Text by Patrick Bell.
In this gallery we are featuring a rash of Nashes and Ramblers. The Nashes were pretty well gone by the time I became aware as I don’t really recall any. But the Ramblers that followed always had a loyal following in limited numbers. I like them because of their quirkiness plus I lean towards the less popular. I have owned a few from the sixties, but they never were common so there were never many available. They can be difficult to ID but I will give it my best shot.
Our first several shots are of the first generation of Airflyte models produced from ’49-’51, and were better known as the ‘bathtub’ Nashes. The Airflytes were so named because they were ‘Far and Away America’s Most Scientific Aerodynamic Design’, or so claimed the ’50 sales brochure. They definitely have a quirkiness factor but I wouldn’t want to drive one much in traffic. This shot from somewhere in New York is a bumped and bruised ’50 Statesman 4 door sedan with a ’58 issue license plate. In front of it is a ’56 Chevrolet, behind it is a ’50 Oldsmobile, and across the street is another Oldsmobile, a ’57 Golden Rocket 88 convertible. Everything on the street in the background is pretty blurred, but I do see a white over black ’53-’55 Studebaker coupe.
In ’51 the bathtubs grew tail fins as you can see on this Ambassador Custom 4 door sedan. The Ambassador’s had a longer wheelbase (9 inches in this generation) which was all in the cowl area. That and the little bumperettes on the corners of both bumpers were the only exterior difference between the Ambassador and Statesman. Following is a ’55 Mercury Custom wagon.
Here is another (or perhaps the same) ’51 Ambassador Custom 4 door sedan, this one in living color.
Now we are off to the beach with a ’51 Statesman 2 door in a nice shade of blue. There is a sign of some sort leaning against the bumper that I can’t read. The man next to it is watching the people in the water, and someone is leaning in the open door. In the lower left is a ’54 Mercury Monterey Special Custom Coupe where a man is taking a photo of his lady. In the upper right is a ’51 or ’52 Pontiac De Luxe Catalina. I can’t help but wonder where the photographer of this shot is located.
Our next stop is in Yellowstone National Park to see the bears. Those two fellers in the light shirts sure are watching over their shoulders as they walk away. Up front is a ’55 Rambler Custom Cross Country wagon from Teton County where the seat is Jackson and is equipped with a fancy bug screen. Nash revived the Rambler name for their new compact car in 1950, and were about a decade ahead of their time. I have always liked the looks of these wagons. Following is a ’57 Thunderbird in pink, white over red ’54 Dodge, and perhaps a white over orchid ’57 Chevrolet. On the left side is a white ’57 Cadillac Series Sixty Special Fleetwood Sedan, white over black ’55 or ’56 Buick 4 door Riviera, green ’51 Plymouth 4 door sedan, and a light gray ’53 Ford Customline Fordor.
Another blue ’51 Ambassador 4 door sedan in a campground in the desert, possibly in California. To the right is a ’51 or ’52 Buick Super Estate Wagon.
Let’s jump over to San Diego and see what is on the Crown City ferry that ran to and from Coronado Island. On the right is a white over red ’56 Ambassador with the same color combo as the ’55 Buick behind it. On the left a black ’56 Ford Fairlane, ’62 Chevrolet C series box van, and a white ’60 or ’61 Ford Falcon. Both the Ambassador and the Ford are at least seven years old in this photo going by the black license plate that was first issued in ’63.
In ’56 the compact was dropped and this new mid-sized body was introduced with the Rambler name. This Super Cross Country wagon is visiting Yosemite National Park.
The Metropolitan was a quirky car from a quirky car company. It was built in England and imported / marketed by American Motors from ’54-’62 in both coupe and convertible. This one with ’66 Ohio plates has vent windows so I am going to call it a ’59-’62 model.
This ’56 Ambasador Super 4 door sedan visiting the boat yard looks like it has been around the block a few times. Apparently they have had problems with gas thieves so they invested in a locking gas cap.
Here we have a medium brown ’59 Custom 4 door sedan with a ’64 Illinois license plate. It is parked likely on a highway passing through a tourist type town with a sportswear store called Vacationland. On this side of the street you can buy food and shoes. On the other side you have a choice in gas brands, and can shop for sportswear and Ramblers. I don’t see a building that looks like a dealership so it may be down the driveway. Behind the Rambler is a ’61 Buick Electra 4 door hardtop and in front is a ’61 Ford Galaxie, possibly a ’58 or ’59 Lincoln, and further down a white ’63 Oldsmobile full size. Across the street is a white ’62 Chevrolet 4 door sedan under the ‘Rambler’ sign, and further up at one of the gas stations is a ’64 Classic 2 door hardtop.
In ’61 the Ambassador had unique looking front sheet metal only for that year. This well worn Custom 4 door sedan wears a New York plate used from ’66-’72. I had a great uncle who was a Rambler man and bought one of these new. His was pink and white. They are very unique and collectible to the right person now.
A photo of a photographer about to take a photo. This top of the line ’65 Classic 770 Cross Country six passenger wagon already has a load and how many more people are going to climb in?
Thanks for rambling along with us today and to all good day!
The kid in the Ambassador seems to be wishing his dad owned a less “unique-looking” car!
I’m a fan of early Ramblers, including the ’55 wagon and the ’56-’57s, which many folks can’t warm up to due to the grille with the close-in headlights. It was a very refreshing and somewhat adventurous departure from the typical high-headlights-in-fender style almost universal at the time. The new ’58 front end was retrograde.