Customs CUSTOM NASH WAGON?! open to ideas!

If you're collecting votes I say leave the wheelwells alone. The "hovercraft look" is what's special about this car. If you lose that, you lose much of the special.

 

AAFD and james d, thanks for the quick chop! Im thinking of shaving the rear windows for sure, leaving the rear wells closed and open it the front. Wheels im still up in the air about. Thatnks for the replys guys, everyones input helps a ton. That's why I love this site!

 

I seen this done.

 

This car is already small. So chopping it would make it pretty cramped inside, I wouldn't do it. Like in my drawing, I'd ditch the quarter glass to make a panel, because it takes the old man/family car look away and gives it a more serious style. Raising the front wheel wells takes the odd, floating look away, and brings it over to the more accepted side. It almost makes it look like a small shoebox Ford. You could easily find another vehicle to use for the fenders wells. Leaving the rear wells stock almost gives the impression of fender skirts, but I think adding skirts would make the rear of the car too boring... the stock opening is eye pleasing because it breaks up all the slab sided metal in the rear. Shaving all the trim and badges off, modifiying the headlights, grille, and tailllights in a tasteful way will not only make the car stand out and be a true kustom, but it will leave most people scratching their heads as to what the hell it is. Using some steel wheels with hubcaps & whitewalls is a SAFE choice, Radirs just don't mix & match with that body, even if you wanted to make a surf-wagon out of it or something, but I don't think there's much surfing in South Dakota.

I really wish I had photoshop, I did mine in MS Paint. But I tried to capture the cleanest way to tastefully customize the goofy little car and make it cool.

 

A friend of mine has one that looks stock except for the wheels and a few inches of lowering, and it looks great. Personally, I'd leave the wheel wells just because they are unique, but opening them up may look good too. Add some big power and it would be fun. Deliveries are good looking, but not that fun to drive, esp. if your kind of tall. The driver ends up behind the back of the front door pillar, and thus behind the side window, which makes driving in traffic tough when you turn you head to the left and just see interior parts instead of the outside.

 

I have to disagree on the sedan delivery idea, it makes it effectively a 2 seater and much more of a PITA in regular driving situations. And I think it looks way better...

 

Alright guys, radirs are out. Black wheels and white walls with spider caps just got the vote at school!

 

The lowered one looks cool but it might look better if it were still a wagon. Can you do the wagon slammed?

 

Way better.

 

I would do very little to the body, if anything at all. It is a Nash why change it? I love the stock front wheel wells and would not enlarge them at all. They are part of the car's cool factor.I would use steel wheels with chrome trim rings and baby moon caps (or maybe even a Nash poverty cap) but no wide whites. . A FatMan or some such front end and lower it all the way around. For power what about an AMC straight 6? There some pretty cool speed parts out there for these engines now.

 

The coolest thing about those Nashes are the wheelwells, all four of them.

 

JamesD, the opened fenders on the front and rear kinda give it a volvo look.. but for a 60's look, it is right one the money by radiusing the rear.

The panel idea is interesting and would work.. if you want to flake the roof, do just above the drip rails.. that is a lot of area if you go from the belt line up... it will be a fun project

and no to the black rims and whitewall. not on a wagon.. sorry.. (never seen it pulled off and not look cheap, like the owner could not afford to do anything else. even with mini trim rings and spider caps..


If you are going with a panel, you are trying to build a phaetom (something the factory might have built but didn't). I think you need to think about that look.. or pic a era (50's or 60's)

if you go with steel rims and whitewall, run hubcaps of some sort, with a panel it will give it a sleek look. if you go 60's go with a chrome wheel and thinner whitewall or if you are set of wide whites then a Chrome reverse wheel (or the radirs you talked about first.. it can work,.. just not my choice,.. but not my car).

So my 2 cents on the build. do the panel, keep the rest of the body pretty stock (use 55 front fender openings if you can find them) and maybe mess with the grill or bumpers.. maybe raise the stock rears wheel openings about 1 or 2" just to keep people wondering.. I would run widewhites and a set of smooth caddy (or equivalent) caps or maybe find a cool looking Nash hubcap from a different year.. lower it until the top edge of the rim is tucking in the front... also keep it a color that is close to stock but go ahead and add flake or pearl color to the roof (for some fun).. or do a two tone or two similar colors (more timeless) lighter green bottom and dark green roof..

