Nash-Healey
Encyclopedia
The Nash-Healey is a two-seat sports car
that was produced for the American market between 1951 and 1954. Marketed by Nash-Kelvinator Corporation with a Nash Ambassador drivetrain
and a European chassis and body, it served as a halo (or image)
vehicle for the automaker to promote the sales of the other Nash
models. It was "America's first post-war
sports car", and the first introduced in the U.S. by a major automaker since the Great Depression
. The Nash-Healey was the product of a partnership between Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and British automaker Donald Healey
, as well as a later restyle by Pinin Farina
and subassembly in Italy
.
met on the Queen Elizabeth
, an ocean liner
going from the United States to Great Britain. Healey was returning to England after his attempt to purchase engines from Cadillac
, but General Motors
declined his idea. His idea was expand production of the Healey Silverstone that race car driver Briggs Cunningham
had customized with Cadillac’s new 1949 overhead-valve V8 engine
. Mason and Healey met over dinner and a production plan ensued during the remainder of the voyage. The two became friends because they were both interested in photography. Mason had a stereo (3-D)
camera that intrigued Healey.
supplied the Donald Healey Motor Company
with the powertrain
components: the Ambassador’s
inline six-cylinder OHV 234.8 CID engine and three-speed manual transmission with Borg-Warner
overdrive
, plus torque tube
and differential. Healey fitted a lighter, higher-compression aluminum cylinder head (in place of the cast-iron stock item) with twin 1¾” SU carburetor
s that were popular on British sports cars at the time. This increased power from the stock 112 hp version to 125 hp. Compared to other contemporary British sports cars, the Nash-Healey's engine was long, heavy, and bulky yet Donald Healey's original plan was to use an even heavier Cadillac V8 engine. The Nash-Healey was designed with an engine bay that allowed a few later owners to convert their cars to V8 power.
The chassis was a widened and reinforced Healey Silverstone box-section ladder-type steel frame. Independent front suspension, also Healey Silverstone, was by coil spring
s, trailing link
and sway bar
. The rear suspension featured Nash's rear end and coil springs replaced the Silverstone’s leaf spring
s, while the beam axle
was located by Panhard rod
.
Healey designed the aluminum body, but it was outsourced
. Panelcraft Sheet Metal of Birmingham
fabricated the body. It incorporated a Nash grille, bumpers, and other trim. Healey was responsible for the car's final assembly.
The car had drum brakes all round. Wheels were steel, dressed up with full-diameter chrome hubcaps and 4-ply es 6.40 x 15 inch whitewall tire
s. The interior featured luxurious leather upholstery, foam rubber cushions, adjustable steering wheel, and a cigarette lighter. Completed vehicles shipped to the United States for sale through the Nash dealership
network.
A prototype was exhibited at the Paris Motor Show
in September 1950. The production model debuted at the February 1951 Chicago Auto Show
and Donald Healey gave the first example to Petula Clark
. The only colors available were "Champagne Ivory" and "Sunset Maroon", and the suggested retail price
(MSRP) of US$
3,767 F.O.B.
New York City
proved uncompetitive.
to revise Healey's original body design. One objective was to make the sports car more similar to the rest of Nash's models. The front received a Nash-style gille incorporating inboard headlights. The sides now featured a distinct fender character lines ending with small tailfin
s in the rear. A curved windshield replaced the previous two-piece flat windshield. The restyled car appeared at that year's Chicago Auto Show
.
Carrozzeria Pininfarina in Turin
built the bodies which, save for aluminum hood, trunk lid and dashboard, were now all steel. The aluminum panels, plus careful engineering, reduced curb weight. The Nash engine was now the 252 CID with American-made twin Carters producing 140 hp.
