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Who knew that a well-weathered Nash could look so good?
Going to car shows all summer long, you have to expect to see some gorgeous rides. Whether they’re stock rebuilds or pepped-up performance machines, the whole idea is to show off the fruits of your labor and/or imagination with your personalized ride. But nothing could have prepared us for the unique vintage ride we ran across at the recent Blue Light Special car show in Loveland, Colorado. After all, it’s not every day that you run into a bonafide natural-patinated Nash.
Owned by Berthoud, Colorado resident Blaine Goll, owner of local restoration company by the name of Blaine’s Coach Craft, this 1951 Nash Ambassador nicknamed “Nashcar” immediately caught our attention in the sea of blues, greens, reds, yellows and blacks that painted the grounds of The Ranch Events Complex for the 30th Road Knights car show back in mid August. Not only was Goll’s 4-door Nash the only hot rod of its kind at the show, it was also the first natural patinated car we had seen in the area preserved with a lot of work and clear coat. Of course, that meant we had to know more!
“My Nash has been in the Loveland area all its life,” Goll explained to us in a recent interview. “It came from Lebo’s Nash dealership where it was a demo car for the first year. The Lebos kept the car for fishing and camping, so they never licensed it. They drove it with dealer plates.”
With that being said, Goll is actually the first and only registered owner of the car. “It was in the Lebos family for 35 years,the last 28 years of its 35 years, it was parked outside,” shared Goll. “I rented a shop from Lebo where they stored the car and Jerry Lebo offered it to me for $500.00 in 1986. I had to have it, so now 27 years later, I’m enjoying my Nashcar. I drive it daily and it sits outside 24-7.”
Nash Motors was an American automotive manufacturing company that started in 1916 and ran through 1937. From 1937 through 1954, Nash Motors was a division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. Unfortunately, Nash Motors went under at the end of 1954, but the name continued on until 1957 under the newly formed American Motors Corporation (AMC).
What’s In A Name
The Ambassador nameplate was around for many years. First used in 1927 as the name of a high trim-level sedan, the Ambassador name was given to the top-of-the-line Nash models through 1957. In 1958, the nameplate was continued on by American Motors Corporation (AMC) and used all the way through 1974 to designate the company’s highest valued models. Because of this, the Ambassador name is one of the longest running nameplates in the industry and continues to be synonymous with some of the plushest automobiles ever made.
No classic car is complete without curb feelers!
Widely known for its enclosed front wheels, the post-war (1949 to 1951) Nash Ambassador models exhibited a great deal of concern over aerodynamics. Not only did the enclosed wheels and tires aim to increase airflow around the car, so too did the model’s rounder “Airflyte” body style.
Some promotional material for the new Airflyte Nash Ambassadors from back in the day even claim the car offered 20 percent less drag than other manufacturer’s models at the time.
Luxury Amenities
Having been lucky enough to pick up one of these fantastic rides for half a grand in the mid 80s, Goll got all of the luxury amenities you could expect from a 1951 Ambassador. Under the hood burbles a 234.8cin (3.8L) six cylinder engine, featuring an exclusive hefty 7 bearing, balanced crankshaft, that still to this day runs in its completely non-rebuilt original form. The engine is fueled by a 20-gallon gas tank and kept cool by a whopping 18 quarts of coolant.
It may not seem like much, but according to Goll, his Nash has plenty of power to keep things interesting.
Producing just 115 hp at 3,400 rpm, the engine is tied to a GM Hydramatic transmission, the same transmission that made the 1950 Ambassador the first non-GM vehicle to receive GM’s automatic Hydramatic gearbox.
Other luxury components on Goll’s Nash include a one-piece curved windshield, introduced in 1951 for the Ambassador model, and standard Nash steely wheels. The Nash maintains all its original running gear, including its factory coil-spring suspension.
With redone upholstery, the interior of Goll's Nash is just as nice as it was when it rolled off the assembly line in the early 1950s, complete with seats that fold completely down to create a comfortable sleeping area. 
In 2010, Goll had the upholstery in his Nash redone and that’s when he also really started working on making the exterior’s original patina shine like it does today.
Weathered naturally, the Nash’s patina reflects the sun like no other paint job thanks to all the special preparations Goll put into it.
All About the Patina
There are many vehicles in the industry that sport original patinas. Take, for example, rat rods. Many of these rustic-esque rides sport non-painted exteriors for the pride and history of the ride to shine through. It also makes for an easier parking situation when you’re not worried about scratches in your car’s paint. But Goll’s Nash is on a completely different level.
Having been weathered naturally by sitting outside for all the years that the Lebos owned the car and then over 20 years in Goll’s possession, the Nash acquired quite the nice aesthetic value on its own.
In 2010, Goll buffed out the car’s natural patina and fell in love with the shined version of his car. Unfortunately, three months later, the car’s patina was dull again.
From the front to the rear, we just couldn’t get enough of this gorgeous ride!
Not wanting to lose any of the original patina to continuous buff jobs, Goll took his many years of restoration knowledge into account, did some serious homework and devised a process to keep the Nash’s patina original and shiny at the same time by testing a number of patinated pieces of metals to get just the right process down. Countless layers of clear coat later, and the Nash has never looked better.
Unlike any other natural-patina vehicle we’ve seen, Goll’s Nash was smoother than even some of the nicest painted cars we’ve come across.
I have been doing restoration for a long time- lots of show cars- and I really like the results of protecting patina,” Goll told us. “It is very time consuming and not cheap. If you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t try it. You only have one shot at it.”
Goll is very proud of his work on his Nash and explained to us that his perfected process won’t be up for grabs any time soon. And we can’t blame him!
The finish on this car is smooth,” Goll told us and many other on-lookers at the Road Knights event, asking several of us if we wanted to feel his Nash.
Adding even more of an aesthetic value to the Nash are the pot metal grill and side spears, which have had the chrome buffed down to the copper plating underneath. This gives the metal work on the car an interesting look that not only shows a lot of character but also meshes very well with the car’s preserved natural patina. Once the bright work was completed in this way, it was polished to its current glory.
Goll’s Nash is absolutely fantastic and a unique glimpse at what all the hot rod industry can bring.
We’re used to seeing high-performance street rods, rusty rat rods, custom cars, classics and stock rebuilds, but rarely do you find a car so well preserved in its original yet weathered state as this 1951 Nash. In several aspects, Goll’s car looks to be straight out of the 50s with its original running gear, factory-correct upholstery and untouched body lines.
On the other hand, the Nash is paving new roads for the hot rod community, helping to showcase the beauty of a classic car after years of exposure to the elements have created a work of art only possible via mother nature.
For more images of this beautiful car, be sure to check out the Rod Authority photo gallery below:
