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“Ohio George” Montgomery in his AA/Gas Supercharged ’33 Willys Coupe was the only east-of-the-Rockies competitor to pose a real threat in the West Coast dominated “Gasser Wars” of the ‘60’s. He was successful on his home turf winning six class titles at the US Nationals between 1959 and 1967 along with several Little and Middle Eliminator trophies. He also journeyed west to take a win at the ’67 Winternationals beating the likes of Stone Woods & Cook and “Big John” Mazmanian in their own backyard. When not attending the major national events, these cars match-raced at local strips around the country bringing the gasser wars to the masses.
The supercharged gas coupes were an exciting class to watch because the racers were taking pre-WWII compact cars (primarily Willys and Anglias) and stuffing them with blown Chrysler Hemi’s, Olds, Cadillacs, Chevys and in this case Fords and making out-of-control quarter-mile runs in 150-160 mph range. These door-slammers held a place in the fans’ hearts because these cars were much like the cars the fans drove and they went like stink! They were “jacked-up” in the front for better weight transfer off the line but this made them hard to handle and less aerodynamic on the top end.
“Ohio George” initially powered his “ugly ‘ol Willys” with a 6-71 blown Cadillac later switching to a small-block Chevy and then to Ford’s revolutionary 427 Single Overhead Cam (SOHC) blown hemi motor that produced 1200 horsepower on pump gas. He chopped the top and added a fiberglass front end to aid in weight transfer. His best times ever for the “World’s Wildest Willys” were approaching 160 mph in the high 8 – low 9 second range. This car ended its life with an aerodynamic Ford Mustang body replacing the Willys as drag racing transitioned into the age of the Funny Cars.
Precision Miniatures has done another phenomenal job in bringing us their 1:18 scale rendition of “Ohio George’s” ’33 Willys. When you first look at the car, the thing that really grabs you initially is how beautifully its paint and chrome work together. This isn’t just Precision Miniatures over-making this car. George won car shows with this his Willys and the “sanitary” engineering you see was the way he did things.
The twentieth edition of “The Rodder’s Journal” has a twelve-page spread on this car and in comparing the pictures of the real car with PM’s model, I am blown away with the detail that has been put into this model. Everything…… everything is there! Every little niggily detail is replicated perfectly! Things too insignificant to mention are there….. like the little detent in the coolant tank (radiator) to clear the fuel injector pump/mag drive….. it’s there. The magnesium supercharger case looks like magnesium with a faint tint of brownish gold. The huge M&H’s are scuffed (of course!) and are mounted on beautifully polished magnesium Halibrands. The engine could stand alone as its own 1:18 scale model and even shows the starter solenoid cutoff wire running forward from the Art Carr modified C-6. Even the rubber seal that runs between the body and the hood/front fenders is there! And speaking of the hood/front fender piece that was fiberglass on the real car is replicated in resin so it has the fiberglass feel and it even has the ‘glass texture on the underside of the piece……. Amazing!
I saw an early prototype of this model over a year ago and I had no idea it would end up this way. But once again, Precision Miniatures has gone “above and beyond” and have created a true treasure. These guys are playing at the CMC/Exoto level and that’s a real compliment! And for you gasser fans, there are a bunch of cars in this series and they’re all equally well done….. talk about “Hog Heaven”! What could they have done better? NOTHING! Just get the rest of the ‘33’s and the Mondello & Matsubara Fiat, the “Pure Heaven” Bantam and the Mazmanian ‘Vette in our hands….. I can’t wait!
(10/23/2005)
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