Shipping costs were considerable: From Kenosha, Wisconsin
the Nash engines and drivelines went to England for installation in the Healey-fabricated frames. Healey then sent the rolling chassis to Italy, where Pininfarina's craftsmen fashioned the bodywork and assembled the finished product. Finally Farina exported the cars to America. The result was a $5,908 sticker price in 1953, while the new Chevrolet Corvette was $3,513.
by a lightweight racing Nash-Healey purpose-built for the race (see below), the new model was called the "Le Mans" coupe. Nash had already named the powerplant the "Le-Mans Dual Jetfire Ambassador Six" in 1952, in reference to the previous racing exploits of the lightweight competition cars.
Some describe the new design as "magnificent". Some "people didn't take to the inboard headlights". This headlight mounting was described as "Safety-Vu" concentrating illumination, and their low position increased safety under foggy situations. The 1953 "Le Mans" model was awarded first prize in March of that year in the Italian International Concours d'Elegance held at Tresa, Italy.
Leveraging the popularity of golf to promote their cars, Nash Motors and Nash dealers sponsored what the automaker described as "more than 20 major golf tournaments across the country" in 1953, and golfer Sam Snead
was shown with his Nash-Healey roadster on the cover of the June 1953 issue of Nash News.
A roadster owned by Dick Powell
was driven by George Reeves
, as Clark Kent, in four TV episodes of the Adventures of Superman
.
(AMC) that was formed as a result of a merger with Hudson Motor Car Company
in January 1954. Nash was faced with limited resources for marketing, promotion, and further development of this niche market car in comparison to its volume models. By this time AMC knew that a similar luxurious two-seat Ford Thunderbird
with V8 power was being planned. In light of the low sales for the preceding years, Nash delayed introduction of the 1954 models until June 3 and discontinued the convertible, leaving just a slightly reworked "Le Mans" coupe, distinguished by a three-piece rear window instead of the previous one-piece glass.
Healy was focusing on its new Austin-Healey 100, "and the Nash-Healey had to be abandoned." Although the international shipping charges were a significant cost factor, Nash cut the POE (port of entry) price by more than $1,200 to $5,128. Production ceased in August. A few leftover 1954s were sold as 1955 models.
, described as one of the most dangerous automobile race of any type in the world. Driven by Chuck Stevenson
, the Nash-Healey ran ahead of the racers to ensure the way was clear on "the world's greatest road race".
races and one Mille Miglia
.
and Duncan Hamilton debuted the prototype at Le Mans in 1950
. It was the first-ever Le Mans entry to have an overdrive transmission. Not only was the car one of the 29 finishers from the field of 66, but also finished in fourth place. This outstanding achievement sealed Healey’s contract with Nash for a limited production run of the road cars. Roger Menadue, head of Healey’s experimental department, played a significant role in the success: He filed slots in the backplates of the brakes and extended the adjusting mechanism to a small exterior lever. Thus in a matter of seconds he could adjust the brakes during pit stops without jacking the car up—an innovation that was said to save as much as half an hour at each stop.
Rolt and Hamilton (who would win two years later in a Jaguar C-Type
) took fourth in class and sixth overall behind a Jaguar, two Talbot-Lago
s and two Aston Martin
s. They finished immediately ahead of two Ferrari
s and another Aston Martin.
In the 1952 Le Mans race
, when only 17 of the 58 starters finished, the entry driven by Leslie Johnson
—a driver with the flair of Nuvolari, said Louis Chiron
—and motoring journalist Tommy Wisdom took third overall behind two factory-entered Mercedes-Benz 300SL
s; also first in class, ahead of Chinetti
's Ferrari, and second in the Rudge-Whitworth Cup for the best performance over two consecutive years. In addition they won the Motor Gold Challenge Cup. The drivers said the car was more nimble through the corners than its more exotic competitors. It delivered 13 miles per US gallon and the engine needed no oil or water during the entire 24 hours. The car had been built from scratch in a fortnight, Menadue and his assistant Jock Reid fabricating the body in less than a week, by eye, without any drawings. Healey said: “That’s an ugly bugger, isn’t it, Roger?”
