1948 Nash Coupe.....can they be hot rodded? Any pictures?

I have a chance to pick up a 1948 Nash 5 p*** coupe. Its engine-less but the rest is all there. All I can find a street rod pictures and they are ugly examples too.

What are your feelings on these cars being hopped up? Say with a 283 or early Hemi or maybe a nailhead.

Anyone have pictures of nice examples?

 

Is this the body style you're talking about?

 

Anything can be hot rodded! The '48 has nice body lines to it. Build it!

 

Anything can be hot rodded....except for a postwar Nash.

Sorry.

 

yes thats it

Hmph....I guess its a good daily then.

 

I could see it being more of a kustom, but not really a hot rod. Granted, you could make it a really fast kustom, but that body just doesn't lend itself to rodding. I think it would look like a 1980s 'street rod', no matter what you tried. Just my opinion.

 

What's cool about it is that you definitely don't see one every day...I can't remember the last time I saw one in person...if you like it then get it the front end definitely catches your eye and would look good sitting as close to mother earth as possible...

 

Yeah that is what I was afraid off. 80s street rod look. i dont even own one of those crying babies. I wouldnt fit into that crowd.

 

I cant see this as a hot rod no matter what you do to it. What I can see is a very nice custom if done right. It has great lines and its very unique. I'd say customize that baby

 

You could always do what I saw at the Hootenanny in '99. Get a crying baby doll and park your front tire on its head

 

Anyone want to photo shop it?

 

Some people have zero imagination, obviously!

Nice thing about that Nash is that there isn't one parked on every street corner, or at every car event. Build it and BE different. If you went with a built AMC engine (401, 390), you'd have a neat car!!! An SBC, it'd just be another old car with a V-8.

 

Before you start cutting, I'd make sure the undercarriage was all in one piece rust-wise. These were unibody I think, and the ravages of time generally haven't been kind to them.

 

Similar in size to the early Studebaker Champ....so you'd probably be well off looking at what people have done with them.

But damn, that's an ugly front end on that nash! Makes the Studes look like beauty queens

 

In some car show coverage in Rod & Custom (i think) there was a nash somebody had done up "g***er style" it was kinda cool, the paint wasn't my favorite but I liked the body. I could see building that thing as g***er styled car, or a custom...I think it's kind of cool. It could look 80's street rod too..

But the good thing about it looking like an 80's street rod is you'll have it all set up for next years newest fad...Traditional 80's Rods...

 

too bad its engine-less. there are speed part for the original motor.
http://www.vapinc.com/nashspeed/main.html

 

Stuff a blown hemi in it, full radius the rear wheel openings and make a g***er out of it.

 

They are unit body, Nash pioneered that. If it's not rusted out and the body is structurally sound, build it. There is not an official list of approved makes and body styles that can be hot rodded. If you like it, build it.

 

Think of it as a chubby FOMOCO club coupe

 

with a lincoln grille

 

I saw a '48 Nash Sedan at the '78 Street Rod Nationals that had a tube ch***is and full cage. It was powered by a nasty sounding Hemi and cruised around the Mopar Maxi-Nats area making everyones jaw drop. So yes, a '48 Nash CAN be a Hot Rod!

 

Even if the uni is rotted, I don't know why you couldn't put it on say a Ford frame or even one of the 1-800-Hot-Rod frames. If you search on here there is a long thread for a '41 Nash coupe build - they're not a whole lot different than the '48 - it might give you some ideas. Younger guy did the car all himself and kept it pretty reasonable cost wise.

 

Sorry I don't have the time right now to sketch it up, but 'in my mind's eye' I see a custom yes, but I can also easily imagine a nose-up g***er, spindle mounts, headers popping out of the wheel-wells, injector stacks sprouting through the hood, fat cheater slicks poking out of the rear fenders, tinted acrylic windows, and some sort of snappy name on the side that appeals to you-maybe something like 'Nashty Business' or something like that.
.Just a thought.

 

G***er it!

Striaght Axle, Supercharged 392, Halirands and some pie crust slicks

 

48 NASH has a full perimeter frame, beefy and would def handle a v8 and a nine inch., and a shoo in for a m2 front end or straight axle. The original engines run ok but are plagued with low oil press problems when hot..would look good as a custom or g***er. worked on a few......

gaspumpchas

" she was born in '32 and was she ever pretty...
she rode a freight train west, all the way from detroit city..."
Ballad of ol' Betsy, 1963, Beach boys

 

My photoshop keeps locking up when I try anything on a Nash!

 

Ive seen a 331 hemi in one, way cool. Same coupe only 46.

 

Afriend of mine is working on a 1948 Nash coupe at the rod shop he works at.They used a Fat Man stub,9 in rear and 350 700r4 trans.It is not finished but is painted and rolling.Looks good with 17 in americans now but i believe they are going to use steelies.Really looks good down on the ground.

 

sure you can...

 

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Cc