For Sale: 1936 Nash Lafayette in Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey

Zoom Classic Cars presents this unique 1936 Nash Lafayette. This Nash Lafayette has been meticulously cared for with pride of ownership. Pictures show the very good condition this American Classic sedan is in. The Lafayette is not a common car. Check out this information from Hemmings: Reintroducing the LaFayette as a popular-priced entry-level line hadn't improved sales figures as much as Nash Motors had hoped it would in 1934. This was more a reflection of the general economic climate than it was of the well-engineered, conservatively attractive cars, whose lines came from the pen of the famous Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky. In 1936, Nash tried again with a freshly redesigned, quite modern-appearing LaFayette range, and went as far as offering two unique grille treatments in one year's time. It was a treat to encounter this rare 1936 LaFayette DeLuxe in the car corral of the 2016 AACA Hershey Fall Meet. This trunk-equipped four-door sedan represented the second series of LaFayette built for that year, its unique grille treatment setting it apart from the first series 1936 cars that were introduced as the "Series 3610" on June 15, 1935. Those summer-build 3610s came in nine body styles that included two-door coupes, Victorias and Cabriolets, and four-door sedans, largely shared with the least-expensive Nash 400 line. The LaFayette 3610s were well-engineered six-cylinder cars with desirable features like all-steel bodies with seamless steel roofs on closed models, hydraulic brakes, comfortable wide seating, and the availability of the Kenosha, Wisconsin, automaker's famous in-car bed conversion. The first-series 1936 LaFayette followed contemporary senior Nash cars with Chrysler Airflow-influenced Streamline Modern styling. They sported tall, narrow, oval-shaped radiator grilles that wrapped over and under on top and bottom and stood proud of the front fenders. Their slender vertical bars--13 to each side of the thick center bar that was home to an emblem and the base of the hood ornament--were often finished in body color paint (the outer areas) and chrome (in the center, vaguely like Pontiac's Silver Streak treatment). The hood side panels featured simple, attractive horizontal louvers. That side panel design was altered on second-series 1936 cars, which entered production on October 15, 1935. The horizontal louvers now emerged from an embossed circle whose lower half contained the "LaFayette-Nash Built" emblem, which also bore the profile of this car's namesake, Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette. The grille styling was also subtly different, as our feature sedan reveals: This notably V-shaped unit retained the waterfall look with 19 slender vertical bars inside the frame, but no longer curved over the top of the hood. This grille's upper edge now butted up against bright metal trim panels that offered the look of horizontal cooling vents through their six black-painted recesses; this treatment was also seen on the solid panel at the bottom of the grille, which wrapped under the body. The second-series hood ornament was also new, replacing a stylized zeppelin with a circle bearing the script initials, LF.While Nash's efforts to boost the LaFayette's profile among those considering buying a Ford, Chevrolet, or Plymouth were honorable, history shows this company never made much of a dent in the Big Three's sales; it seems that fewer than 28,000 model-year 1936 LaFayettes were built.Car is located in Long Island, NY. Call Mike for more information: 973-768-6426