1951 Nash Statesman Custom from North America - Comments

Considering the age of the car, it has been very reliable. The vehicle had sat for 10 years prior to my purchase. The braking system needed complete replacement.

It is difficult, thought not impossible, to find parts for this vehicle. The Nash Car Club has been a big help in finding parts. It is the most comfortable automobile I have ever driven.

An interesting rare car you have, and a one that's in my own must-have-one-day top 10. Hard to say if that model is actually ugly or pretty. Either way, once you got it back to road, it'll surely draw attention. :)

You know, my dad bought a Nash back when I was a kid, and I thought it was the ugliest looking automobile I had ever seen. When he would drop me off at school, I wanted to disappear in the back seat and put a bag over my head so I wouldn't be recognized by anyone. I thought it looked like a gigantic June bug with wheels. Fortunately it barfed up a transmission and dad unloaded it... traded it in on a '58 Thunderbird, which made mom very happy... and ultimately saved me from psychotherapy. I don't mean to be critical of a car's styling, but that thing was the homeliest beast to ever come off the assembly line.

My dad had a 1949 Nash and he was super proud of that car. It was designated the Nash 600 and featured an overdrive button on the accelerator, front seats that folded down into a bed, and very comfortable soft seats. It was so ugly that it became a cute novelty. Dad claimed that he got almost 30 miles per gallon with the combination of the small engine and the overdrive. The previous person commenting called it an ugly Junebug while we called it an upside down bathtub.

Our family loved that car. It was a little underpowered with its straight 6 and on the column stick. The weather eye heater on those old Nashes were fantastic and kept us Northern Wisconsin people warm in our 20 below January temperatures.

Dad later stayed with Nash and bought a 1953 Nash Ambassador with a larger 6 and many extra features. In 1957 we drove out to see the Pacific Ocean (from Wisconsin) in this car and used it as our Motel room at campgrounds along the way. It made the trip with no problems and was a delightful car for that type of trip.

Later dad bought a 1957 Nash Rambler and again it was a good car for our family.

Your 51 Nash brought back fond memories of my dad's 51 Statesman Super four door sedan. He bought it in November of 1950 from Farnam & Ostrander Motors in New Haven, Conn.

It had a flat head six with the three speed manual transmission and overdrive. We made frequent trips between Ft. Devens, Mass., where he was stationed with the Army and North Haven, Conn. where my grand parents lived. That Nash never broke down and it delivered close to thirty miles per gallon during our trips. The seats that made into beds were for camping trips.

I hope you continue with the needed restoration on your car. I plan on looking for a 50's era Nash after I retire. He later owned a 53 Statesman sedan and a 55 Statesman Custom "Country Club" two door hardtop with the factory "Continental" tire mount. That was the car that I was able to drive during my sophomore and junior years of high school. The reclining seats were great on dates!

My father bought a new 1951 Nash Statesman when we lived in Las Vegas, New Mexico (yes, New Mexico!). He was still talking about the great gas mileage it got -- in the high 20's -- when he died in 1988. It was a very comfortable car to ride in, and according to him, to drive.

If I remember correctly, there were only three things he didn't like about the car. First, it's flat head six only had 85 horse power and he called it a "gutless wonder". Secondly, it's turning radius was much wider than other cars in it's day. And finally, third, as Las Vegas, NM is at an elevation of about 6500 ft we had snow on the ground most of the winter. Because the rear tires did not tract directly behind the front tires (by design) getting started moving was more difficult with the Nash because the tire track made by the fronts did not line up with the drive wheels in back.

To this day, I've always thought I would enjoy owning a l951 Nash Statesman. It made quite an impression on this seven year old boy. I was eleven when he traded for a '55 Ford. He cussed about the Ford's gas mileage until he died!