1955 Woodill Wildfire Roadster

The Woodill Wildfire, built by B. R. 'Woody' Woodill, is considered, by most enthusiasts, to be the genesis of the production of American fiberglass sports cars. Although production was low (3 in 1952 and 7-11 in 1953), the car was slated to be Willy's answer to the sports car, until its ultimate acquisition by Kaiser-Frazer Corporation, which has already slated the Darrin to be their entry into the field.

The car received major attention from the automotive press because of 'Woody's' great showmanship. It even starred in three movies: 'Johnny Dark' with Tony Curtis, 'Written on the Wind' with Rock Hudson, and 'Knock on Wood' with Danny Kay.

The hand-laid fiberglass cloth body, produced by Bill Tritt of Glasspar Corporation, was affixed to a custom frame, built by the famous hot rodder, Shorty Post. All running gear was contemporary Willys, including the 161 cubic-inch F-head engine. The engine was equipped with a triple carburetor manifold made exclusively for the Wildfire.

This particular example is a Series II Woodill Wildfire that is still in the car of its original builder. With a wrecked 1954 Ford Mainline taxi cab as a donor vehicle, Ted Griffin, along with Don Darkow and Ben Au, built his Wildfire using a body kit and custom frame supplied by Woodill Motors of Downey, California. In its original configuration, this Wildfire was powered by a Ford Thunderbird 312 'Y' engine topped by a trio of two-barreled Stromberg 97 carburetors and mated to a three-speed transmission. During its most recent restoration, completed in 2009, the frame was stiffened, the power train replaced with a Buick 231 V-6 and Borg Warner five-speed, and the Sierra Gold metallic paint was changed to Ferrari Red. The current owner still drives this Wildfire on a regular basis.