Red Dawson Willys Coupe Tribute

[Steve Holmes]

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!

[Steve Holmes]

This is a recent shot of the Willys, all numbered up and looking amazing.

[Steve Holmes]

This is what Ben started out with, a four door Willys sedan, in poor shape. The Willys were a very cheap vehicle in their day. The company found some clever ways to cut costs, such as using the front doors to also serve as back doors. They were simply flipped around. The bodies were quite light, hence they became popular with drag racers in the 50s and 60s, as, fitted with a V8 motor, were pretty potent.

Red Dawson built one up as an Allcomer racer in the 60s, powered by a small block Chevy V8. It was a wicked car, and paved the way for the former speedway racer to push further into circuit racing.

[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

[Gerard Richards]

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....

[Steve Holmes]

[Steve Holmes]

[fullnoise68]

Nita Dawson - Reds widow - is going around to my in laws within the next couple of weeks, so I`ll ask her if she still has any photos of the original coupe. Right from the Epsom stockcar days Red ran mostly No 35 on his cars, so I`m not sure about the No 36 ... Great effort and obviously gone to a lot of trouble building this replica.

[Steve Holmes]

Note also he has replicated the licence plate.

[Steve Holmes]

I think the race number was sometimes enforced by event organisers, with the single seater cars getting preferential treatment and the saloon guys getting what they were given.

[John McKechnie]

Steve Elliott- you are correct about the number
Pukekohe April 4 1964.
.
Coppins, Souness, Harvey, Dawson

[nigel watts]

First time I ever saw Red Dawson compete in the Willys was at a Hamilton Car Club hillclimb at Horahora in the early to mid 60's.
Red arrived at the first corner sideways then disappeared up the road in a cloud of tyre smoke and flying gravel!! Although it was a sealed hillclimb, some of you will remember that the seal in those days was a single width strip in the centre of the road.

[Allan]

[Oldfart]

First time I ever saw Red Dawson compete in the Willys was at a Hamilton Car Club hillclimb at Horahora in the early to mid 60's.
Red arrived at the first corner sideways then disappeared up the road in a cloud of tyre smoke and flying gravel!! Although it was a sealed hillclimb, some of you will remember that the seal in those days was a single width strip in the centre of the road.

Must have been at the same one Nigel. Not only a single strip, but also moss along both sides. A couple of years later a young fellow named Paul Adams (correct me on this if need be) was there with a VW with huge rear guards and tyres. After the first run it got skinny rears. Maybe understeering off the road at the near to the top right hander had something to do with that decision?

[Oldfart]

That is something else! To start with such a pile of, what could only be described as crap, and get to where he is. Makes Camaros, Mustang, Monaro and Falcon coupe builds look really easy! (sorry guys, you are doing a great job too but....)

[Kevin Hirst]

That is something else! To start with such a pile of, what could only be described as crap, and get to where he is. Makes Camaros, Mustang, Monaro and Falcon coupe builds look really easy! (sorry guys, you are doing a great job too but....)

Jeez, it must be time to start casting medal's for some of these guys, they deserve one.

[Oldfart]

Jeez, it must be time to start casting medal's for some of these guys, they deserve one.

See Kev, there was hope for that Reno!

[markson]

There are a lot of true enthusiasts around OLDFART
I have come home with cars in sugar bags myself and never considered that I had a pile of crap
Alway looked at it as gold. Markson

[Steve Holmes]

There are a lot of true enthusiasts around OLDFART
I have come home with cars in sugar bags myself and never considered that I had a pile of crap
Alway looked at it as gold. Markson

Wow, this is pretty special, and very rare. Where did you find it, and what are your plans for it?

[Kevin Hirst]

See Kev, there was hope for that Reno!

There still is Rhys, bring your trailer, thats where I went wrong,Red orGarth or John or any of those guys never raced a reno so had nothing to make copy of. not allowed to build an original with turbo subaru in rear & race with the boys so feel free to come take away, I will help you load it on your trailer & won't shed a tear.