Mopar Muscle Association UK

Thanks for that Martin,,

http://www.moparuk.com/forums/viewtopic ... 37&t=57840

I might as well wrap this one up. The truth at the end of all the comings and goings involved with this car is it never was a barn find at all, It was stolen from a lock up during a house clearance and a back story created. I met the rightful owner by chance a couple of years ago just before the court case where the car was returned to him. He brought the car in himself in 1976 from a guy that street raced it in the States (who he was still in touch with). He drove it a couple of times then parked it up never to use it again. Same story with at least 3 other Hemi cars and other rarities. Had it confirmed today that Colin had died suddenly back in December last year and whatever cars of his that can be located will be heading to auction, the whereabouts of some of his lock ups isn't known apparently.
So there it is, RIP Colin Wills a man that few in the mainstream hobby seemed to know, he was the mysterious "Hemi man" I had heard about in the '80's that kept his cars in an old chapel and never drove any of them. That one time I met him he said he used to crew on Clive Skiltons top fuel car in the '70s and that was where his interest in things Hemi came from.

Interesting / intriguing stuff, thanks Blue

Now that is interesting.
So you were contacted by the people that took the car ? Who linked it back to Colin ?

Even I had heard of the 'chapel of hemis' - will be interesting to see what turns up and when.

Thanks Blue for wrapping up the story, I had heard that the car had gone back to the genuine owner and I must say I did have my suspicions that there was a lot more to this story from the beginning. As for the mysterious Hemis in the chapel, as you say those of us who have been in the hobby for years had heard all the rumours. It will certainly be interesting if the cars do go to auction and then hopefully end up in the hands of people who will appreciate them. It really is quite a tale !

A mate called me and told me someone he knew had unearthed a Hemi car. About 18 months later another mate called me to say his mate Colin's car had been stolen and had appeared on eBay. Due to it being a pretty small world where Mopars are concerned I ended up in the position of knowing people that knew people at both ends of the debacle. I just wish I'd got to know Colin better, there had to be some tales to be told.

Yes indeed, RIP Colin Wills.

Did you know him Martin?

Sadly Blue I didn’t know him personally. I had heard all the stories over the years, It’s a shame we never crossed paths. As you say some fascinating stories are probably lost forever.

Indeed especially since his oldest mate also died a few weeks ago, they had met in the early '60s when they both worked for Jenson. The prototype GKN Hemi car is one of the rarities in Colin's stash along with a Boss 429, there are more but those are the only others I know for sure.

I heard that Colin had died back in Feb. & wondered when it would come out publicly & what would happen to the cars.
I hadn't heard about his best friend, anyone know his name? only I found out about the Hemi Cuda about 5/6 years ago in a discussion about recommissioning an old Mopar with someone who turned out to be one of the owners friends, we had quite a few chats about it & eventually it came out that it was a 70 Hemi Cuda, an unknown one in the UK from what I could discretely find out at the time, unfortunately nothing came of the recommisioning of the car, 1 of a private collection of about 30 cars in all.
It will be very interesting when & where it comes up for sale, and the other cars as well.

Blue wrote: Wed Apr 21, 21 7:00 pm Indeed especially since his oldest mate also died a few weeks ago, they had met in the early '60s when they both worked for Jenson. The prototype GKN Hemi car is one of the rarities in Colin's stash along with a Boss 429, there are more but those are the only others I know for sure.

Was that David Morris, Blue? Seem to remember some connection with David and the Hemi Jensen...

Yes David Morris, I was round his garage one day when Colin walked in, I would never have met him otherwise. It seems crazy that they both lived so locally to me and I knew nothing of either of them until the last few years. The pair of them hooning around the West end in a dual four barrel Galaxie David had bought for a song was one of the few tales they told me.

Thanks for the info Blue, sad to hear of the death. I didn't know Colin or his name, but had heard (like most of us it seems) of the 'Hemi chapel', particularly with respect to the GKN FFF1000, I really look forward to that surfacing!