Willis Family Commodore Sports Sedan

[Rod Grimwood]

This is my version of events :

Back in the mid 70s, Lindsay Willis went on a trip to the States. He visited a lot of speedway tracks and also meet up with guys who built speedway cars. What we called 'saloons' back then. Lindsay was a very good competitor in stockcars (NZ Champion, doesn't get much better) and was also building stockcars for other people. When he returned he had the knowledge and skills so built a space frame car for speedway the first here, it had a glass Torana body put on it. Lindsay built a lot of stockcars and a few saloons in between running a business.
Lindsay and his son Brett who was also an accomplished stockcar driver were at meeting in early 1983 (believe at Bay Park) watching and looked at some of the Sports Sedans, and Lindsay decided he could build one of these. Remember back then Sports Sedans were mainly floor pan cars with some having fronts and/or rears framed but no all space frame cars were made then.
So in August 1983 history was started in the construction of NZ Sports Sedans.

These are some photos that Lindsay has given me to copy of some of the build of the Willis Commodore.

Unfortunately Brett and Lindsay have hunted all over and tracked the car as far as they can but believe it has gone. They were keen to rebuild it and race in Classic Sports Sedans.

Following are photos of the build etc.

First photo is a well known one of car at Bay Park with rear spoiler etc more on that later.

Second is what Brett raced before, and of coarse constructed by Lindsay.
Note name on rear guards.