posted by radsurfer
I stop for all bathtub Nashes, especially if it’s a police car. And even more so, if it’s in Faderville, wherever that is.
I Googled “Faderville” and the only thing relevant that came up were The Faderville Novels series by M. Gemini Sasson. I’m not familiar with them, and have no idea if there’s some connection or not. This looks to be in California or somewhere similar. But it’s not the real town of Faderville.
I loved these bathtub Nashes and the step-down Hudsons when I was a kid in Iowa, even if they were then over then years old. They were the closest thing to a Tatra streamliner, and would have to do. No Tatras in Iowa, sadly.
Here’s a proper CC on the bathtub Nash
And here’s one on getting passed on the right by a speeding bathtub Nash
Nashes were police cars only in novels and TV shows, never in reality. Raymond Chandler seems to have started the trend… or perhaps he was just the first to take the endorsement money.
Lots of bathtub Nash policecars in a Frank Sinatra film called Suddenly. Probably first time I noticed them.
Lots of bathtub Nash police cars in a Frank Sinatra film called Suddenly. Probably first time I noticed them. I was used to the Austin Metropolitan so these looked amazing. Frank is also a baddie. Watchable.
I think you’re mistaken, but am happy to be enlightened. Where in any of Raymond Chandler’s works are bathtub Nashes mentioned?
Probably also in Kenosha.
the bullet holes(?) in drivers side front and rear doors? along with a non existent town name… seems like the owner/builder has an interesting sense of the absurd
What a gem, and in what appears to be excellent condition!
Cosmo Topper also drove a bathtub Nash on the show Topper.
And let’s not forget some cameos of bathtub Nashs in the 1950s Superman tv series.
https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_499929-Nash-Ambassador-1951.html
Radsurfer wrote this under his pic in Flickr:
This is located on the western outskirts of Fillmore, CA on Hwy. 126 as you head to Santa Paula and Ventura.. Early 50’s I believe. The whole police getup may be fake, again as a movie prop. Not the lack of door handles. Maybe it was a custom car wayback. Many films were shot in the region being close to Hollywood, e.g., “Tarzana” which is nearby was named so for…the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies, and nearby Jungle Land with big cats and elephants (look it up!). The Glen Tavern Hotel in nearby Santa Paula is still operating, and was a watering hole for both Hollywood and Oil industry….original HQ of Union Oil Company.
Perfect 1950s pop culture and comic book police car styling. Love it.
The song pays hommage to 1930 mobsters, but 1930s through early 50s police cars remind me of this classic by Jon & Vangelis.
Fat and prosperous, looking stable as the earth, these look like the 1940’s themselves as if squeezed out in one glorious, streamlined blob.
Of course they’re a police car, why, they look exactly like the somewhat over-weight Detective Tired Longserve himself, as he trudges forward in trench coat and Homburg, into the wind, to yet one more bloodied scene of a dame in distress.
Didn’t they drive Nashes in Highway Patrol? 2250 to Headquarters, or some number close…
Not on Highway Patrol, but the pilot episode of the State Trooper series did feature a Nash patrol car.
Highway Patrol was based on the California Highway Patrol. After the success of the Highway Patrol series, the State Trooper series was a copycat launch. To differentiate itself from Highway Patrol, the State Trooper series was set in Nevada and featured more western themes.
After the pilot episode, Ford picked up series sponsorship. With Ford as a sponsor, the original Nash featured in the pilot episode was replaced by a Ford in all subsequent episodes.
The Nash in the pilot is a later model than a bathtub Nash. While never common, Nash police cars were not a complete unknown either.
As the Nash brand died, so did police use. By the mid 50s, you hardly ever saw a Nash police car anymore. When AMC switched to Rambler, police use picked up again. The Wisconsin State Patrol used more than their share of AMC products.
Here’s a clip of the beginning of State Trooper showing the Nash from the pilot episode.
Thanks for turning me on to State Troopers. Never heard of it before just now. Good stuff!
Faderville is the next town over from Stanleyville.
Nice .
Nash did okay selling left over right hand drive Metropolitan as Meter Maid cars….
I tried hard to get the low mileage one from a small town in central California wasn’t able to pry it loose .
It’s still in his hands, unrestored and in decent shape .
L.A.P.D. ran the living hell out of AMC Matadors, they were really stout .
-Nate
Saw a film with ’50 nash chasing ’48 Chrysler. At a corner, they both had to stop, back up and tack two turns to go around the corner. Not quite like Bullitt.