Chris Merrifield has owned a string of cars, beginning in the '70s with a '72 Chevy Nova, right up to his previous car, a Minotti-bodied '33 Ford coupe that he sold to purchase his latest hot rod-this wild '41 Willys coupe. But the Austin, Texas, native has had a special fondness for Willys coupes for as long as he can remember and has always dreamed of owning one. His dream became a reality when Don Little, a friend from nearby Dallas, agreed to sell his recently completed coupe. A deal was struck and soon the Willys was parked in Chris' garage.
Chris left the car as Don intended, save for a few airbrush murals and those massive Boyd Coddington Wheels-18x7s up front and 20x15s out back-all wrapped in Mickey Thompson rubber to complete Chris' pro-street theme. To justify those massive rollers, under the hood sits a 468ci Chevy Mark IV engine with a dual-quad manifold backed by a 700-R4 trans. A Outlaw chassis provides the backbone for the Willys, with a burly Chris Alton Chassisworks FAB 9 rearend hung on Carrera coilovers out back and a Heidt's Superide IFS up front. Wilwood disc brakes handle the stopping power at all four corners.
When the time came to spray the House of Kolor Tangelo Orange Pearl and Tru Blue Pearl over the Outlaw fiberglass body, Frank Waggoner was given the task of prep and paint. Tex-Efx added the aforementioned airbrushed graphics on the decklid after Chris purchased the coupe. From there, the car went over to Craig Ward at Interiors by Craig where the leather and suede combo interior was stitched up, but not before Don Scott wired the coupe using a Painless kit.
Since Chris purchased the coupe, he and his wife, Mary, tell us they're having a blast hitting the summer car shows and cruise-ins, but that's when the passenger seat isn't filled with one of their two children. Their son, 12-year-old Taylor, and their 7-year-old daughter, Summer, love going to the shows almost as much as Chris does, and with his son fast approaching that legal driving age, Taylor's already talking of getting started on a street rod of his own. Way to keep the torch burning, Chris!
The Mcclees' First-Edition HardtopKen and Barb McClees were not planning on selling their '34 Ford cabriolet when they did. The Cookeville, Tennessee, couple had put over 60,000 miles on the car in 15 years, with annual trips down to sunny Daytona Beach, Florida, and were frankly enjoying their retirement when an offer was given to them to put the car up for sale. They thought about the deal for a bit and decided to go for it. Meanwhile, Ken had been needling Rat at Rat's Glass about doing a fendered SpeedStar for some time and it just so happened that Ken got a call from Rat himself to let him know they had just finished the first full-fendered body. Ken jumped at the chance to pick the first one up and no sooner had the McClees sold their hot rod that they'd bought another one.
They chose Robin Retallack and his crew at Retallack Rod Shop in nearby Monroe, Tennessee, to build up the hardtop, starting with an Alloway's Hot Rod Shop chassis as the foundation. They stuck a Heidt's Hot Rod Shop IFS up front, hanging on Aldan coilover shocks with Wilwood disc brakes. A Pete & Jake's four-bar and Aldan coilover shocks locate a Currie-prepped 9-inch Ford rearend. To keep with the style of the car, they chose to fit Boyd Coddington Magneato Wheels at all four corners-17x7s up front and 20x10s out back. Between the framerails, Robin dropped a Ford Racing SVO 302ci engine and C4 trans with all the Ford performance goodies installed.
With the business side of things complete, it was time to move onto the bodywork. Since Retallack Rod Shop was a full-service shop, they were able to handle the few modifications the Rat's Glass body received and smoothed everything out before spraying the PPG Roadhouse Blue paint. Once the color was laid, the upholstery crew at Retallack's took over and stitched up the Dove Grey Ultra leather interior. A set of Classic Instruments gauges was fitted into a custom panel on the dash, a LeCarra wheel was mounted on an ididit steering column, and a Lokar pedal set and shifter finished off the interior.
With the coupe just recently finished, Ken says they haven't had much time to get the car out to any shows but promises to hit the coming season with much ferocity. Their plans include debuting the car at Indy, and from there, who knows? Maybe they'll continue their annual pilgrimage to Daytona Beach. All we know is, it looks like the McClees will be enjoying themselves!