1925 Nash Advanced Six Roadster
Serial no. 317055
Engine no. 204401
Series 160. Body Style no. 166. 60 hp, 248.9 cu. in. OHV inline six-cylinder engine, three-speed manual transmission, semi-elliptical leaf spring front suspension, semi-floating rear axle, and four-wheel drum brakes. Wheelbase: 121 in.
Nash made a well-earned name for itself as a builder of reliable, solidly constructed mid-priced cars, but it is often forgotten that they also enjoyed peppy performance and distinctive, attractive styling. Such was the positive reception to the company’s 1925 models that sales rose a full 50 percent over the previous calendar year. This was on the basis of expensive-looking styling that, on the Advanced Six, included a hood with long narrow louvers, a nickeled radiator shell, and balloon tires. These features were shown to especially good effect on the Advanced Six Roadster, a jaunty two-passenger model which the manufacturer described as having a “long, sweeping rear deck, graced with nickeled guard bars, of the classically symmetrical Nash dreadnaught design.”
The Advanced Six Roadster shown here is believed by the owner to be one of fewer than five remaining in roadworthy condition. Was sold in 1967 by William J. Smith of Crown Point, Indiana, to Lyle Carl Marshall of Dana, Iowa, who owned the car at least through 1972. In 2002 it was owned by Richard and Judith Schulze of Mountain Home, Arkansas, next passing to an owner in Texas and then to the current caretaker, a longtime connoisseur of the marque.
The body is believed to have been refinished in the Schulzes’ ownership, in colors very similar to the original hues; the top was replaced several years ago, the carburetor rebuilt in 2017, and the top end of the engine rebuilt in 2018. Overall the car presents in very attractive and usable condition, with an engine compartment and undercarriage that have been cleaned up but never truly restored, and therefore bear a charming patina. Its starts easily, runs, drives, stops quite well and surprising has a huge amount of leg room, usually unheard of in cars of this era. A wonderful example of a rare roadster.
Accompanying the car is a small collection of ownership documentation and receipts, as well as selected original Advanced Six sales literature, including a promotional pamphlet, full brochure, a Information for the Owner manual for an Advanced Six, and a tremendously impressive bound hardcover salesman’s manual, as well as a copy of Motor Age in which an advertisement for the model appears. Correct bumpers and side windscreens are also included.
This is a lovely, unusual automobile which is rarely seen on the market – a wonderful, seldom-seen survivor of the great Wisconsin automaker, Nash.
