Luxurious 1957 Nash Ambassador Custom | Hudson-Powered 1955 Nash Ambassador | Rambler Ranch 

Making it a really fine highway automobile and a great long distance cruiser.

AMC had agreed with Studebaker-Packard to provide Packard engines and Ultramatic transmissions on the basis of S-P buying sheet metal from AMC--which didn't occur. George Romney ordered the production of AMC's own engines. The 250 V-8 appeared in the mid-year Ambassador and Hornet Specials, but the 327 engine followed in big Nashes, Hudsons and Rambler Rebels in 1957. The basic design ran until 1966, when the 290/343 family appeared in 1967 models

AMC didn't buy nash so much as was created when Nash and Hudson merged to form the AMC company, so I'd figure for a while you'd still find nash parts on Ramblers and others as nash was well established at the time of the merger. I've always liked AMC's cars, and the more i learn of Nash and early AMC's the more impressed i am with them.

You mean flathead 6. Only the Corvair and the Porsche used flat 6 engines.

And which one do you think you would be able to fix yourself?

That Rebel is a hottly desired car today. FYI, its 327 was actually souped up - 9.5 / 1 compression vs 9 / 1, dual valve springs vs single, solid lifters vs hydraulics.

These are not Ramblers. These are full-size Nashes.

My friends father had a Rebel Machine with the RW&B livery when I was a kid, but it was no big deal as my neighborhood was loaded with Chargers, Road Runners, GTO's, Corvettes, etc. The 70's was heaven for a car crazy kid, even my old man had a '64 Marauder, and my brother had a '63 Impala SS...Nowadays most cars, like my Impala LTZ, all look alike...

HydraMatic was not paired with OD, at least not from the factory.

​@@michaelbenardo5695 it seemed to be on my Ambassador- it was somehow engaged by engine vacuum- I could cruise( without straining the engine) for hours at 95 mph on a clear interstate or similar road. Cops would just wave at me- I guess out of respect for an older vehicle It turns out it was a 238 cu in engine , by the way

A huge center armrest in back!

@@gcfifthgear thanks.

Just styled by Pininfarina.

@@MyClassicCarTV It is virtually identical to the other model you showed. Was it a Pininfarina design or was it just tweaked by them ? It seems a bit early to be badge engineering such as Ghia became to Ford.

Actually a joint effort between Pininfarina and AMC stylist Ed Andersen, who graciously agreed to let Pininfarina have the credit since European design was all the rage in the early 1950s. And contemporary reviews said the Nash of the 1952-57 generation (and the '55-'57 Hudsons) had the roomiest interiors in the medium-priced field

Hudson made a big deal of the "Championship Six" (the former Jet engine in Wasps. the Hornet Six continuing in the '55-'56 Hornets)

The auto makers knew, but motorists ignored it

@@michaelbenardo5695 Yes, he probably told the customer to junk it.

With car companies doing three-year styling cycles in the 1950s, Nash was overdue for a styling change by 1955. With the AMC merger, stylists had to make the Nash body look distinctive for the new Hudsons, and Nash ended up playing second fiddle...and both '55-'57 Hudsons and Nashes were running on the '52 Nash body shell...

and curb feelers

They just got it wrong. Happens a lot especially with cars built by the independents. I have read, more than once, that Nash wanted Hudson to get Hudson's V-8. Hudson had no V-8, as you know. After the merger, AMC bought Packard V-8s for 55 and early 56. Late 56s introduced the AMC V-8.

@@edarcuri182 AMC V8 was started for Kiser but then they gave up and design and designer came to AMC and went into production in very short time. AMC had trouble with the Packard because Packard insisted that V8 engine had to include Packard's Ultramatic automatic transmission, which was not as good as the Borg-Warner. The new AMC 327 was better in most reguards than the Packard engine and that was when Packard gave up and merged with Studebaker.

@@keithstudly6071 I have long thought that the Kaiser connection to the AMC V-8 was strong. I have read, about a year ago, an article which indicated that Henry J gave up on the Kaiser engine owing to the cost (did none of these guys ever hear of joint ventures?). Apparently, the lead engineer on the AMC design was the same fellow who had worked on the Kaiser effort. That said, pictures accompanied the article on Kaiser's engine to which I referred. That engine did look quite different featuring, among other things, round ports. As I lack expertise on engines, I am inclined to take these reports as a group and assume that much learned in the Kaiser effort sped up AMC's development. Packard bought Studebaker in 1954. It was a bad idea. How true that was soon became apparent. By 1956, Curtiss Wright had a management agreement with SP that allowed CW to write off SP's losses against their profits - or so I am advised. The Packard, along with all of its parts and pieces good and bad was sold off, or carted off, or trotted out to the dumpster and the 57 and 58 Packards were Studebakers somewhat restyled with Packard cues. Of course, we all know that. What we don't know for certain is what combinations of bad advice, egos, and lack of foresight led to the demise of so many fine alternatives in the marketplace. By the bye, my Dad's Uncle had a 56 Ambassador with the Packard V-8. When I was a kid, he traveled west to visit us in that car and I thought it very nice. He promised to save it for me when I grew up. I was astonished visiting him in his 90's that he remembered the promise and apologized for selling the car. He told me why: that transmission! "I could never get it right." He was a long time mechanic in my Dad's estimation the best he ever knew. So, that is evidence enough for me that AMC would have been better off using Hydra-Matics as they did in their other cars or the Borg Warner that you mentioned. I owned a couple of cars with that AMC 327. Torquey and trouble free.

@@edarcuri182 Well that was the way I heard it. The hiring of Kaiser's designer and his nearly finished V8 allowed AMC to cut the cord with Packard much more quickly than anyone expected. (especially Packard) They had been using B-W automatic transmissions since 1950 and Ford wanted to use the same transmission but AMC wanted exclusive so Ford worked with B-W to design the Fordomatic. Another Packard trouble was they had always relied on Briggs to build their bodies and Chrysler bought Briggs to build Imperials and cut Packard off so the last prei-Studebaker Packards were a manufacturing nightmare as they had to build all new relationships just to manufacture them.

@@keithstudly6071 There is no doubt in my mind that the AMC V-8 was designed as quickly as it was because so much work had been done on the Kaiser unit and the engineer who worked on that Kaiser engine came to AMC in time to speed up their design. The Kaiser was reported to be 288 CID. The mid range AMC engine, produced later, was 287. Coincidence? I think not. Both Nash and Hudson used Hydra Matics. The first Borg Warner automatics were used in the 58s by then known only as Ramblers.

I don’t know, I go for trim. Why carry around any extra weight. 🤔

'52-'54 models were great-looking, but they were already dated by 1955

That's what sunk the 57.