, the thousand-mile Italian road race that would be banned as too dangerous five years later. Daily Telegraph motoring correspondent Bill McKenzie rode as passenger. They finished a creditable seventh overall to Bracco
's winning works team Ferrari, the works Mercedes-Benz 300SLs of Kling
and Caracciola
, and three works Lancia
s; they also took fourth in class. The coupe driven by Donald Healey and his son Geoffrey crashed out.
the factory partnered Johnson with Bert Hadley in one of two cars with redesigned bodies. Johnson started from 27th place. Although he and Hadley advanced steadily up the race order they were 11th at the finish, 39 laps behind the winning Jaguar, despite an average speed of 92.45 miles per hour (41.33 m/s)—higher than the previous year’s run to third place. However, they beat both of Donald Healey's new Austin-Healey 100
s. The second Nash-Healey of Veyron
and Giraud-Cabantous retired after nine laps.
This concluded the factory's race program with the lightweight competition cars. The 1952 Le Mans/Mille Miglia car passed into private ownership and raced in America.
, American Motors adopted a new advertising slogan, "Why don't we enter high-performance Rambler V-8s in racing? Because the only race Rambler cares about is the human race!" The automaker abandoned sporting pretensions focusing on its successful compact family-sized Rambler line, as well as its new international-based subcompact car: the Nash Metropolitan
.
1951 - 104 (roadsters) lhd N-Type plus 1 rhd G-Type G525 (An additional 30 cars were sold with Alvis or 3 L Healey engines.)
1952 - 150 (roadsters)
1953 - 162 (roadsters and coupes)
1954 - 90 (coupes only)
For contextual comparison, the Nash-Healey is framed in U.S. auto history with the 1953 Kaiser Darrin
, 1953 Chevrolet Corvette
, and 1955 Ford Thunderbird
. The 1954 model year Nash-Healey price to the public was close to $6,000 compared with around $3,500 for a Chevrolet Corvette and $3,000 for a 1955 Ford Thunderbird.
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
that was produced for the American market between 1951 and 1954. Marketed by Nash-Kelvinator Corporation with a Nash Ambassador drivetrain
Powertrain
In a motor vehicle, the term powertrain or powerplant refers to the group of components that generate power and deliver it to the road surface, water, or air. This includes the engine, transmission, drive shafts, differentials, and the final drive...
and a European chassis and body, it served as a halo (or image)
Halo effect
The halo effect is a cognitive bias whereby one trait influences another trait or traits of that person or object. This is very common among physically attractiveness...
vehicle for the automaker to promote the sales of the other Nash
Nash Motors
Also see: Kelvinator and American Motors CorporationNash Motors was an automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the United States from 1916 to 1938. From 1938 to 1954, Nash was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation...
models. It was "America's first post-war
Post-war
A post-war period or postwar period is the interval immediately following the ending of a war and enduring as long as war does not resume. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum when a war between the same parties resumes at a later date...
sports car", and the first introduced in the U.S. by a major automaker since the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. The Nash-Healey was the product of a partnership between Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and British automaker Donald Healey
Donald Healey
Donald Mitchell Healey CBE was a noted English rally driver, automobile engineer, and speed record holder.- Early life :...
, as well as a later restyle by Pinin Farina
Battista Farina
Battista "Pinin" Farina was an Italian automobile designer, the founder of the Carrozzeria Pininfarina coachbuilding company, a name associated with many of the best-known postwar sports cars....
and subassembly in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Origin
Donald Healey and Nash-Kelvinator CEO George W. MasonGeorge W. Mason
George Walter Mason was an American industrialist. During his career Mason served as the Chairman and CEO of the Kelvinator Corporation , Chairman and CEO of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation , and Chairman and CEO of American Motors Corporation .- Early life :George W. Mason was born in Valley...
met on the Queen Elizabeth
RMS Queen Elizabeth
RMS Queen Elizabeth was an ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line. Plying with her running mate Queen Mary as a luxury liner between Southampton, UK and New York City, USA via Cherbourg, France, she was also contracted for over twenty years to carry the Royal Mail as the second half of the two...
