Maisto 1:64 1941 Willys Coupe Gasser Muscle Machine, Burgundy

The Willys Americar was a line of automobiles produced by Willys-Overland Motors from 1937 to 1942, either as a sedan, coupe, station wagon or pickup truck. The coupe version is a very popular hot rod choice, either as a donor car or as a fiberglass model.

The car started production in 1937 with somewhat traditional styling, a product of the internal reorganization that turned Willys-Overland Motor Company into Willys Overland Motors. It was itself an evolution of the aging Willys 77. When Joseph W. Frazer joined the company in 1938 he decided that a modern-looking and cheap compact car was the answer for the struggling Willys. Models 37, 38 and 39 gradually evolved into a more Ford-like appearance, culminating in the very much DeLuxe-like '40 model.

Critical four-cylinder engine failures, lack of replacement and repair parts and the sheer lack of assistance from Willys turned many Americars into perfect targets for the nascent hot rod community - the Go Devil engine was replaced with many other alternatives, some weaker, some much stronger than the original specification. It became such a favorite that today a 100% stock Americar is a very rare find.

A gasser is a type of hot rod originating on the dragstrips of the United States in the late 1950s and continued until the early 1970s. In the days before Pro Stock, the A/Gas cars were the fastest stock-appearing racers around.

Gassers are based on closed body production models[clarification needed] from the 1930s to mid-1960s, which have been stripped of extraneous weight and jacked up using a beam axle or tubular axle to provide better weight distribution on acceleration (beam axles are also lighter than an independent front suspension), though a raised stock front suspension is common as well. Common weight reduction techniques include fiberglass body panels, stripped interiors, and Lexan windows (sometimes color tinted).

The 1933-36 Willys coupés and pickups were very popular gassers. The best-known would be the 1933 Willys 77. While neither cheap nor plentiful, it was a competitive and lightweight choice satisfying the rules of the era (which required a ladder frame). At least one gasser incorporated a Willys frame in a Ford body to placate their sponsor while keeping it track-legal. Keith Ferrell's Dogcatcher, for instance, was a 1936 delivery with a fuel injected small-block Chevrolet, built for the class; in 1967, Ferrell deliberately left something off to run it in B/Altered (later, with a supercharger, in BB/A).