Vehicle Description
In 1951, aboard the England-bound Queen Elizabeth, an unlikely and
chance meeting occurred between two men at the polar opposite ends
of the automotive industry. Nash-Kelvinator's rather conservative
president, George W. Mason crossed paths with British sports car
builder and expert self-promoter Donald Healey and the two men
found they got along quite well. Healey was fresh from an
unsuccessful meeting with GM where he was attempting to procure a
run of Cadillac V8 engines to drop into the Healey Silverstone
sports car. Cadillac had no interest in Healey's project, but
George Mason was considering ways to lift the somewhat stodgy Nash
lineup, and a sports car seemed like just the ticket. A deal was
soon made between Nash, who would supply Ambassador six-cylinder
engines and Donald Healey, who would clothe and assemble modified
Silverstone chassis in England. With that, America's first post-war
sports car, the Nash-Healey, was born. The first run of cars wore
an alloy body designed by Healey and built by Panel Craft in
England. They were assembled at with Nash inline six cylinder
engines and shipped back to the US. It was a lovely car but for
1952, Nash wanted something with a more cohesive look that fit with
the rest of their lineup. So yet another unlikely partnership was
formed with Pininfarina of Italy, who was contracted to design and
build the new body. As one would expect, building the car in three
different countries was a very costly endeavor. In 1953, the Nash
Healey cost $5,908 compared to the Corvette's $3,513. Healey soon
moved on to focus his efforts on the home grown Austin-Healey and
sales of the Nash sagged. Despite the addition of an attractive
coupe to the lineup, the Nash-Healey did not survive past 1955 when
the last few leftover '54's were sold off. Only 507 were built in
total, including the 90 LeMans Hardtop coupes. Some owners
complained that the six-cylinder Ambassador engine lacked grunt,
including Edmund Anderson, chief stylist at Nash and later AMC. An
avid sports car fan and a member of the burgeoning Sports Car Club
of America, Anderson saw room for improvement in his car, and he
experimented with supercharging, and later fitting a Hudson
Twin-H-Power six. Nash was in negotiations to merge with Packard to
form AMC (which ultimately did not come to pass), so he snagged one
of Packard's newly designed 327 cubic inch V8s that Packard agreed
to supply to Nash for the Ambassador Special. Surprisingly, the
engine fit the Healey chassis with minimal effort. Anderson was so
impressed that he shared the results with engineering, who would go
so far as to get the factory's blessing to publish an official
manual to help customers fit the new (Packard) Nash V8 engine to
their Nash-Healey roadsters. This 1952 Nash-Healey roadster is an
early production model that is one of a handful of cars converted
to run the Packard-designed Nash Ambassador Special V8. Over the
years, a number of these cars have been modified with Chevy or
Cadillac engines, but very few are known to run this
factory-sanctioned conversion. Outwardly, there is little to
differentiate this from a standard Nash-Healey with the exception
of the louvered hood and subtle dual exhausts, and the engine
installation is tidy and neat. This car's history is known back to
the 1950s, having spent its early life in California. Registration
documents go back to 1958 when the car was owned by Warren Drew of
Burbank, who is believed to be the original owner. Mr. Drew clearly
loved his Nash Healey, as he held on to it until August of 1985
when he sold it to his stepson, Col. William Hugill of Pasadena,
CA. In 1993, Hugill sold the car to Jackson Brooks of Colorado.
Correspondence between Brooks and Drew show that the car had been
serviced in California by the legendary Max Balchowsky at Hollywood
Motors in Los Angeles. Balchowsky was the creator of the famous Old
Yeller sports racing cars, and was the unofficial king of the
engine swap - a sign in his shop famously declared "We can replace
anything with anything". Based upon information in the history
file, we have reason to believe the V8 conversion was handled by
Balchowsky at some point early in the car's life. In the mid-1990s,
Jackson Brooks would treat the Nash to a light restoration, which
included a respray in metallic silver-gray, a freshened red
interior and a new canvas top along with a comprehensive mechanical
overhaul. Brooks would enjoy the car at casual shows and on the
road, before selling to its most recent owner in 1998. Recently out
of a large collection of American sports cars, the Nash-Healey has
been maintained in good, tidy condition. The driver-level
restoration has held up well, and the Pininfarina body is straight
with nice gaps and panel fit. A few minor paint cracks are visible,
but overall the car displays consistent finish quality and is shiny
and attractive. The meaty blackwall radials mounted on chrome wire
wheels give just a hint at the boosted performance. The original
brightwork is straight and tidy with a light patina, though the
distinct grille has been restored and is in fine order. A pair of
original glass window side curtains will be included. It runs and
drives well, with a welcome boost in power courtesy of the 327
cubic inch V8, which sends power through a 3-speed manual gearbox
with overdrive. Having seen limited recent use, some minor
servicing would be recommended before embarking on longer drives,
but once refreshed this unique Nash-Healey would be an ideal choice
for road events like the California Mille or Copperstate 1000. With
its fascinating history and performance that matches the beautiful
Italian looks, this Nash-Healey roadster is a great choice for the
driving enthusiast and marque enthusiast seeking a unique and
usable example of America's first post-war sports car.