Make it a good drive and never open the hood..

here are two examples of the two tone but similar colors..

 

+1, those funky little wheel wells are one of the things that make the car.

As for myself I wouldn't put Radars on a gokart for my pet piss ant but to each his own. To me they always say that the car owner was too cheap to buy nice wheels and settled for the cheap ones.

 

get started and keep us informed on the build

 

Dont cut the arches . Its a nash not a nomad. The arches are waht make it cool and unique.

 

The front wells are getting opened up with a square-ish style opening off some fenders I found at a junk yard (I believe early ninties ranger but the lines will flow with the bodyline around the bottom) im trying to keep a Nash profile front fender. Rounded but still square enought to match the rear. As for paint it will be charcoal with white flake in the area where the windows were like the green one posted earlier. I found a set of 56 olds caps in the yard the other day and im thinking those are it. Their smooth but still have enough character for me. Im thinking of merc style headlights and early vette grill teeth with a slightly widened stock surround. Its starting to come together in my head and you guys are helping a ton. I haw access to a shoebox ford and was thinkin about the tailights in the Nash also. I figure if im gonna cut it up why not make people have to think to figure out what it is.

 

Oh, andits getting the sbc and 700r4 that's in my garage at home, I want a good driver that's cheap to work on. I just won't open my hood, I myself am tired of small blocks but I got it and its reliable n cheap lol

 

Agreed.. the other post above by Boones shows the love of a '55 Chevy.. This is a Nash.. Leave it Nash--- (most of all--make it yours)

 

Here is my old wagon i sold last year.

 

Don't change the arches! I double-dog dare ya!
Slam that bitch to the ground and float it to Koolsville!

 

hack n back

 

Dirtyball that's awsome!

 

Thank you. I hated to see it go.

 

dirtball, i like you old wagon. what year was it,

 

how bout this....

 

Nash DID make a panel wagon on that body. I know for sure they made SIX for 1958 -- three "glass panel" (basically the wagon with an extended platform in place of the back seat) and three solid panel models (solid sides and extended platform). Those are the only solid panel side wagons known. In 51 1,569 "Deliveryman" wagons (glass in back, extended platform, no rear seat) were delivered. None were apparently made for 52, NINE were made for 53. No more were built until the 58 models. There was a stripped down five passenger two door wagon sold for fleet use though. Apparently most who wanted a delivery car just flipped the back seat down and let it go. The 58-60 models are slightly revised 55 models, which in turn are slightly revised from the earlier 50-54 Nash Rambler.

Why the Mustang II front end? The original is just as strong (the old L-head six weighs 550 pounds, only 30-40 less than a small block V-8) and offers better geometry with one exception -- caster. You can only get about three degrees caster from it. It's super simple and effective, and rebuild parts are available as well as a disc brake kit. If all the parts are kept greased it will take forever to wear it out. Get stingy on the grease and the lower joint can wear enough to pull out, but it takes thousands of miles without grease to do it. If you keep the stock suspension let me know, I cna easily tell you how to rebuild and where to get parts.

 

Gasser!, tub it and add a bug catcher through the hood, open fender headers ( white ) and a nice roll cage, so they know your serious. Wheelie bars are a plus too.

No one would ever mess with a Gasser/Nash.

MrC.

Nice car by the way, no matter what you decide.

 

Im using the mistang two because the inner wheel wells are rusted away by the top a arm mounts and someone used bolts for "gussets" the mustang two is the most cost effective way at the moment and I already have some of the parts

And mrconcdid, thanks for the support!

 

That's surely a good reason! Strange that is was rusted up there, might be a northern car though. Make sure you inspect the "frame" rails good. If the front ones are bad look at an early Chevy II front clip. The front rails can be cut from the Rambler and pads welded on for the CII front clip (and aftermarket frame clip, not the stock one!) to bolt on. Just a thought!