1931 Willys Knight Six Model 97

The Willys-Knight automobile company was in business from 1914 to 1933. John North Willys acquired the Edwards Motor Car Company of Long Island, New York, in 1913. The company's operations were moved to Elyria, Ohio, where Willys owned the plant that previously manufactured the Garford automobile. The Willys-Knight was named after its founder and for its sleeve valve, Knight engine. Willy's use of the Knight engine would prove to be the most popular, and enduring, of all sleeve-valve engine-powered cars in the United States. An assortment of models with four-, six- and eight-cylinder engines were built by Willys-Knight using the Sleeve-valve engine. The double-sleeve design used concentric sleeves which rotated to allow gases in and out, dispensing with the need for poppet valves. The operation of sleeve valves was silent in operation and operated better the more they were operated since accumulated carbon helped seal the sleeves and prevented oil from migrating to the combustion chamber.

Production of the Willys-Knight automobile continued until November of 1932 when the company entered receivership and stopped building high-priced cars. Instead, they focused on the inexpensive Willys 77.

Willys offered two Sixes for 1931, including the Model 97 and 98D, with wheelbases of 113- and 121-inches. Both models used a 1932 cubic-inch L-head six-cylinder engine. Additionally, Willys offered a straight eight model, which would endure for just two seasons. The Willys Six continued as the Model 6-90 in 1932 and 79 in 1933. After this, there was just one Willys, the four-cylinder 77.

For 1931 Willys-Overland's total production was approximately 75,000 vehicles.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2020