Features Another look at the Nash Metropolitan

Best of both worlds, or worst? Conceived in Detroit, built in Birmingham: Presenting the halfbreed Yank Tank, the Nash Metropolitan.


Another Look at the Nash Metropolitan | Mac's Motor City Garage.com

 

I'll bite, and I don't mind the hit to my manliness points - I love the stupid little things! I put a 2000cc Ford and C/4 into one for a neighbor about thirty years ago and ended up driving the wheels off of it for a bit myself. Fun, and females love them! Especially convertables...

 

I've always dug the ugly little bastards.

Rich

 

guy in town has one with a 4.3 chevy with an OT trans

 

you ever seen the black one that was in street rodder about 10-15 years ago?

blown sbc.

the guy that owned it took the guy that wrote the article for a ride. if i remember right (& what're the odds of that???) the author said it was still pulling strong at 150 when he let off of the gas.

 

Had two convertables a while back.Had fun with them.

 

There was also one badged as a Hudson....

 

I have always liked those cars because my Dad had one in the mid 60s when I was 5,6 years old and it felt like a toy to me. I used to love to sit in that little back seat. My sister who is 10 years older used to gripe about having to sit back there.
My Dad bought the Metro off my uncle for 25 Dollars, in good running condition and 2 years later, my uncle bought it back for 50 dollars.

 

If that was the black, blown pro streeted one then it ended up here in Phoenix for a bit. ElPolacko had it in his shop and told me to give it a good drive see what I think it needed.... Scary little bastard! Much better after it left though!

 

I like them. Thinking about it, the are the 50's version of the Smart4Two, only much better.

 

I had a '60 Rambler American - one of the best (and most original) cars I've owned. I also got to drive a '50 Nash Rambler; ugly, but Sooooo coool!

 

Those things are so small, the set designer for our college theater used one as a stage prop in a play a couple of years ago.

I measured the dash in it out of curiosity, just under 48"; handy size to fit in a Model A, or some other early '30's hot rod.


Later, Kinky6

 

Plan on building one for my wife. Have had ideas for years now ...

 

I'm guilty of also wanting one of these really bad and I'm 6 foot 7!!!!

 

Car and Driver ran an article on them back in the '70s - don't recall the author. The most memorable line from it - "It was a case of wrong car, wrong time, wrong country."

That being said, I've always thought they were cool as hell, both as originals/restored and full out customs or rods...

 

I actually still have one,sittin in cobwebs-9" rear/SBC/cage and all.
What struck me as ingenious was Ramblers abilty to shrink a family of four and a dog to fit perfectly in one for their Metropolitan sales ads, back in the day.

 

These cars are very oddball and that is why I like them. I am in the final stages of a 5 year restoration of a 1959 Nash Mertopolitan.

 

my wife and i had saved up to buy a couch, we planned on going to a swop meet in the morning, then buy the couch after. my wife spotted a pair of them needing lots of work for the same amount we had for the couch. she really wanted the cars. i had enough projects and i already had built her a '61 corvair....so we bought the couch.
the couch wore out, the car would probably still be around.

 

.....they sure don't take up a lot of room in the garage....being six foot four and 250 pounds...theres no room for me in them

 

Here's a fuzzy pic of one I built for my wife a few years ago. No power steering or power brakes so she didn't like it.

Blue

 

Another neat thing about Mets was they were sold with the same cable drive wipers,that a lot of street rodders think were invented in the eighties....

 

Sweet! Are those baby moons?

 

Yes. The car has a Fatman Mustang II crossmember and narrowed Pinto rear with Pinto wheels.

 

been in our family for decades. grandad had an orginal 60 vert that my dad has now. uncle a 60 vert turned HT (it's surprisingly easy) and sister a 60 vert with a 302. plan one for my oldest in a few years. can't beat these little cars IMO

 

Love them

 

What's the driveline?

 

Actually just put a deposit on one yesterday. Still debating on shipping it or road tripping to Pittsburgh to pick it up. Not really my thing but the wife saw one at Good-Guys Des Moines a few years ago and had to have one. We finally found a solid car for a reasonable price. Didn't know if it was hamb friendly or not I'm going with not but its nice to see some guys on here are not too manly for a chick car haha.

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

That's as good as it gets.

 

there was a Hudson version for sale at the Ladson Flea Market a few years back.... if i recall correctly the owner only wanted $500..... it was ratty, but complete, and more than likely would have been a driver with a weekend's work..... there were two more not far away in St George at a body shop.... the drivetrains are pure Austin/MG stuff and dead easy to work on and keep running. one of my ex-bosses had three or four on his used car lot, even a couple of '62's with opening trunks. the early ones, you have to reach behind the rear "seat" to get stuff out of the trunk!

opening up the front wheelwells is probably the best improvement AMC should have done themselves. giving the front wheels more room, and shrinking the turning radius, would have made the car more driver-friendly, as well as boosting the usable power, maybe using a floor shift to use BMC's four speed box....
shit, they don't NEED power steering or power brakes....