Eric Seltzer of Seltzer Motor Industries Kit Cars and creator of the Willow Kit Car was nice enough to send us a few more scans from various articles about the Willow Kit Car. These kits cars were powered by a Ford Pinto engine and from what I have read these things really moved. Eventually Eric Sold the molds and tooling to another company called S&S Race Group in 1983 but as of this time I do not know exactly what happened.
We are attempting to track down any Willow Sports Cars owners so if you are an owner of one of these great kit cars we would love to hear from you.
I Dig It!! I like the name too. Like Cloverfield for a monster flick. It just works. You may be expecting a little weeping girl of a car, but with the right components, seeing a Willow coming up behind you will trigger “(the fast lane change effect.)” Then it gets the “wutizzit” response. Love it!!
I am George , publisher of “The Kit Car Encyclopedia. I was fortunate to get Automechanics Certification from then Tuskegee Institute. Under the hand of Henry Pennimon, I got a healthy appreciation for a clean and well organized work space.
In researching material for our feature article I visited Eric Seltzer and got to see the inner workings of the Willow and the minds that produced such a wonderful vehicle. The frame was race-worthy from the ground up, a fact that Eric quickly demonstrated by jacking up a corner of the car then opening and closing the doors. They worked just as if the car had been sitting on all fours, clearly proving the design’s torsional rigidity.
Aircraft-quality wiring and a well-engineered body design rounded out the best designed kit car I’ve ever seen, bar none.
A test drive reinforced my conclusions as Eric took a 90-degree flat turn with no discernible body lean. The contoured windshield allowed for easy conversation at 65-mph without flutter. The quality of this car has no equal, even now.
Long live the WILLOW!
I’m in the process of building a custom car. I have a 1967 Mini Cooper. Love driving that car. Not fast but gives you all the feeling of going fast.
So purchased a front sub fame and rear sub frame but making a midi. Honda K20A-R going in back. increasing the wheel base. Want a more streamline body. Love the look of the Willow. Spec’s are just right for what I have in mind. Would love to buy a body. If you know of any source for this I would be over the top with excitement. Hope you can help me in this quest. Thanks Fred
The willow molds ended up in Orlando Florida. Last I heard the people who purchased them were building a new shop and would once again start offering them. That was some time ago.