1953 Nash Ambassador Custom Country Club Hardtop 🇺🇸

This Nash was purchased by Colorado farmer Leroy J. Roderick in 1953 to celebrate a very good wheat harvest. Leroy, “Roy” to his friends and family, made a roof rack for the car so he could haul his 12’ fishing boat on the roof and he used the car as his primary transport until his passing in 1974. The car was parked in his barn at  that time and remained there until 2005. Roy’s grandson, Jim, took the car to his home in California and tried to revive it. Little progress was ever made. When he retired in 2016 he sold the car to a collector in New York. The NB Center subsequently purchased the car from this collector in October 2019.

The Nash was  complete but very worn out.   It was  confirmed to be equipped with the Le Mans Dual Jetfire engine option. After the car was purchased,  some research with the Nash club indicated that no other ‘53 Ambassador Country Club hardtops were known to exist with the optional engine.

The restoration began in early 2022. When the car was being disassembled it was discovered that a worker at the factory, Walter,  signed the inside of the rear fender using undercoating. This wonderful detail was photographed and carefully maintained  as an important detail of the car’s history that cannot be seen.

The restoration was challenging on numerous fronts. Unusual materials like  the unique headliner had to be located or duplicated. The poor manufacturing methods in this period meant the aluminum cylinder head had become porous and leaky requiring replacement.

The car was completed in time to debut at the 2023 Spring National Meet of the Antique Car Club of America in Gettysburg, PA. The car easily won its Junior level national first place and followed that with a senior at the fall national meet in Hershey, PA.  The car was subsequently nominated for the AACA Zenith award in recognition of the best restored car shown in that year. 

Company
Nash Motors Division of Nash-Kelvinator Corp.

Make
Nash

Model
Ambassador Custom Country Club, model  60, style 5377

Body Style
Hardtop Coupe, 2-dr., 6-pass.

Body Manufacture
NA

Model year
1951

Wheelbase
121.25 inches

Length
204.25 inches

Engine
Inline 6, OHV,    252.6 cid

Horsepower
140 hp @ 4000 rpm

Transmission
3-speed automatic with overdrive

Original Base Price
$2,829

Brand Production
121,793

This Car Production 

6,438

Many appearance improvements marked the 1954 Cadillacs. They included a lower, sleeker body, a new cellular grille insert, inverted gull-wing front bumpers, and tapered “Dagmar” style bumper guards. Round, jet-style dual exhaust outlets were incorporated into the vertical bumper extensions, and the rear bumper was entirely redesigned. An Eldorado-type wraparound windshield was seen on all models. Sedans used a distinctive type of window revealing the molding, which created a built-in sun visor effect. For coupes, a smoothly curved wraparound backlight was referred to as the 'Florentine' style rear window. A wide ventilator intake now stretched across the base of the windshield on all models, and the chrome-visored headlamp look was emphasized.