Projects Mish-Mash Nash -'52 Rambler Wagon

def looks like one more piece needed!

 

Any updates?

 

Sorry, not much new to report. I did buy a four foot finger brake a few months ago, as well as an early aluminum Corvair steering bear box to complete the Corvair steering system, but an exterior remodeling project is getting all of my free time for now. I should be back at by August or so.

 

Looked at two Olds 215 V8s which popped up this morning on fb marketplace, and they were rough. Both 4-bbl engines, so I figured they were worth a look:



#1 was decent and still had coolant inside, but it was locked up as expected, had a generator bracket and an automatic transmission behind it:



#2, was, well, #2. Big rust hole in one valve cover, rusty valvetrain, locked up, no alternator bracket, and was an automatic car:



Better luck next time, kid.

 

What were they asking for them? Might be good for parts...

 

Parts is parts, as they say.

 

$500. The rust hole in the valve covers means the valvetrain on that side is likely garbage, as the rocker shaft and arms are not easy to separate, even when "clean", in my experience. No '63-only alternator bracket present, no manual trans flywheel nor bellhousing (which is what I had really hoped to see in the pile of parts, as I could use another), and the valley cover on the rusty valve cover engine was rusted through, too, so, not good.

It would take a few hours to break both engines down, then hope some parts inside are still worth using...and I already have at least two engines worth of parts. There is no direct access to the engines, either, no tractor, etc on site, so it would require ******* them around the yard and into my pickup using my engine hoist....they'd have to be very cheap for me to bite.

 

Yeah... asking $500 for what I might be willing to give $100 for... maybe $250 if they get them to where I just have to get them on my truck or trailer! S**** price is all they are worth. Even ***uming the blocks and heads can be salvaged, the amount of work required to do it has to be considered.

 

Are there any updates on this project?
Or did the Studebaker advance to the front of the line in priority?

​

 

Sorry, no, and yes, the Studebaker has taken up all of my free time for the time being. The siding for my exterior remodel project arrives tomorrow, so both projects are taking a backseat for a few weeks...unless it's rainy.

 

It's supposed to rain tomorrow... .

& what, pray tell, will replace the Stude mill? Inquiring minds & all that...

Only thing better than a Stude mill(6 or 8) is the Agajanian DOHC Indy Stude.
Well, 2nd best is a Chyrs Hemi - if it's blown, injected, or Weberized... "*IF*" ... . No,no,no,no, forgot - the Winfield DOHC 180* crank'd NOVI gets slid in behind the Stude DOHC, *before* a Hemi - Yup... even before a 427 SOHC... . (although supercharged, it's *really* close* ) ... . Which is way before a Chrys version...- As you can tell here, I'm not spendin' my money - *if* I had it, I would... ;D .

Since we're hallucinatin' here anyways... may as well enjoy it... .
Marcus...

 

Dare to be different. How about an AMC 390?

 

Well, it's a Stude... so a Packard V-8 would be "in the family"! An AMC V-8 (more likely the easier to find 360 than a hard to find and pricey 390/401) would at least be keeping in the orphaned make category and more practical though. Look at it this way... if George Mason had lived there may have been and AMC/S-P merger after all! James Nanace respected George Mason, but when Mason suddenly died and George Romney took over all bets were off! Nance and Romney didn't get along so good. Nance viewed the hand-shake deal he had with Mason to share parts was WITH MASON, not with AMC. So he sold AMC V-8s for a couple years (at a premium) but refused all bids sent to AMC for any parts. So AMC said FU and made their own V-8...

 

Yup, Packard v8s are "family". & therefore qualify. . May as well add a Paxton, preferably 2(gonna need 2 for the airflow required), esp iffen they've been worked over/hopped up by Jon or Mike Meyer...
In terms of strength, I do believe the AMC 290 was the strongest v8s, considering bore dia/wall thickness/rigidity/et-al. Should be able to take the highest boost - which we weren't talking about, but we can now... - . Anyways, I'll wait-n-see what itP does. It's all good... .
I'm really happy for him(not so much for me... but...), that he'll have his Stude running & driveable close to an eon before I will. He'll also have a perma-grin to go w/that. . Good on you, itP...
& as always... "Thanks for choosing Stude". .
Marcus...

 

I will update that topic with any new info.

I considered an AMC V8 for the Nash early on, but it never got very far. The ironic(?) part is my Nash was built in CA, not Kenosha, and I live a few miles dead west of the former Nash body plant on Capitol Drive in Milwaukee. My neighbor's grandfather even worked at the plant back in the '50s...small world. https://archive.jsonline.com/news/opinion/49747522.html/

The Nash is not forgotten, just waiting patiently.

 

To quote a past fabulous HAMBer... :
"Patiently waiting..." .
Marcus...