Nash Rambler Wagon

[onehundredoctane]

Intro: I've decided to combine two of my favorite things, photography and cars, and start doing small features to post on an automotive forum that I'm a member of. I figured posting it here would get some good input from more seasoned photographers. As I've started to become more comfortable with my camera I've began shooting in manual mode only, I love knowing what to adjust to get a better picture. Sure I could set it to auto mode and fire away, but anyone can shoot in auto mode.

I attended a recent Cars and Coffee event, needless to say it was packed with every car you could imagine. But there's something to be said for the cars you didn't expect to see. Of course you'll see a group of Corvettes, a few Mopars, and the inevitable Ferarri or Lambo, but as you'll see the one car that stuck out most, was also the most easily overlooked. When I walked up the first thing I noticed was how many people were asking questions about the car, but the owner was no where to be found. None the less people were admiring the car, and for good reason too. I'll admit this is the first Nash Rambler Wagon I've ever seen. Like I said, I wasn't the only one investigating the car, this guy was trying to figure out how the wheels keep from hitting the fender when turning. . .

Less concerned with the outter appearance this gentelman wanted to see what the interior looked like. With a rust covered exterior the inside couldn't be much better, right?

I couldn't have been more wrong, once getting a little closer I found the interior was taken from a newer Mini Cooper, random! (sidenote: a polarizing filter would have worked well here to decrease glare, right?)

I eventually tracked down the owner and asked if I could snap an interior pic to see just how extensive the Mini Cooper treatment went. After all, who just throws a random dashboard into a car and leaves it at that?

The interior didn't stop at the dashboard and steering wheel, it turns out the pedals, door panels, console, shifter and even the seats were liberated from a Mini Cooper.

Going back to the outside, I couldn't get over how unsuspecting the exterior was, if you didn't look twice you'd assume it was an old rust bucket, and again, you couldn't be more wrong.

The gentlemen on the right is the owner, who answered every question I asked and was happy to have the attention. He mentioned that the exterior was in fact painted and not an inch was actual rust, the only part of the car that actually had rust were the front and rear bumpers.


I wanted to get a picture of the wood trim on the rear of the wagon, the parking lot was packed with cars and people so the best I could get was shooting thru a small tree there in the parking lot, ironic almost.

Taking a better look at the front end you'll notice the center mounted light on the front bumper, which wasn't actually a fog light oddly.

The owner went on to tell me that this is called a "passing light" which was more popular on the west coast, when a driver went to pass another car they would flash this light to signal they were passing and the other driver to slow a little. First time I've heard of it, but it almost belongs with all the other oddities on this car, but it doesn't end there. . .

Everyone remembers Clark Kent working at the Daily Planet. Well, in the original series Lois Lane actually drove a Nash, I thought this was a interesting way to reference that fact.

But then you notice the stickers on the back window. . . what exactly is going on here? Nothing else with this car is what it seems, the paint isn't actually old as it would appear, and the rustic exterior is no reflection of the interior, so why would anything else surprise you at this point?

Turns out the car has never been used in a movie. The funny part is he admitted to ocasionally saying "Yeah it's a movie car." just to get some people to go away. The cherry on top is really under the hood though, some of you saw this coming, but I had to save it for last.

Yep, that's right, this thing is truly a Mini Cooper S underneath it's dated and rustic exterior. The owner went on to tell me that the car is actually lighter than the Mini Cooper that was slain to give this wagon life, which also means better gas mileage than the Mini! The beauty of having a modern drive train in such an old car is that reliability is no question, add to that the fact that you can go into any parts store and get parts quicker for a new Mini than you can a 50's model Nash and it just makes sense. The owner drives the car as much as possible, and enjoys the funny looks he gets in traffic and the pep of the turbocharged 4 cylinder Cooper S power plant. The truth is the general public isn't the wiser in passing. . . but now you are!



Hope you enjoyed the read.

Matt

 

[Derrel]

AN outstanding post, Matt! VERY different from the normal "car thread". The Mini Cooper interior,engine, and drivetrain drop-ins...simply brilliant!!!

 

[rlemert]

That guy has one wicked sense of humor - and has done a fantastic job with the exterior. I'm not saying you're feeding us a line or anything, but I feel like I'd have to see the car in person before I'll believe that that isn't rust all over it.

Thanks for bringing us this story.

 

[onehundredoctane]

Thanks for the compliments and imput guys! I've always wanted to try my hand at putting together small features on interesting cars I've seen.

 

[12sndsgood]

Pretty neat, it seems this is a growing trend lately. Ive been seeing more and more new cars stuffed inside of old shells.

 

[Joel_W]

I sure wasn't prepared for your thread. I was expecting just another run of the mill car thread. Instead I was greeted to the most interesting car thread I can recall reading of late. What's more, it's well written, and photographed. Thanks for a great read.

 

[Railphotog]

Thanks for the photos! As others have noted, quite an interesting subject. The basic car by itself is pretty neat, but what's behind the scenes makes it all that more interesting.

A few years ago at an area car show, I saw what looked like an older Dodge pickup truck whose exterior was something like the Rambler - rusty and really old. In passing by I noted a Hemi under the hood, but never gave it much more thought. Not too long after I happened to be watching a car program on TV, and what did I see but the very same truck! It too was all new underneath with modern Chrysler running gear, and was quite the mover! Sure wished I would have paid more attention to the truck when I saw it, and had taken photos of it.

That Rambler is neat!

 

[onehundredoctane]

Thanks again for the compliments guys! I've always wanted to try my hand at photojournalism type stuff, this was my first real attempt.