pacerman

Great attention to detail. I like this thread.

I love the before and after pictures. It takes vision and determination to make the "after" actually happen. Congratulations. Joe

That car has style. Good luck with it. Joe

The Collector Car Market price guide for the 4th quarter of 2016 says a Number 1 condition 55 Statesman country club hardtop would be valued at $16,900. A number 2 car, would be about $11,000. Personally, although I have been in the AMC hobby for about 20 years I don't know anyone who would pay that kind of money for a 50's Nash. If you were selling, it might be best to put it through one of the big auctions or put it in the Hemmings Classifieds where a lot of high end cars get listed. You are right about the rarity though. The Standard Catalog of American Motors indicates that a little fewer than 1400 Statesman country club hardtops were built in 1955. Air conditioning was pretty rare too. Joe

You may not know about the AMC Forum (www.theamcforum.com) but that is a good place to market your parts. Also you can place an ad in the AMCRC (ramble club) newsletter. I will ask how much you are asking for the cylinder head and do you know the history of it? Has it been magnafluxed? Thanks. Joe

I just noticed a new Youtube video today (posted today actually). Someone also in a desert climate has a Mercury jones and has high standards for their work, very similar to yours. Do you know this person? Is he a close relative? Ha. See:

If the wheels have a 5 on 41/2 inch bolt pattern, AMC passenger car wheels will fit too.

Original paint chips for the year and model are at www.autocolorlibrary.com and at www.paintref.com. That would give you an idea of the color pallette that was available for Dodge in 1939. Good luck with the car. Joe

It certainly seems like that car found the right owner. Good luck with it. Joe

Good luck with the project. That car has great lines.

Hi Dusty Hall. I send you a personal mail regarding the 63 Rambler wheel covers. Joe

I don't know for sure, but Nash probably used the Borg Warner T-96 three speed. I know that AMC used it for many years in the 1950s and 1960s. I just don't know exactly when the transmission came on the market. Someone if the Nash Car Club will probably know for sure. Joe

Very nice work.

You might need to go to later rambler 9-inch drums. The whole backing plate, shoe, drum assemblies for those are pretty common. Cars are frequently being parted out and of course the shoes and drums are pretty common. Wish I could help. Joe

Contact Blaser's Nash Rambler or Blaser's AMC Parts they are in Illinois. Google it and you will find them. If they have the parts the price will be high but they do have thousands of NOS Nash and AMC Parts. Another possible source is Havekost AMC Parts in Wisconsin, I believe. Good luck. Joe

Can you provide measurements or specs? (diameter and shoe width?)

Looks good John. I imagine it was a relief to get the SUV put back together. That is the kind of job I shy away from on my modern cars, but if a dealer quoted me $700 in labor I might be motivated to try it. Joe

My .$.02 about your oil spill. It is a good thing to have some clay-based oil dry product on hand for such occurrences. In my industry, we handled a lot of liquids, many of them oily. You can quickly make a dam with the granular product or surround a spill to make a contained puddle and they work it in to the liquid for complete absorption. Then to finish it off scuff the dry product into the pores of the concrete floor and you can really remove most/all traces of a spill. The oil dry product is much less expensive than kitty litter too.

Bernie, I did a google search and found an article from a book comparing the patents (in volume) issued to both Louis Renault and the Citroen brand. The article said, if I recall correctly, that Renault was issued 792 patents in the time period from right after the turn of the century until 1941. The French Patent and Trademark office did not seem to offer access to those patents in an online database, but perhaps you could contact them or a French speaking contact in France could do the heavy lifting for you. Good Luck. Joe

Recently posted on Youtube: Joe

I think that one problem in converting it to a floor shift will be finding a quality floor shifter. Hurst used to make a "Master Craft" shifter that I have heard was pretty good. The Indy shifter that is offered not seems flimsy to me. But if you find something that works well for you, please let us know. I also think you should just put it back together and enjoy it. Good luck. Joe

I thought prior to 2000 you had to guess at the year because only the last digit of the year was used. You could use clues like the "model" of the tire. For instance a Goodyear Invicta may not have been made for over ten years. I also thought the two digits before the year were the Julian date for that year. In your case, the tires could then have been made on the 58th day of 2007, 1997, 1987, etc. But if you researched it, I'm probably incorrect.

It's appears to be a Kinner engine. That would shake anything loose.

I worked a summer job June through August 1966 outside the Ford assembly plant in Louisville, KY and remember a few of these cars. We were in the rail yard where they marshalled the new cars and we loaded them onto tri-level rail cars (auto racks) for shipment wherever. We also received new Fords from other plants and unloaded them. The 7 Litre badge didn't mean much to me at that time because I wasn't a car guy and they were big boats anyway. I was more interested in the Mustangs and Fairlanes which came into the yard from other plants. But I do remember those luxurious interiors. We were loading the new cars onto rail cars (auto racks) for shipment wherever. And I can still remember that new car smell in cars that had been sitting closed up in the 90 degree heat. Joe

It was nice to see Hudson's, Nashes and AMC's represented in the collection. He was working on a 64 Rambler Classic V8 in one scene. I didn't see any Studebakers though. Joe