Could Willys collecting be a genetic thing? You're looking at a genuine Willys family from
Is collecting a certain brand of car or truck a hereditary thing? Are you born a Ford collector because your father was one? Do you like Chevrolets because your father, grandfather, and great grandfather all drove Chevrolets? If your dad was a Willys collector, does that automatically make you one? Well, in this case, it evidently does.
Around Willys circles, Fort Worth, Texas, plaster contractor Pat Cummings is renowned for his awesome vintage Willys restorations and equally outstanding Willys street rods. Over the years, we've photographed numerous '33-'41 models that Pat has built. But this is a family first. Pictured are Pat and his two sons, Tom and Tim, with their trio of '41 Willys pickup trucks. It seems that Willys collecting does run in the blood.
Take, for example, father Pat's recently acquired blue and gray '41 Willys stocker. With the exception of the 95ci engine, which is out of a '53 Jeep, everything on this truck is stock. The all-steel '41 was originally restored by Cincinnati, Ohio's Charlie Stephens, and is technically correct right down to the mohair upholstery and 16-inch wheels and tires.
Tom Cummings' recently completed PPG Hot Blue all-steel '41 Willys pickup was built by Dale Dishman at Dale's Rod Shop in Green Forrest, Arkansas. The truck features a 2x3-inch box-tube chassis outfitted with a Kugel Komponents IFS, with Kugel Mustang II rack-and-pinion steering, MII front disc brakes, and Aldan Eagle coilover shocks.
Out back, Tom's truck features a Currie Enterprises Ford 9-inch polished rearend outfitted with 3.50:1 Currie Enterprises gears and axles, Ford Explorer disc brakes, and a Dishman four-bar suspension dampened by Aldan Eagle coilover shocks. In typical gasser tradition, Tom went for the Halibrand look with a set of 16x7- and 16x12-inch Voughn knockoffs, rolling on BFGoodrich Radial T/A rubber.
Powering Tom's lightning blue '41 is a mostly stock ZZIII Chevrolet crate engine, which sports the full complement of Street and Performance, Edelbrock, and MSD polished pieces. Backing it up is Fortes-prepared Tremec TKO five-speed transmission using a Centerforce II clutch contained in a Lakewood bellhousing.