Willys36

I finished my version of Ed Roth's Mysterion car last October. I wrote a book about the car talking about its creation in the first half then describing my build in the second half. It's available on Amazon. Definitely a bucket list item! Now I am building a 1/8th scale version of the car. Mark Gustavson asked me to give a short seminar at next year's GSL.

Very well done. One thing that bugs me about that Revell kit is the front wheels/tires. For some reason after getting aboutevery detail correct in the rest of the kit, they made the front wheels and tires way too wide. Go figure.

My daily driver. Had it since 1964, been on road since 1995. Grandson's daily driver. Just got it finished a couple weeks ago!

We are planning a Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild reunion at the Scottsdale Auto Museum Friday and Saturday January 18-19, 2013 in Scittsdale. This will be concurrently with the Barett-Jackson auction so there will be an overload of car stuff going on that weekend. If you are or know a Guild alumni and want to attend the event, contact azwillfh@cox.net Address: Ron Will, 15346 East Verbena Drive, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268

The new FBCG book is out! Fascinating reading all the contestant's stories, especially for me in view of my long history of 5 entries in the contest. Great to know that all the other guys fought the same dragons I did!

Here are shots of my daily driver. Bought the car in 1964 for $75 finally got it on the road in 1995! Has 354 hemi, '54 4-speed Hydro, '56 Olds rear end, all the old parts. I did all the work except chrome plating and upholstery. Oh and I made a fiberglass front end from the original sheet metal. See the story here. http://www.hotrodders.com/projects/001/01.html

Brass doll house hinges work great. Check your yellow pages for (serious) doll house hobby suppliers.

I still have it but many years ago my toddler niece got hold of it and crushed it! She is now 40 and mother of two and I still want to brain her when we are together!!!!!! It is on my to-do list to restore. Along with about 75 years-worth of other projects.

Last couple; This was a pretty much box stock build-up of an AMT Willys. Won the local Revell contest (1964?) and went on to the regional. This car was built a few years ago using the AMT 57 Chevy and Revell dragster kits. Frame and body are greatly modified of course. Rear slicks are currently rotten and it is in need of restoration.

Here are some more; This I guess you could call this a bracket racer. '39 Willys 4-dr sedan, It has a Chrysler hemi w/ dual carbs, Halibrand mags. Scratch built using Revell Willys kits as a starting point. Finally, this isn't really a dragster but it is a close cousin. Built in late 70s for another Auto World mail in contest (they went out of business before the contest was finished) it is an HO land speed record car. Wood/fiberglass body, two Aurora motors merged, home-made 3/4" dia (allowed in rules) aluminum wheels w/ O-ring tires. Never run but it should scream w/ those big wheels and 2:1 gear ratio! .

Here are a few of my dragsters. This one was built about 1964 when I was 14. It is built after the Yont's brothers method with lots of 00-90 brass nuts and bolts. Look close and you can see all the real bolts including rear wheel lug nuts.. Engine and rear wheels and tires from the great old Sizzler kit. Body was carved in wood, a plaster cast taken of that, and finally a fiberglass body shell from the mold. Frame is balsa. Lots of scratch built parts including brass headers, front suspension, corvair steering gear, blower scoop, etc. This was way before anyone made a '33 Willys body in styrene kit form. This is an HO slot car built for an old Auto World mail-in contest. It was built about 1970. It was built about the same way as the one above of wood model, and fiberglass shell. Frame is scratch built from soldered toghether brass. Whole thing was then chromed. Has steering front wheels, wheels are 1/4" x 1/8" ball bearings w/ O-ring tires.

I was into electric drags in the 60s when R&C magazine held thos national drag championships and the magazines had bunches off articles on races and how-tos. I lost track over the years but have heard that things have changed a bunch. Back then Pittman 85 and Ram 50 plate and magnet motors ruled. Top fuel 36V cars were just hitting 1second runs. I have heard that can motors rule nowadays and 1 second cars don't even make the field any longer. Is there a place on the web where I can get up to speed on this topic?

Ever since I was a kid in the 50s, I have wondered about why 1:43 scale cars draw such high prices relative to other scale autos. They don't look any more detailed or higher value than other types. Anyone have insight to this?

Stock Willys hinged the hood very simply with a 10" wide 'piano' hinge at the top rear of the hood attached to the cowl.

