Most of us know that as of May 1, 1954, Nash + Hudson = AMC. Sometimes it’s confusing as to what to call some of the Nash, Hudson, and/or AMC cars of that era, especially those right at the dividing line like this 1955 Nash Rambler Cross Country. Hey, at least I didn’t say AMC Nash Rambler Cross Country! This cool project wagon can be found here on Craigslist in Chowchilla, California. The seller is asking $1,600 or best offer – this is a lot of car for that price! Thanks to Pat L. for sending in another great tip!
This Cross Country looks like it’ll need a trip to the dentist among other specialists. The seller says, “1955 Nash Cross Country Wagon.. complete..6 cyl. 3 speed..not running.. rolling project..radio.. heater..have pink..a good starter car.” At 2,700 pounds, rolling it won’t be that hard but hopefully it’ll be rolling under its own power again someday. Apparently, this is a really, really early production model as they have the VIN listed as 000-000-000. I’m kidding, of course. It’s like the old Jack Benny joke about his SS# being 000-000-0001. Jack Benny? Hello? He was a comedian from the ol’ days (1930s-1970s).. Is this thing on?.. (crickets). Back to this Rambler.. tough crowd..
1955 was the first year after the 1954 Nash/Hudson merger which created American Motors Corporation and like the Metropolitan, the Nash and Hudson Cross Country wagons were basically different in the grille badge and a couple of other small trim pieces. 1955 would be the last year for the Nash (or, Hudson) Rambler as Rambler became its own make under the new AMC umbrella in 1956. This station wagon design is as close to being perfect as I can imagine. The two-level roofline was similar to the sedan for ease of manufacturing, but then the roofline gets a bit lower in the rear portion and on that lower rear portion is a roof rack. That’s a spot-on cool design, in my opinion. Most of us know that they were designed by Pinin Farina, the famous Italian design firm. One thing that was different with the 1955 models is that the front wheels weren’t half-covered by the front fenders for the first and what would be the last time.
This appears to have been a Coral Red (i.e. pink) car originally due to the pink color under the chipped areas and under the hood unless I’m just seeing things? The interior does look like it’s in good shape for being a car that only has a $1,600 or offer asking price, doesn’t it? The back seat looks good but there are no photos with the rear hatch/tailgate open, unfortunately.
This engine compartment looks like it’s Coral Red, doesn’t it? The engine looks better than what I assumed a $1,600 car would look like under the hood. This should be Nash’s L-Head 195.6 cubic-inch six with 90 hp and it’ll take 18 seconds to get to 60 mph. This car is relatively light at 2,700 pounds and is only 15.5 feet long, less than 4-inches longer than a new Honda Civic! Needless to say, I’d rather have this car and a $10,000 restoration budget over a new Honda Civic, but that’s just me. Are there any mid-1950s Rambler wagon fans out there?
It looks like a hearse for old fedoras.
I got your Jack Benny Scotty and raise you a Jackie Gleason, how sweeeet it is! I love this thing. From the hood scoop to the roof rack, great find and great write up!
I’ll see your Gleason and raise you a Steve Allen! I may even have a Tom Lehrer up my sleeve somewhere…
Tom Lehrer!…My Dad played his JFK album till it had 2 holes in it! I’ll raise you a Lenny Bruce……….No matter the model whenever I see one of these I think of Lois Lane.
How about Danny Thomas? How about Ricky and Lucy! Can’t forget Red Skelton! Those were the days! LOL
Jack Parr and Ed Sullivan, Ernie Kovacs, Sid Caesar.
I’ll know when 90’s Civics, Corollas, and Subarus start showing up here with alarming frequency and Adam Sandler is the comedian mentioned that all is lost.
If ever a vehicle screamed out “LS Swap” this is it
How about a B234R?
Haha…one in the front and one in the back!
How about get this one running and enjoy it?
Can’t even remember the last time I saw one of these outside of a car show.
The reason for the dip in the roof was so the sedan roof could be used with an extension welded on the back, saving scarce tooling dollars. This became a Rambler wagon styling trademark for years.
Note that this car lacks an oil filter since that was optional at the time. (It would be a partial-flow filter filter on a steel plate mounted on top of the engine.) This same flathead motor was used as the base engine in the Rambler American through the 1965 model year.
AMC Guy, I had 2, 65 American wagons, and they both had the ohv engines. We’re they optional? Always appreciate your input on AMC stuff.
Yes, the flathead was standard in the Rambler American through 1965, possibly only on the base “220” trim level cars at the end. As far as I know it was the last use of a flathead engine in a U.S. car.
In 1965 you could get two types of OHV engines in the American, the old 195.6 (based on the flathead) and the new 7-main-bearing 199/232. However air conditioning could only be ordered with the older engines due to lack of space for a condenser with the new, longer sixes. (This would be rectified in 1966 when the front end of the American was restyled and lengthened.)
Thanks, I certainly don’t know it all by a long shot but have owned and worked on AMCs for decades and have picked up a few things along the way. Memory does play tricks sometimes, though!
I’m quite certain that’s an oil filter canister in the photo of the engine bay-mounted to the passenger fender well…
Look at a mid 2000’s infiniti/nissan suv, and they have the same roofline. Fashion recycles after a time…even if it’s almost 60 years later.