, an ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
going from the United States to Great Britain. Healey was returning to England after his attempt to purchase engines from Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
, but General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
declined his idea. His idea was expand production of the Healey Silverstone that race car driver Briggs Cunningham
Briggs Cunningham
Briggs Swift Cunningham II was an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. Born into a wealthy family, he became a racing car constructor, driver, and team owner as well as a sports car manufacturer and automobile collector.He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia...
had customized with Cadillac’s new 1949 overhead-valve V8 engine
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
. Mason and Healey met over dinner and a production plan ensued during the remainder of the voyage. The two became friends because they were both interested in photography. Mason had a stereo (3-D)
Stereo camera
A stereo camera is a type of camera with two or more lenses with a separate image sensor or film frame for each lens. This allows the camera to simulate human binocular vision, and therefore gives it the ability to capture three-dimensional images, a process known as stereo photography. Stereo...
camera that intrigued Healey.
1951
Nash MotorsNash Motors
Also see: Kelvinator and American Motors CorporationNash Motors was an automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the United States from 1916 to 1938. From 1938 to 1954, Nash was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation...
supplied the Donald Healey Motor Company
Donald Healey Motor Company
-History:It was formed in 1945 by Donald Healey, a renowned auto engineer and successful racing driver. It was formed after Healey discussed sports car design with Achille Sampietro, a chassis specialist for high performance cars and Ben Bowden, a body engineer, when all three worked at Humber...
with the powertrain
Powertrain
In a motor vehicle, the term powertrain or powerplant refers to the group of components that generate power and deliver it to the road surface, water, or air. This includes the engine, transmission, drive shafts, differentials, and the final drive...
components: the Ambassador’s
Nash Ambassador
Ambassador was the model name applied to the senior line of Nash automobiles from 1932 until 1957. From 1958 until the end of the 1974 model year, the Ambassador was the product of American Motors Corporation , which continued to use the Ambassador model name on its top-of-the-line models...
inline six-cylinder OHV 234.8 CID engine and three-speed manual transmission with Borg-Warner
BorgWarner
BorgWarner Inc. is a United States-based worldwide automotive industry components and parts supplier. It is primarily known for its powertrain products, which include manual and automatic transmissions and transmission components, , turbochargers, engine valve timing system...
overdrive
Overdrive (mechanics)
Overdrive is a term used to describe a mechanism that allows an automobile to cruise at sustained speed with reduced engine RPM, leading to better fuel economy, lower noise and lower wear...
, plus torque tube
Torque tube
A torque tube system is a driveshaft technology, often used in automobiles with a front engine and rear drive. It is not as widespread as the Hotchkiss drive, but is still occasionally used to this day...
and differential. Healey fitted a lighter, higher-compression aluminum cylinder head (in place of the cast-iron stock item) with twin 1¾” SU carburetor
SU Carburetter
SU Carburetters were a brand of carburetter usually of the sidedraught type but downdraught variants were used on some pre-war cars....
s that were popular on British sports cars at the time. This increased power from the stock 112 hp version to 125 hp. Compared to other contemporary British sports cars, the Nash-Healey's engine was long, heavy, and bulky yet Donald Healey's original plan was to use an even heavier Cadillac V8 engine. The Nash-Healey was designed with an engine bay that allowed a few later owners to convert their cars to V8 power.
The chassis was a widened and reinforced Healey Silverstone box-section ladder-type steel frame. Independent front suspension, also Healey Silverstone, was by coil spring
Coil spring
A Coil spring, also known as a helical spring, is a mechanical device, which is typically used to store energy and subsequently release it, to absorb shock, or to maintain a force between contacting surfaces...
s, trailing link
Trailing arm
thumb|220px|Trailing arm rear suspension of [[Front-engine, front-wheel drive layout|FF]] carsA trailing-arm suspension is an automobile suspension design in which one or more arms are connected between the axle and the chassis. It is usually used on rear axles...
and sway bar
Sway bar
A sway bar or anti-roll bar or stabilizer bar is a part of an automobile suspension that helps reduce the roll of a vehicle that is induced by cornering or road irregularities. It connects opposite wheels together through short lever arms linked by a torsion spring...
