Customs CUSTOM NASH WAGON?! open to ideas!

My wagon was 1959.

 

Ya could use some claw bath tub feet on the roof, upside down for roof rack perches.
Just a thoughtnot a suggestion.......sorry

Seriously tho I do like these cars

 

Here my 58. Wish it was a wagon

I went with front running and wide tires in the rear and gave it a drag car look.

 

:d lol!

 

Hot40Rod, what's under the hood? I'd really like to see some underhood shots. What did you do for the front suspension?

 

I'm a Ford guy (1933 3-window, 1957 2 dr. custom, 1946 Coupe, 1956 bigwindow) but I put this together for my wife....gets way more attention than any of my Fords. Her Nash Metropolitan has a 5.0/AOD with a narrowed 9" for a drive train.

I say keep the NASH look!

 

but leave off the ugly wheels...

 

Still has the flathead with a ford 2100 series Carb. Which woke it up a little. It make people look. I plan on a upgrade for the suspension and a V8 over the winter

 

Anyone have any info on what rear end might fit this thing? I need about 55" from hub to hub preferably with discs and small ford bolt pattern. Tried doing some research and couldn't come up with anything I can just snag from a junkyard

 

Lookup Granada, and Volare/ Aspen rear ends...also Dart and Valiant You might not get discs that way but those rears are roughly the same width and bolt pattern...I'm sure a 5.0 Mustang from later years might have just what you're in search of.

 

Those rear axles are all a bit wide for the little Rambler. Early model Ranger axles fit okay (pre 92). S-10 pickup axles are close, but they have a different wheel bolt pattern. Most pre 92 Rangers have the 7.5" axle, but it would be okay with a small V-8 for a cruiser (wouldn't want to drag race with it, will eventually break!). See http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Axles.html for Ranger axle info.

 

The ranger sounds like a great choice but it measures 58.5" drum to drum ...Just for arguments sake though, the 64-69 valiant barracuda axle is 55.5" the early mustang axle is 56" as is an early cougar. I don't have meausrements on the aspen volare but my friend slid one under a 47 dodge pickup and it was narrower than stock leading me to believe it's right in the ballpark.

 

Correction: I just measured my neighbors 89 Ranger axle...it's 56.5" drum to Drum...Sounds like this guy has lots of options...gonna go check the neighborhood for a cherokee.

 

Ironfly thanks a bunch! Its nice to know I have option, and thall make finding something even easier.

 

look for jeeps too...they're pretty narrow and probably all come with Danas...... all the rears mentioned should have 5x4.5 bolt pattern...you can add discs in that pattern to just about any of those axles....

If I were building this car I would shave it, slam it and put something under the hood that got great mileage, I'd paint it a factory looking subdued two tone,..and add some faux wood grain to the interior MAYBE throw a canvas rollback top on it and a luggage rack...sort of a cal look rambler...I think that the body lines of this car as so odd that an understated finish will really make the car stand out..........Also, does anybody else think they were trying to market these toward Lesbians?...awful lot of girls in plaid shirts in those ads.

 

FutureClassic,

I don't know how the '51 American compares to the '64 American, but I used a Granada 8" rear end in my old '64 and it was an EXACT bolt-in. I don't remember the mesurement, however. That was many neurons ago.

Mike

 

The 64-69 American bodies are a bit wider than the 50-55 Nash Rambler and 58-63 Americans. The rear tread, however (and therefore axle width) is the same, so the Granada axle should fit.

 

Lincoln versaille 9" or granada...or maverick 8"..

 

Check late 90's Ford Explorers 8.8 with rear disc

 

Explorer wont work way too wide (59 and a half) I already have one at home, if anyone has anything to trade that'd be awsome!

 

What about using the rear axle from a Hornet or Gremlin X 304. The 304 is a stout engine which would keep the Nash theme.

 

looks like a bumper car

 

The other AMC axles are a bit wider too. Gremlin/Spirit and Hornet/Concord are 57", but should work with the narrow stock wheels or a bit deeper backset 7" wheels (7" is about the widest that will fit the wheel wells). The V-8 axles are difficult to find. Not that many made, and the AMC guys are always on the look-out for them. The sixes used a 7-9/16" ring gear (AMC 15 axle), about the same strength as the Ford 8".

The weak spot in AMC axles is the bolt-on hub. Loosen the nut then torque down to 250 ft/lbs and it will be good to go for street tires in the small cars even with a small V-8. The nut might be stuck tight, but stuck isn't the same as properly torqued. The V-8 axles have the same "problem". The design isn't the problem, they have been on a long time and the ends of the axle does stretch slightly over time, which weakens the connection. Retorque the nut! AMC didn't specify an interval as they only expected the cars to last 10 years/100K miles. Anything over and the nuts should be retorqued. If unknown when/if it was done, do it! Or bite the bullet and order one-piece axles. They usually use a ball bearing not recommended for street use, but many people run them on the street. Not sure if you can get one-piece for the AMC 15, but you can for the larger AMC 20 (it has an 8-7/8" ring gear -- the V-8 axle).

 

Farn and ramzoom thanks for the info!

Ironfly thanks for crawling around to get some measurments! Im thinking I can get a whole granada right now for 100 bucks so that might be the route im going

 

I would not open the wheel wells..removing the skirted look would be like getting rid of the bullet nose on a 50 Studebaker...they define the cars unique look...the most appealing part of these wagons is the low fat skirted bumper car look...I would never do it but that's me..

 

If you do open up the wheel wells, the front would benefit from a wider track.
Otherwise, the fronts will look lost and sunken.

And even Nash decided to open up their wheel wells...

 

Its getting a mustang two and that's part of the reason why im opening up the front because the track width will be too wide to keep the low fronts, plus that picture up further of the panel looks sweeet and it made my decision easy.

 

We are building a '60 rambler American for the wife. It is getting a 231 Buick oddfire out of a '76 Skyhawk. We will also be using the rear end as well.
I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
Subscribed!

Nate

 

Just shorten your control arms.......contact Steve at Industrial Chassis. He could make a "mustang II" fit anything. They fab front ends from scratch that use minimal actual mustang parts and I'm sure he'd be willing to help you overcome any width and track issues. Good luck on that granada...and save everything! There's so many usable parts on that car it's ridiculous.

 

Been doing some more drawing and it looks like I will keep the wheel wells how they are, so all you stock lovers congratulations you won me over, im still making it a panel butwill keep the "Nash look" should have updates and pics as soon as I can fix my camrea