheelbase was stretched to 104 inches for a roomier, big-car look; Willys sold about 22,000 cars in 1941 and roughly 7,000 in 1942 before civilian production halted for the war. Decades later the light, strong 1937–1942 Willys coupes became icons of drag racing and hot-rodding — the classic 'Willys gasser.'