Description
May trade for older Honda or Yamaha ATV 4X4. Consider trades for guns. 30-30 Winchester, Buckmark 22 or ??
These Nash Metropolitan’s are very popular today. Made by American Motor Company AMC, but this is the 1st time an American car was built entirely in England by Austin Motor Company. It was also the first Unibody or Monocoque produced by a US company.
In 1958 this was Series 3 Metropolitan. It is 12.5’ long, 5.13’ wide and 4.54’ tall. Easy to fit in a small shop or garage!
Plans for this car were to create a Pro Street Car like the yellow one in the photos. Originally intended to use a Chevy 350 with a Turbo 350 A/T, but motorheads have suggested that the Buick 215 V8, a lightweight aluminum engine, was a marvel of efficiency and power in the 1960s. It lived on in British cars like the Rover P5B, Land Rovers, and Range Rovers. Another option would be the Buick 340 cu in V8 engine (1966-1967) produced 220-260 horsepower and 375 lb-ft of torque. My favored option would be the aluminum head 4.8L LS Chevy engine with about 290 cubic inches and 270HP.
My choice was to use a 4-speed manual floor shift, but some might prefer an A/T. Your choice. As you can see the firewall and floor are ready for the transplants. You will have to consider size and weight of your transmission choice.
Comes with (4) 3/16”X3” x16’ pieces of new steel to use for reinforcing and gusseting the frame rails for higher horsepower and torque than the 1500CC original engine produced. It also comes with (1) 16 gauge 4’X8’ piece of new steel sheet metal to build the firewall and floor.
The front tube axle is installed on leaf springs with disc brakes. Ford 13” 5 lug wheels are installed in front and on the rear continental spare. It comes with a Ford 9” differential housing that is ideal to cut down for large tires or slicks on the rear with the Ford 5 lug wheels in a 14” or 15” larger size.
Includes a $500 new full-wiring harness for the Nash M. Note that the windows already have electric window controls and motors installed and they work well. Also has door panels ready for upholstery with provision for electric window and door handles.
The steering column is new, and it has the removable steering wheel feature used on race cars. No steering wheel yet.
It comes with boxes of all the original hardware, bezels, trim and nuts and bolts that were removed.
The front and rear chromed bumpers are undamaged but will need re-chromed.
No rust on the body or frame. The photo of the red car shows what this car looked like before modification. As you can see from photos the driver’s side is very straight, as are the roof and truck areas. The passenger side has 3-4 areas that will need light bodywork. The original red and white paint was removed with a 4” angle grinder using a low grit flapper wheel to bare metal and then a light coat of gray primer was applied to prevent rust. It took the prior owner almost a month part-time. The areas that are rough were filled with bondo and he used the flapper wheel to remove the bondo. My plan was to body work the panels correctly with minimal use of filler. It looked great in Red and White, but when stripped it needs good bodywork.
Includes a new aluminum radiator. Also have nice cloth bucket seats that are installed well behind where the original seats were located for maximum legroom.
The dash is modified to remove the radio hole and clean it up. It did not come with a glove compartment but now has an opening door. Note the new speedometer that now goes up to 160MPH. Comes with the original working radio but planned to replace it with a new Bluetooth stereo with high-end speakers.
Taillights are brand new, and it includes the original headlights and bezels.
Interesting note on the doors. They are the same and you could make suicide doors easily by reversing doors on the Metro.
The two catalogs in the photos are included and they show all the parts that are available for the Nash Metropolitan. It will need glass gaskets, but the front windshield glass is good as is the cool 3-piece curved rear glass with bezels. As mentioned previously, the glass is already installed on both doors with electric switches and motors.
New inner door panels and cut and ready for upholstery.
Comes with a clean Idaho Title, not salvaged.
It is a unique project for the right person. It is doubtful you will see another one this unique at the car shows. Check prices on Autotrader, Classic and Hemmings by Googling Nash Metropolitan for sale. Amazing values.
Cash at the time of inspection and delivery. Located in Nampa, Idaho 83686.
You could part this car out for more that I am offering it for. Price firm. Many hundreds of hours of labor already invested in this project.