. The rear suspension featured Nash's rear end and coil springs replaced the Silverstone’s leaf spring
Leaf spring
Originally called laminated or carriage spring, a leaf spring is a simple form of spring, commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles...
s, while the beam axle
Beam axle
A beam axle is a suspension system, also called a solid axle, in which one set of wheels is connected laterally by a single beam or shaft...
was located by Panhard rod
Panhard rod
A Panhard rod is a component of a car suspension system that provides lateral location of the axle...
.
Healey designed the aluminum body, but it was outsourced
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
. Panelcraft Sheet Metal of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
fabricated the body. It incorporated a Nash grille, bumpers, and other trim. Healey was responsible for the car's final assembly.
The car had drum brakes all round. Wheels were steel, dressed up with full-diameter chrome hubcaps and 4-ply es 6.40 x 15 inch whitewall tire
Whitewall tire
Whitewall tires or white sidewall tires are tires having a stripe or entire sidewall of white rubber.-Background:Early automobile tires were made entirely of natural white rubber. However, the white rubber did not offer sufficient traction and endurance, so carbon black was added to the rubber...
s. The interior featured luxurious leather upholstery, foam rubber cushions, adjustable steering wheel, and a cigarette lighter. Completed vehicles shipped to the United States for sale through the Nash dealership
Car dealership
A car dealership or vehicle local distribution is a business that sells new or used cars at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. It employs automobile salespeople to do the selling...
network.
A prototype was exhibited at the Paris Motor Show
Mondial de l'Automobile
The Paris Motor Show is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held around October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show was the first motor show in the world, started in 1898 by industry pioneer, Albert de Dion. The show...
in September 1950. The production model debuted at the February 1951 Chicago Auto Show
Chicago Auto Show
The Chicago Auto Show is held annually in February at Chicago's McCormick Placeconvention complex. It is among the largest auto shows in North America....
and Donald Healey gave the first example to Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
. The only colors available were "Champagne Ivory" and "Sunset Maroon", and the suggested retail price
Suggested retail price
The manufacturer's suggested retail price , list price or recommended retail price of a product is the price which the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell the product. The intention was to help to standardise prices among locations...
(MSRP) of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
3,767 F.O.B.
Free On Board
FOB is an initialism which pertains to the shipping of goods. Depending on specific usage, it may stand for Free On Board or Freight On Board. FOB specifies which party pays for which shipment and loading costs, and/or where responsibility for the goods is transferred...
New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
proved uncompetitive.
Restyle
1952
For 1952, Nash commissioned Italian designer Pinin FarinaBattista Farina
Battista "Pinin" Farina was an Italian automobile designer, the founder of the Carrozzeria Pininfarina coachbuilding company, a name associated with many of the best-known postwar sports cars....
to revise Healey's original body design. One objective was to make the sports car more similar to the rest of Nash's models. The front received a Nash-style gille incorporating inboard headlights. The sides now featured a distinct fender character lines ending with small tailfin
Tailfin
The tailfin era of automobile styling encompassed the 1950s and 1960s, peaking between 1957 and 1960. It was a style that spread worldwide, as car designers picked up styling trends from the US automobile industry where it was the golden epoch of American autodesign.General Motors design chief...
s in the rear. A curved windshield replaced the previous two-piece flat windshield. The restyled car appeared at that year's Chicago Auto Show
Chicago Auto Show
The Chicago Auto Show is held annually in February at Chicago's McCormick Placeconvention complex. It is among the largest auto shows in North America....
.
Carrozzeria Pininfarina in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
built the bodies which, save for aluminum hood, trunk lid and dashboard, were now all steel. The aluminum panels, plus careful engineering, reduced curb weight. The Nash engine was now the 252 CID with American-made twin Carters producing 140 hp.
Shipping costs were considerable: From Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...
the Nash engines and drivelines went to England for installation in the Healey-fabricated frames. Healey then sent the rolling chassis to Italy, where Pininfarina's craftsmen fashioned the bodywork and assembled the finished product. Finally Farina exported the cars to America. The result was a $5,908 sticker price in 1953, while the new Chevrolet Corvette was $3,513.
1953
The 1953 model year saw the introduction of a new closed coupe alongside the roadster (now termed a "convertible"). Capitalizing on the 3rd place finish at Le Mans24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
by a lightweight racing Nash-Healey purpose-built for the race (see below), the new model was called the "Le Mans" coupe. Nash had already named the powerplant the "Le-Mans Dual Jetfire Ambassador Six" in 1952, in reference to the previous racing exploits of the lightweight competition cars.
Some describe the new design as "magnificent". Some "people didn't take to the inboard headlights". This headlight mounting was described as "Safety-Vu" concentrating illumination, and their low position increased safety under foggy situations. The 1953 "Le Mans" model was awarded first prize in March of that year in the Italian International Concours d'Elegance held at Tresa, Italy.
Leveraging the popularity of golf to promote their cars, Nash Motors and Nash dealers sponsored what the automaker described as "more than 20 major golf tournaments across the country" in 1953, and golfer Sam Snead
Sam Snead
Samuel Jackson Snead was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for most of four decades. Snead won a record 82 PGA Tour events including seven majors. He failed to win a U.S...
was shown with his Nash-Healey roadster on the cover of the June 1953 issue of Nash News.
A roadster owned by Dick Powell
Dick Powell
Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
was driven by George Reeves
George Reeves
George Reeves was an American actor best known for his role as Superman in the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman....
, as Clark Kent, in four TV episodes of the Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
.
1954
Nash Motors became a division of American Motors CorporationAmerican Motors
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.George W...
(AMC) that was formed as a result of a merger with Hudson Motor Car Company
Hudson Motor Car Company
The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other brand automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, from 1909 to 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation to form American Motors. The Hudson name was continued through the 1957 model year, after which it was dropped.- Company strategy...
in January 1954. Nash was faced with limited resources for marketing, promotion, and further development of this niche market car in comparison to its volume models. By this time AMC knew that a similar luxurious two-seat Ford Thunderbird
Ford Thunderbird
The Thunderbird , is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States over eleven model generations from 1955 through 2005...
with V8 power was being planned. In light of the low sales for the preceding years, Nash delayed introduction of the 1954 models until June 3 and discontinued the convertible, leaving just a slightly reworked "Le Mans" coupe, distinguished by a three-piece rear window instead of the previous one-piece glass.
Healy was focusing on its new Austin-Healey 100, "and the Nash-Healey had to be abandoned." Although the international shipping charges were a significant cost factor, Nash cut the POE (port of entry) price by more than $1,200 to $5,128. Production ceased in August. A few leftover 1954s were sold as 1955 models.
Panamericana pace car
A Nash-Healey served as the course car for the 1951 Carrera PanamericanaCarrera Panamericana
The Carrera Panamericana was a border-to-border sports car racing event on open roads in Mexico similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy. Running for five consecutive years from 1950 to 1954, it was widely held by contemporaries to be the most dangerous race of any type in the world...
, described as one of the most dangerous automobile race of any type in the world. Driven by Chuck Stevenson
Chuck Stevenson
Charles "Chuck" Stevenson was an American racecar driver.- AAA and USAC Championship Car series :...
, the Nash-Healey ran ahead of the racers to ensure the way was clear on "the world's greatest road race".
Endurance racers
To create a racing pedigree for the marque Donald Healey built four lightweight Nash-Healeys for endurance racing Like the road cars, they had Nash Ambassador engines and drivelines. However, fitting higher-compression aluminum cylinder heads, special manifolds, and twin SU carburetors increased their power to 200 hp. The cars had spartan, lightweight aluminum racing bodies. Three open versions were built, and one coupe. These cars competed in four consecutive Le Mans24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
races and one Mille Miglia
Mille Miglia
The Mille Miglia was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 ....
.
1950 Le Mans
Tony RoltTony Rolt
Major Anthony Peter Roylance "Tony" Rolt, MC & Bar, was a British racing driver, soldier and engineer. He won the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans and participated in three Formula One World Championship Grands Prix without scoring a championship point...
and Duncan Hamilton debuted the prototype at Le Mans in 1950
1950 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 18th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 24 and 25 1950.-Official results:-Did Not Finish:-Statistics:* Fastest Lap - #5 Louis Rosier - 4:53.5* Distance - 3465.12 km...
. It was the first-ever Le Mans entry to have an overdrive transmission. Not only was the car one of the 29 finishers from the field of 66, but also finished in fourth place. This outstanding achievement sealed Healey’s contract with Nash for a limited production run of the road cars. Roger Menadue, head of Healey’s experimental department, played a significant role in the success: He filed slots in the backplates of the brakes and extended the adjusting mechanism to a small exterior lever. Thus in a matter of seconds he could adjust the brakes during pit stops without jacking the car up—an innovation that was said to save as much as half an hour at each stop.
1951 Le Mans
In the 1951 Le Mans race1951 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 19th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 22 and 23 1951.This race saw the death of French driver Jean Larivière within the opening laps of the race.-Official results:-Did Not Finish:-Statistics:...
Rolt and Hamilton (who would win two years later in a Jaguar C-Type
Jaguar C-Type
The Jaguar C-Type is a racing sports car built by Jaguar and sold from 1951 to 1953. The "C" designation stood for "competition"....
) took fourth in class and sixth overall behind a Jaguar, two Talbot-Lago
Talbot-Lago
Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based in Suresnes, Hauts de Seine, outside of Paris.-Origins:The Anglo-French STD combine collapsed in 1935. The French Talbot company was acquired and reorganised by a Venetian born engineer called Anthony Lago and after that, the Talbot-Lago...
s and two Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
s. They finished immediately ahead of two Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
s and another Aston Martin.
1952 Le Mans
1952 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 20th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 14 - 15 1952 at Circuit de la Sarthe.Less than a decade after World War II, Mercedes-Benz scored a 1-2 victory with their Mercedes-Benz 300SL which was equipped with a 3.0L I6 engine that had less power than...
, when only 17 of the 58 starters finished, the entry driven by Leslie Johnson
Leslie Johnson
Leslie George Johnson was a British racing driver who competed in rallies, hill climbs, sports car races and Grand Prix races.-Overview:...
—a driver with the flair of Nuvolari, said Louis Chiron
Louis Chiron
Louis Alexandre Chiron was a Grand Prix driver.-Career:As a teenager, Louis Chiron fell in love with cars and racing. He learned to drive at a young age and joined the Grand Prix circuit after World War I where he had been requisitioned from the artillery section to serve as a chauffeur...
—and motoring journalist Tommy Wisdom took third overall behind two factory-entered Mercedes-Benz 300SL
Mercedes-Benz 300SL
The Mercedes-Benz 300SL was introduced in 1954 as a two-seat, closed sports car with distinctive gull-wing doors. Later it was offered as an open roadster...
s; also first in class, ahead of Chinetti
Luigi Chinetti
Luigi Chinetti was an Italian-born racecar driver, who emigrated to the United States during World War II and became an American citizen....
's Ferrari, and second in the Rudge-Whitworth Cup for the best performance over two consecutive years. In addition they won the Motor Gold Challenge Cup. The drivers said the car was more nimble through the corners than its more exotic competitors. It delivered 13 miles per US gallon and the engine needed no oil or water during the entire 24 hours. The car had been built from scratch in a fortnight, Menadue and his assistant Jock Reid fabricating the body in less than a week, by eye, without any drawings. Healey said: “That’s an ugly bugger, isn’t it, Roger?”
1952 Mille Miglia
The same year, Johnson raced the car in the Mille MigliaMille Miglia
The Mille Miglia was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 ....
, the thousand-mile Italian road race that would be banned as too dangerous five years later. Daily Telegraph motoring correspondent Bill McKenzie rode as passenger. They finished a creditable seventh overall to Bracco
Giovanni Bracco
Giovanni Bracco was an Italian racing car driver,remembered for losing control of his Delage 3000, killing five spectators at the 1947 Italian Grand Prix....
's winning works team Ferrari, the works Mercedes-Benz 300SLs of Kling
Karl Kling
Karl Kling was a motor racing driver and manager from Germany. He participated in 11 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 4 July 1954. He achieved 2 podiums, and scored a total of 17 championship points.It is said, that he was born too late and too early...
and Caracciola
Rudolf Caracciola
Otto Wilhelm Rudolf Caracciola , more commonly Rudolf Caracciola , was a racing driver from Remagen, Germany. He won the European Drivers' Championship, the pre-1950 equivalent of the modern Formula One World Championship, an unsurpassed three times...
, and three works Lancia
Lancia
Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more...
s; they also took fourth in class. The coupe driven by Donald Healey and his son Geoffrey crashed out.
1953 Le Mans
For the 1953 Le Mans race1953 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 21st Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 13 and 14 1953. It was also the third round of the World Sportscar Championship....
the factory partnered Johnson with Bert Hadley in one of two cars with redesigned bodies. Johnson started from 27th place. Although he and Hadley advanced steadily up the race order they were 11th at the finish, 39 laps behind the winning Jaguar, despite an average speed of 92.45 miles per hour (41.33 m/s)—higher than the previous year’s run to third place. However, they beat both of Donald Healey's new Austin-Healey 100
Austin-Healey 100
The Austin-Healey 100 is a sports car built from 1953 until 1959. There were two models, the original four-cylinder Austin-Healey 100, built 1953-1956, and the six-cylinder Austin-Healey 100-6, built 1956-1959....
s. The second Nash-Healey of Veyron
Pierre Veyron
Pierre Veyron was a Grand Prix motor racing driver active from 1933 through until 1953. He enrolled at university to study engineering but was convinced to take up racing by a friend; Henri Labataille, a mechanical engineer from Pau, was very active in motor car racing and flying and supported his...
and Giraud-Cabantous retired after nine laps.
This concluded the factory's race program with the lightweight competition cars. The 1952 Le Mans/Mille Miglia car passed into private ownership and raced in America.
Legacy
In the wake of the heavily publicized 1955 Le Mans disaster1955 Le Mans disaster
The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race, when a crash caused large parts of racing car debris to fly into the crowd. The driver was killed, as were 83 spectators. A further 120 people were injured...
, American Motors adopted a new advertising slogan, "Why don't we enter high-performance Rambler V-8s in racing? Because the only race Rambler cares about is the human race!" The automaker abandoned sporting pretensions focusing on its successful compact family-sized Rambler line, as well as its new international-based subcompact car: the Nash Metropolitan
Nash Metropolitan
The Nash Metropolitan is a car that was sold, initially only in the United States and Canada, from 1954–1962.It conforms to two classes of vehicle: economy car and subcompact car. In today’s terminology the Metropolitan is a “subcompact”, but this category had not yet come into use when the car was...
.
Production
A total of 507 production Nash-Healeys were built during its four-year model run:1951 - 104 (roadsters) lhd N-Type plus 1 rhd G-Type G525 (An additional 30 cars were sold with Alvis or 3 L Healey engines.)
1952 - 150 (roadsters)
1953 - 162 (roadsters and coupes)
1954 - 90 (coupes only)
For contextual comparison, the Nash-Healey is framed in U.S. auto history with the 1953 Kaiser Darrin
Kaiser Motors
Kaiser Motors Corporation made automobiles at Willow Run, Michigan, United States, from 1945 to 1953. In 1953, Kaiser merged with Willys-Overland to form Willys Motors Incorporated, moving its production operations to the Willys plant at Toledo, Ohio...
, 1953 Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...
, and 1955 Ford Thunderbird
Ford Thunderbird
The Thunderbird , is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States over eleven model generations from 1955 through 2005...
. The 1954 model year Nash-Healey price to the public was close to $6,000 compared with around $3,500 for a Chevrolet Corvette and $3,000 for a 1955 Ford Thunderbird.