From Church to Drag Racing
A Genuine Family Hotrod
Repairs were made just in time for George Anderson and his son, George Jr. to bring their 1940 Willys to the Cruisin' OC show. "I blew the rear out of it 3 weeks ago. We just got it together Friday night to bring it up here," said George, Sr. This bronze classic can do 1070's in the quarter mile at the drag strip. But this Willys does much more than drag race. It's a genuine family car. "My mom used to love to go to church in this. When it's not broke down, this is my main transportation," he added.
There's a story behind how this 4 cylinder Willys was transformed to the powerful vehicle that it is today. George explained, "When I bought this car, my wife said I'll let you get it under one condition, you don't change the drivetrain. And then we went to church one day, all 5 of us. Coming home from church, I said to my wife, you drive. Well, we stopped on a hill at the light, and when the light turned green, the little motor didn't have enough power to get going. So the guy behind is blowing the horn and she said, we could use more power. And that's how I got to put this V8 in there!" Both George's laughed at they recalled the event.
George, Jr. is old enough to drive and enjoys the car as well. "Last night me and my buddies went for a ride just cruisin' around Ocean City and we had a great time in it," he said. George has a younger sister, age 12, and a younger brother, age 8, and all of them like cars. So if you see a family that's having a great time cruising in a bronze Willys near Jessup, Maryland, stop and say hello. It has to be the Andersons.