In retrospect it is pretty amazing that kids could come up with some of the stuff they did. However in the 60s it was a different era; everyone in our community belonged to Boy Scouts and 4H. Those groups taught heavily in handcrafts. Also, if you wanted to draw something you didn't head to PaintShop on the PC, you had to drag out the pencil and paper. Also, the Guild sent a lot of very helpful literature throughout the year that helped a lot. And finally in the 60s, plastic model building was in its hay-day. Local contests were in every hobby shop and the National Revell contest drew craftsmanship out of a lot of kids. Just about any 12 yr old could lay down a beautiful rattle can paint job and already had an aptitude for automobile proportions. The guys who really impress me are the ones competing in the early 50s and prior. The car culture wasn't as inbred and they had NO craft infrastructure to draw from. Those are the real heros.

I'm in that book!! I bought 5 copies, two for me and one for each of my kids who will inherit my cars. When I kick they can associate one book w/ each car to pass along. When is the release date for the book? Jacobus' first hard cover book is a must have for any Guild alumnus and for any serious modeler.

1/12 scale. GM supplied a step-by-step booklet on designing and carving a wood model or casting a plaster body from a clay model. They also sent a set of 4 tires, small for sports car and a bit larger for passenger cars. They were made of hard rubber. They sent out quarterly newsletters to encourage Guilders to press on, and in those newsletters they offered kits of aluminum stock for making 'chrome' parts. Rectangular bars, sheets and a bar of 1 1/4" round for hub caps were in the kits. Price was very reasonable. I bought one kit my first year and there was enough metal in it to serve my entire career. Deadline every year to postmark your shipping crate was I think June 1, I don't remember exactly, so the building time was during school months. In the design kit sent by GM was a full size template (in second picture in first post by FASTBACK340 , directly behind the blue car). The body had to fit in those parameters. Judging was tough as you might imagine; done by GM engineers and stylists, and because of the high number of entries. A lot of cars were not judged, just too crude to justify the time. I am proud that all 5 of mine were at least good enough to earn a score sheet! Max 200 points for craftsmanship, 250 points for design. Thousands of entries were shipped to Detroit, displayed, judged, then sent back home. Logistics must have been a nightmare. There were junior (12-15) and senior (16-20) divisions and each division got duplicate rewards. You could be a 12yr old snot-nosed 8th grader and win the same $5,000 scholarship with your first car as a 20yr old engineering student who had submitted 8 cars over the years. Back in the 60s and prior, $5,000 went pretty far in funding a full ride to a to engineering school. I remember a good year for my folks was $3,000 gross income. There were state 1st, 2nd & 3rd winners, regional 1,2,3 winners, honorable mentions, and a special category of styling winners. Each winner got a cash award, $150 for the lowest State winner, $1,000 for the styling winners, and $5,000, $4,000, $3,000 & $2,000 for the 8 national winners. You could win any but the 8 top national awards and compete in future contests. If you won 1st-4th place, you were retired from competition. Many Guildsmen won multiple awards. The regional winners got an all-expenses paid trip to the annual convention @ Detriot, tours of GM, and a big banquet as gests of honor at the head table in front of all the anybodys in the car world. The 1,2,3&4 place winners were announced at that banquet. There were guys who quit college and jobs for a year to dedicate full time to winning the contest. If you were a national winner, you were likely to get a job offer from GM after college. It was a really big deal if you were ever drawn into it and tens of thousands of kids were. And just think of the advertising boon it had to be for GM. Tens of thousands of loyal customers whol felt like part of the company for life!

Last car, 1966

4th car, 1965

Third car, 1964

Second car, 1963.

I know this is an old topic but I just found this site so cut me a little slack!!! I entered the competition 5 years from 1962 through 1966. My first car was made during my 8th grade year, my last in my senior year. I never won anything but that experience is still a major landmark in my life's journey. I recently restored my 5 cars and they are featured in a small article in John Jacobus' new book (coming out this fall) about the life stories of 29 contestants. LOTS of pictures of cars and lots of stories from the contestants about how they built their cars. John also wrote very comprehensive hard cover book on the entire history of the guild with again a lot of pictures of cars. Both are listed on Amazon and other book outlets. Here are some photos of my cars. They are in chronological order from '62 thru '66. I am showing before and after shots of the cars during the restoration process. Here is the '62 car