1934 Nash Ambassador 8 Brougham, 1297 🇺🇸

Our Nash was purchased by Dr. Frederick Simeone, founder of the Simeone Foundation Museum,  at a Bonhams auction in fall 2016. Dr. Simeone and Mr. Bulgari were dear friends and shared an interest in saving important cars. Dr. Simeone felt this car was too rare and important to be ignored so he purchased it and gifted it to Mr. Bulgari and The NB Center.

The restoration commenced in fall of 2018 and proved to be one of the most ambitious and lengthy projects The NB Center had tackled to that time. Once disassembled, it was clear the body was badly deteriorated with severe rust from the lower door hinges down, including the frame. Every piece of wood in the body framing was rotted to some degree and even the seat frames were in a sorry state. Every last stitch of the car was disassembled and the process of rebuilding the wooden body frame and the metal that covers it got underway.

Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic hit just over a year into the project and the already slow progress got a lot slower. Sub-assembly suppliers took longer to get things done and shortages of materials hindered the progress. By winter 2022-23 the car was ready for paint and nearly all the assemblies, including the upholstered seats, were ready to be reinstalled. The Ravenswood brown paint was applied to the body. As the car started to come together toward summer, the Brewster green paint was sprayed on the fenders. By the end of summer, it was running and starting to look like a car.

The car debuted at the Fall Nation Meet of the Antique Automobile Club of America in Hershey, PA October 2023. The crowds loved the result and so did the judges. The car won its Junior level National First place award. In February 2024, the car was awarded the AACA Presidents Cup for the best restored car 1921 through 1942 shown at an AACA event in 2023.

Sadly, Dr. Simeone passed away in June of 2022. He never got to see the completed car that he saved at auction. In his honor, there is a photograph of Dr. Simeone with Mr. Bulgari attached to the inside of the car behind the rear seat. All of the restoration specialists at The NB Center who had a hand in this project signed their names around the photo. The car will remain as a monument to the memory of its savior Dr. Simeone. 

Company
Nash Motors Company

Make
Nash

Model
Ambassador 8, 1297

Body Style
Brougham, 4- door,  5-pass.

Body Manufacture
Seaman Body Corp

Model year
1934

Wheelbase
142 inches

Length
214.25 inches

Engine
inline-eight, OHV, twin-ignition, 322 cid

Horsepower
125 @ 3600 rpm

Transmission
3-speed manual

Original Base Price
$1,820

Brand Production
23,616  calendar year

This Car Production
N/A

The Nash Ambassador Eight 1290 series was Nash’s answer to the Cadillac, the Packard Senior cars , and even the mighty Duesenberg model J. Automotive historian and journalist David Brownell, went so far as to dub the Nash as the “Kenosha Duesenberg.” The 142 inch long wheelbase sedan and 5-passenger brougham would be the largest and most luxurious cars ever produced by Nash.

Because these cars were produced at the absolute worst part of the Great Depression, they were doomed to be short lived products. If it had not been for Nash’s conservative business practices, that led them to build a financial cushion in the 1920’s, the company may have succumbed to the Great Depression in 1934.  Nash pivoted in this year to lower priced cars with their new Nash Lafayette and this proved a wiser move than focusing on the top of the market.

It was not only the size and luxurious nature of the Ambassador Eight 1290’s that set them apart but the styling. Their design was heavily influenced by Russian born designer Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky,1934 the cars featured a style the company called “speedstream” that conveyed a sense of motion and streamlining. The ribs, called “speed lines”,  added to the hood top, headlights, fender skirts and other places created the sense of motion. While the bullet shaped headlights, horizontal hood vents and optional fully skirted rear fenders added a flair to an otherwise traditional design.

Another big change in 1934 was the new overhead-valve, inline eight-cylinder engine. In fact, Nash would now offer overhead valve engines in all its cars with the old L-head engine relegated to the new low priced Lafayette. The new eight cylinder engine featured dual ignition and nine main bearings, items typically only found on the most expensive offerings of the time.

It is unclear how many of these cars were produced. Nash did not break out production figures by body style but 1,452 of all styles of Ambassador Eight were produced. Between the crippling effects of the Depression and several major strikes by Nash assembly line workers, production of all Nash automobiles for the calendar year was just 28,664 cars.