Love it. I too, am a 1955 model, and think this is beautiful. Part of me is saying restore it, and part of me is saying just put something efficient and reliable in it. My wife’s car is a 2015 Malibu, with a 200 hp 4 banger. I think that would be perfect, but that’s just me.
If my neighbors would not vote me out of the neighborhood, I’d buy this in a minute. So rare and neat looking, especially in the period correct color.
Read ’em and weep gents! Jack Benny,
Jackie Gleasin, Stwve Allen, Tom Leher,
and…I’ll raise you a Red Skelton–royal
flush! Sure, I remember these comedians
and the cars too. Used to see a red and
white ’55 about like this one tooling around my neighborhood in ’60 or ’61.
Only difference was that the car I saw
had side trim similar to a ’55 Chevy.
And just so you know, you could get these
in Hudson trim too. George Romney made sure that you could buy one at either dealership. Can’t remember much
about what the Hudson version looked
like, but I think that only the front facia
and badging were changed. You could
get these wagons in the ’55 and ’56
model years only though as the Nashes
and Hudsons were being phased out.
In ’57, you could only get a Nash or
Hudson in sedan or hardtop trim. And
if you wanted a V-8, you got the big 320
cube Packard mill churming out some-
where around 230-250 HP. Not bad for
what these cars were–except when you
tried to get engine parts for them later
on. You had to take the car’s VIN number
with you just to make sure that you got
the right part(s) for your car when you
went to the parts store in the ’60’s and
’70’s. I recall people scrounging local
junkyards just to find fanbelts and
spark plugs! They didn’t call ’em All
Make Cars for nothin’!
I’ll call you all with a George Gobel and Ernie Kovacs to settle this pot. Hard to believe such a bulbous shape only covers 2700 lbs! looks big enough to swallow a Pacer….
Good thing it’s too far away or my wife would have more reason to divorce me
I bid a Jack E. Leonard, a Mort Sahl, and a Jack Carson, and I’ll throw in a Morty Gunty to sweeten the pot. This design has aged well.
Did we leave Uncle Milty (Milton Berle) our on purpose, didn’t see Bob Hope in the list either.
Rich Little – remember him? – did a lot of impressions. He did one of Jack Benny where he imitated Jack’s signature gesture of folding his arms and placing one hand on his cheek. Rich used all four fingers but he recounted that upon meeting Benny the man corrected him and said just to use three fingers. When Rich asked him why he replied, “Because three is funnier than four.”
They were all comic geniuses.
But about the car – my Dad worked for Nash Kelvinator after WWII until 1955. The last car he bought from them was a 1955 Cross Country. His was black with a white mask around the windows – a very sharp looking combination. It had a sort of cloisonné “f” emblem with “farina” inscribed on it on the c pillar. It was many years later that I finally found out what it meant. Viewed from that perspective this is one of the first designer wagons. Nice find.
Actually 1957 was the first year that the Rambler was not identified as a Nash or Hudson. I have a 1956 pink Hudson Rambler Custom Sedan. The grill emblem and hubcaps were the only difference between the Nash and Hudson models. The 4 door 54 wagon with the skirted front wheels is probably the most rare as that was the most expensive Rambler Model.
I’ll raise all of you one George Burns and a Gracie Allen to boot! Love those old Ramblers. Restore it to showroom condition and drive it to the Friday night car shows!
Here’s JOHNNY! Enough said!
Needs a v8, the more oddball the better….Buick nailhead, olds j2, What have ya. Super funky styling, love it, Good luck to the new owner, great value at 1600.
Cheers
GPC
The flat head is oddball enough.
I bought it and have plans of transplanting a 5.7 L Hemi in it along with the Dodge Charger drive line.
Great Project!
Thanks for the update Todd. Please keep us updated!
Geezus, I hope you’re kidding!
Ok, I’ll play along, what about “Sing Along with Mitch” Mitch Miller
Liberace! Now that was the man? Or was he? LMAO
I know where one of these is stuck away in a barn for years and has a Dodge 340 in it. Good fit. It’s still there and he was asking $5500. Might be worth a trip back. I like the things. Sure beats paying 50+ an hour to have someone do bodywork. Wonder what a good buffin’ would do to this paint…?
Good looking wagon… One of my favourites..Rodney Dangerfield.. was probably just starting out when this came of the line….good times…
This car screams out to be returned to the original two-tone paint that it once had–note that odd paint division line on the rear doors. They look fabulous with two-tone paint. I think I would go pink and black on this one.
Here’s my pink ’58 Rambler wagon, just finished this year.
Dang….you got me at Gracie ! Nice little survivor there – some buddy by it as it’s at a Righteous Brothers price !
Get a new emblem and grill piece from NashRamblerRubber.com . Add some new paint and rubber and a little TLC and you’ll have an outstanding ride. This is a rare and unusual Rambler and a very nice find. A very cool Rambler wagon.
Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo (near LAX) has a top of the line two toned green one in excellent shape. The finish quality on it is amazingly good compared to Ford, Chevy, Plymouth of the day.
Making progress on the transformation from the 1955 suspension and power-train to that of a Dodge Charger w/5.7 L Hemi.
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Wow, I thought you were joking at the start.
I would question whether that ancient unibody is up to handling the torque of the big engine you’re putting in it.
Wow, Todd. Thanks for the update. Stay with us with further updates, plz. Congratulations!
how is the progress going?
nice car ,good job
Sweet!
So nice of you Todd to entertain us gear heads ….keep up the good work, thanks