For Sale: 1953 Nash Rambler in Lavergne, Tennessee

The Nash Rambler was designed during WWII and introduced afterward as "Well equipped and sensibly priced". It was the only American manufacturer to get the compact car formula right with styling that was "Fresh, distinctive, and attractive". This 1953 Country Club model was among the last produced before Nash Motors merged with Hudson Motors to become American Motor Corporation.


Restyled for 1953, this Rambler has what was called "Airflyte" styling, which was an envelope body that encloses the front and back wheels. The hood line was lowered and a controversial, racy hood ornament designed by George Petty was offered as an option. It is on this car, sitting on the hood scoop. It is a sexy woman, leaning on a wing, flying into the future. The car is finished in Turquoise with a bright chrome bumper and grill below that hood ornament and white on the roof as well as the continental spare tire cover. Polished brightwork follows the low body line from the front bumper to the back, with Rambler Country Club in script, a door handle, and an "N" on the gas cap as the only small things interrupting the body work as seen from the side. The rear bumper wraps around that Continental spare that has a Nash hubcap matching the others on the car.


Open the door and you are in for a treat. The door panel is a two-tone affair with a gracefully curving armrest dividing the top and bottom. The split bench seat is nicely upholstered in Sand Beige with alternating dark stripes on the seat bottom with solid beige trim and tops. Nice. The back seat is trimmed the same way and looks as comfortable as a living room couch. A two-spoke steering wheel of concentric circles, one for the wheel, one for the horn ring, sits in front of the column shifter for the manual transmission and a very simple, yet elegant, dashboard. A small, single round gauge has a speedometer and gauges for temperature and fuel along with indicator lights for charging system or oil pressure malfunctions. A brushed metal panel in the shape of an airfoil is on the passenger side with "Airflyte" in script along with a clock and the radio control knob. Pop the trunk and you will find that this "compact car" has quite a bit of cargo space too.


Under the hood of this car you will find a stock inline 6-cylinder, flat head engine of 184-cubic inch displacement. It is nestled down in a neat and clean engine compartment that is painted Turquoise. That makes the black air filter housing and ventilation box really stand out, along with the long black air horn that looks big enough to announce a royal family's entrance. The power the engine makes is sent back through a 3-speed manual transmission to the rear wheels which sit on multi-leaf springs with tube shocks. The front suspension is a control arm system mounted on a subframe with coil springs acting on the upper control arm. Drum brakes all around handle the stopping chores and the car rolls on 5.60-15 mounted on steel wheels painted white with chrome hubcaps that have "Nash" in red embossed into them.


The advertising campaign for this car claimed that "among two car families - four out of five prefer to drive their Rambler". Come on down and see if that might be true for you too.