1931 Willys-Knight Model 66D Deluxe Sedan

A member of the Geroge Glaze Collection for the last 17-years, this Willys-Knight was comprehensively restored in 2005 and has been well cared for since. A longtime supporter of the annual Auburn Auction & Show, ACD Club, and ACDA Museum, Mr. Glaze is a familiar face in the Collector Car Capital of the World Auburn, Indiana. His first automobile would be a Hupmobile, but his car collecting endeavors would not fully take off till the 1990s, when he began attending the annual Auburn Auction and ACD Festival. It was at this same time that one of his professional business relationships would turn into a life-long friendship through a common love of cars. That friendship would be with Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A. George and Truett began going to car shows and the Auburn Auction together on a regularly basis, with George acting as Truett’s motorcar adviser helping Truett decide and purchase automobiles from the Kruse Auctions for Chick-fil-A’s corporate headquarters.

Once owned by Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Automobile Museum volunteer Paul Casebere, this example carries a wonderful story of a man that had a personal connection to the Willys Knight automotive brand. In 1927 Paul began his automotive career at the age of 12, working for a Willys dealership in Edgerton, Ohio. He started out sweeping the floors and was soon driving customers home and learning to work on engines. In 1931 he bought a Willys-Knight touring with a sleeve-valve engine for just $25. He dated Mary, his wife of 70-years, in that car. Eventually selling that car, he longed for another, and in July 2003 he purchased this example. A restoration project, as it was in pieces, he brought it to the ACDA Museum and began to put it back together with his fellow “Pit Crew” volunteer members. In 2004 Paul unfortunately became ill and later passed in 2005. His friends at the museum came together and finished the project, where it was then exhibited in the museum.

Paul’s family decided to donate it to the museum to be sold at their annual Labor Day weekend charity gala in 2009, where the Glaze Collection would become the next caretakers. Lovingly cared for since, it’s a rare and unique automobile from a lesser-known American auto manufacturer that admired today.