Just in time for the Old Threshers and Yuma County Fair, the orphanage is showing a 1938 Willys-Overland, Model 38, half-ton pickup.
The Willys (pronounced Willis) is on loan from the Forney Museum of Transportation in Denver and will be on display until mid-October.
John North Willys bought the Standard Wheel Company’s Overland Automotive Division in Indianapolis, IN, in 1908 and renamed it the Willys-Overland Motor Company shortly thereafter. Between 1912 and 1918, Willys-Overland was the second largest automobile manufacturer in the USA after the Ford Motor Company. In the years that followed, Willys also acquired the Electric Auto-Lite Company in Toledo, Ohio, the Russell Motor Car Company in Toronto, and in 1919 the Duesenberg Motor Company plant in Elizabeth, NJ.
The depression of the early 1920s and 1930s brought Willys Corporation to its knees. In the 1920s, Walter P. Chrysler was hired to straighten things out, and many of Willys’ assets were sold to raise funds. Several models were discontinued during the Depression of the 1930s.
In 1941, Willys joined Ford to produce over 637,000 Jeeps for World War II, and Willys managed to acquire the brand for the Jeep name by 1950. After the war Willys concentrated exclusively on the production of Jeeps and in 1953 Kaiser Motors bought Willys-Überland. In 1970 the Kaiser Jeep was sold to the American Motor Company (AMC).
The 1938 Willys on the turntable in the orphanage reflects a redesign from 1937 for its 4-cylinder series. The design was more streamlined, with a sloping windshield, headlights integrated into the fenders and a one-piece, rounded bonnet that flips open across the rear.
This pickup has a 134 cubic inch. Flat head four-cylinder engine with 48 hp and a Tillotson single-cylinder carburetor. The transmission is a manual 3-speed manual transmission. Standard equipment included chrome-plated front and rear bumpers; Heater; mechanical four-wheel brakes; Double taillights; double inner sun visors; two glove boxes with doors and steel disc wheels. The base price for this pickup was $ 530.00; as fitted, approximately $ 580.00.
The orphanage is located in downtown Yuma at 300 South Main Street. For more information about this and future exhibitions, please contact Richard Birnie at (970) 630-3360 or visit the orphanage’s website at orphanageyuma.com. The gallery’s opening times are Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The orphanage is closed on Mondays. Visit the Forney Museum of Transportation at 4303 Brighton Blvd., Denver.
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