Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 116 ¤
1953 Willys Aero Ace Two-Door Sedan Chassis no. 6P38801
Sold for US$8,400 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 116¤
1953 Willys Aero Ace Two-Door Sedan
1953 Willys Aero Ace Two-Door Sedan
Chassis no. 6P38801
Chassis no. 6P38801
161ci "Hurricane" F-Head Inline-Six Cylinder
Single Carburetor
90bhp at 4,400rpm
Three-Speed Manual Transmission
Independent Front and Parallel Leaf-Spring Rear Suspension
Four-Wheel Drum Brakes
* Handsome unibody compact from the maker of the wartime Jeep
* F-head "Hurricane" six — second in Motor Trend's 1952 Engineering Award
* Only 42,000 Aeros built in 1953; survivors genuinely scarce
* Unrestored original with sound body and honest patina
* Accessible entry to independent-maker post-war Americana
THE WILLYS AERO
After a decade spent concentrating on wartime Jeep production, Willys-Overland returned to the passenger-car business in January 1952 with the handsome, unibody Aero. Penned by Phil Wright and engineered by former Packard man Clyde Paton, the Aero was a genuine compact by the American standards of the era — its 108-inch wheelbase placed it above the Kaiser Henry J and the Nash Rambler, but beneath anything offered by Ford, Chevrolet, or Plymouth. The range was anchored by the Aero-Lark at the bottom and the Aero-Eagle two-door hardtop at the top, with the Aero-Ace sitting in the middle as the most popular trim. Paton's F-head six — the "Hurricane" 161-cubic-inch unit producing 90 horsepower — earned Willys second place in Motor Trend's 1952 Engineering Achievement Award and gave the Aero a horsepower-to-weight advantage that was, for a time, the envy of the American industry; period road-testers reported that the car would hold a steady 80 or 90 mph on the highway without complaint.
THE CAR OFFERED
For 1953, Willys marked its 50th anniversary with red-painted wheel-cover emblems and a gold "W" in the grille center. The Wing was retired in favor of a new Aero-Falcon, and four-door sedan bodies were added across the Lark, Falcon, and Ace lines. Only 42,000 Aeros were built that year before Kaiser's acquisition and the model's slow fade from the American market — production moved to Brazil in 1960, where the design lived on through 1971.
This 1953 Aero Ace two-door sedan is presented in Maroon with a black roof over grey cloth and is cataloged as an unrestored original, condition 4. Equipment is modest and period-correct: three-speed manual transmission, factory radio, and hubcaps. The body is sound. The interior remains original and is both worn and torn, consistent with an honest survivor. The odometer reads 5,701 miles and has rolled over at least once. Survival-rate statistics for Aero Aces are punishing — these cars were used, used up, and junked — and a structurally sound unrestored example such as this is a genuinely uncommon find. Suited equally to sympathetic mechanical recommissioning or a full cosmetic restoration, it offers a distinctive slice of independent-maker Americana at an accessible estimate.
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| ¤ | No Reserve |
| Unless indicated by the ¤ symbol next to the lot number (or bearing an explicit statement such as "No Reserve" or "Without Reserve"), which denotes no reserve, all lots in the catalog are subject to a reserve. The reserve is the minimum hammer price that the seller is willing to accept for a lot. This amount is confidential and does not exceed the low estimate value. |
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