2 Attachment(s)
Red Dawson Willys Coupe Tribute
Attachment 27386
I received a message through Facebook this morning from a very nice guy called Ben Johnson. In the message were two photos, showing Red Dawson's infamous Willys coupe. At first I thought these were old images from the '60s, but then realised they were much more recent. I was amazed, to say the least, and contacted Ben.
Turns out Ben has been working away quietly building this incredible tribute of Red's racer. He started out with a rusty Willys four door sedan, which he then cut down, joining the front with a Willys coupe rear half section he bought out of the US. The car is powered by a small block Chevy, with twin 4-barrel carbs, 4-speed etc, just like the original. Its stunning, and incredibly accurate, right down to the streamlined headlight covers.
Isn't it amazing the effort people will go to in order to create a tribute to their heroes.
Ben will be sending me through build photos of the Willys which I'll be posting here.
Awesome work, Ben!
Attachment 27387
What happened to the original Red Dawson Willy's Coupe
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Spgeti
What an amazing job he has done. Years ago I heard that the original car was somewhere in the Wellington region but have never been able to prove it. Owned by a hotrodder. I saw a beaten up coupe at the Palmy Swap Meet 2013 and wondered if it was the car. Garry Price has a very nice 4 door for sale on TM at the moment.
Look forward to more pics, Cheers, Bruce
Around 2005 I wrote a story on Red Dawson that got published in Classic Kiwi Motorsport, a limited edition publication put out by NZ Classic Car Magazine. I interviewed Nita Dawson as part of the research for this article. She told me that the Willy's Coupe was sold to someone in the South Island but couldn't remember who it was.
Fast forward a year to 2006 and an article appeared in NZ Hot Rod magazine in the October edition featuring historic Willy's Coupe's both operational and derelict. There was a photo there that I spotted that looked suspicously like a battered relic of the Dawson Willy's and so it proved. I contaced Paul Grace editor of NZ Hot Rod Mag and he contacted their Christchurch people to check it out. Long story shortened, Craig Stare one of their long time hot rod correspondents in that city verifyed from one of the previous owners a certain Joe Madson now living in Perth had bought the original Red Dawson Corvette powered Willy's Coupe from a well known circuit racer and car dealer Lin Neilson (Fairmonte Motor Court) from Dunedin. Lin had bought the car directly from Red at the end of the 1964-65 season and taken it back to Dunedin. He removed the Chev V8 engine and four speed gearbox and installed them in a Mk 3 Zephyr for Allcomer racing in the 1965-66 season. The car proved a disaster, hardly ever finishing and Lin quit it at the end of the season for a very fast Mini. He later bought the very famous ex Jim Richard Williment Twin Cam Escort and had considerable success in the Osca Championship from 1972 to 1974. The Zephyr though had a further life in the hands of Brent Thorpe, who drag raced it, still with the Dawson running gear, and also raced in the OSCA championship from 1971-73
Joe Madson didn't get the Willy's going minus the engine and gearbox, and it was on sold to someone else in Christchurch who he couldn't remember. The amazing thing though is in the November 2006 issue of NZ Hot Rod Magazine there are photos taken at that time of the surviving Dawson Willy's Coupe. Check it out on pages 34 and 35 if you have a copy. Apparently the car was to far gone to revive, but the pics clearly indicate this was the famous Dawson Willy's Coupe....