American Sports Cars~ Part 2- The WOODILL WILDFIRE 1952 - 1956

In the 1950's "Woody" Woodill become one of the most successful Dodge dealers in the nation. He was so successful that he was allowed to add the Willys line and had always wanted to drive as his own personal mode of transportation a sports car. He loved sleek lines of the new Jaguar X K 120, but had been discouraged by many people from buying one based on it's reputation "to be a rather unreliable car and definitely hard to get parts for."

In a conversation with his neighbor Howard Miller, Howard suggested "Why not build your own sports car using all American running gear?" This set Woody on the path to creating the Woodill Wildfire.

What Woody wanted was a sports car that used all Willys' components. He solved this problem with the guidance of Howard Miller by having Shorty Post, a noted hot rod builder of the day, fabricate a sturdy frame that would accept all Willys Jeepster suspension components and adapt itself to the Glasspar body.

The hand laid body was of the highest quality, far surpassing the Kaiser Darrins and Chevrolet Corvettes which were to come later.

Once the bodies were delivered, Howard Miller assembled the components and made the final adjustments. The little Willys engine was set far enough back in the car to give them an almost perfect 50/50 weight ratio. Cornering was superb and the car with a hot cam, three carbs and headers has supposedly obtained speeds in excess of 120 MPH!

Woody ended up with many obstacles in getting his little sports car into production, but Woody managed to keep the Wildfire alive until 1956 in this country. After that time, he went to other countries where he almost made it big in Australia. The little car he built was definitely a notable piece of American automotive history.

Woodill Wildfire seen below, in the movie "Johnny Dark". The car was named the "Idaho Special"

You can read the full story on the Woodill Wildfire here
MHL