Abe SudermanAbbotsford, British Columbia, CanadaIn the wide, wide world of street rodding, there are folks who like Fords, then there is everybody else. Like it or not, no other nameplate has had the prestige, success, or even vilification the Ford badge has had. That doesn't mean that there aren't other fanatics (and we mean that in a nice way) out there who care for another make and model. In fact, most non-Ford types have to dig deeper, work harder, and generally defend their choice of owning a non-Henry street rod. Then there are the Mopar-obsessed people, but they deserve a whole other chapter!
But there is something different about a fan of the Willys. Most were made aware of the little cars during the Gasser Wars of the '50s and '60s, but others have had a long relationship with the line-and a long line it is! Willys were in production for more than 50 years, though most rodders wouldn't recognize a '24 Overland Champion if it drove over them!
Willys-Overland, Inc. started in 1903 in Toledo, Ohio. But it's the big Willys of 1930-with their 120-inch wheelbase-that later-day Willys enthusiasts wouldn't recognize. Willys was also a partner with Knight for many years (Willys-Knight cars were made from 1914-1932) and manufactured limousines in 1930 that also had a 120-inch wheelbase. But Willys-Overland radically changed its car's design in 1933 (limiting their wheelbase to 100 inches, for the most part, through 1939) and reinvented itself with brand-new designs every couple of years.
When the war broke out for America in 1941, Willys began making the Jeep for the war effort, and the passenger car line died until the Willys Aero debuted in 1952. The final Willys cars were built in 1955, though the Jeep continues to be made (first by Kaiser, then American Motors, then Chrysler, and now Daimler-Chrysler).
So with the Willys' long history also comes devoted fans. Abe Suderman of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, could easily qualify as a Willys fanatic. As a teenager he watched the Gasser wars from the grandstands at Mission Raceway, a Canadian racetrack about 40 miles east of Vancouver. He started collecting in the late '70s and buying whatever he could find at swap meets, through club newsletters, and by word of mouth.
Luckily he had the space to store what he found, some of which is shown on these pages. He owns about 25 complete cars, mostly from the '33-42 era (including an ultra-rare Australian '36 right-hand-drive phaeton with only 16,000 miles on the odometer). He's still looking for an illusive '40/41 Willys woodie (the rumor is they only made a half-dozen or so for those two years), but over the past few years his interest has expanded (to Hemis and musclecars). But the little Willys he enjoyed in his youth still gives him reason to smile today, and he has hopes of maybe turning his collection into a museum so other people can enjoy it, too!