While Suburbans, Travelalls, Wagoneers and malaise-era wagons doom themselves with high scrap values from their size, this Metropolitan ought to do the opposite with its diminutiveness. Still, today’s craigslist find has the feeling of a last-chance sale, so don’t think it won’t go to the yard. We’ve got the craigslist staples: “Ran when parked”, “selling for a friend” and two lousy pictures (one with foreground finger) that don’t really capture the condition.
So, what to do with it, then? As always, there’s the idea of taking a cheap, dry car from the southwest and selling it in the land of salty winters, where people look past desiccated paint to drool over intact rocker panels. For the more ambitious, its size suggests maybe electric conversion or a bike-motor swap. May it could just be a quick project to get it road-worthy and sold, not that you’d make any money on that.
The $750 price puts it within shooting distance of LeMons pricing (not that the judges would give a Met’ more than a quick once-over in BS inspection). Assorted googling suggests no one’s ever done so. It’s tough to break new ground in LeMons, but here’s your chance!
1958 Nash Rambler for sale – Inland Empire Craigslist
Hat tip to Nate from the SoCal TT mailing list.
Tiny Car Tuesday: Metropolitan Deserves a Fate Better than The Crusher's Appetizer
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9 responses to “Tiny Car Tuesday: Metropolitan Deserves a Fate Better than The Crusher's Appetizer”
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Other engines fit…and a repaint…
<img src="http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/08/10/140021.1-lg.jpg"width="600"> -
I've seen a few of these welded end-to-end to make a limo.
<img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2494/4242593752_b6005670bc.jpg"> -
My first car was a Metropolitan. A joint venture of American Motors and Austin, it managed to combine a floaty, soft ride with vague steering with the performance and reliability of a 40 horsepower Austin motor. God, I miss that stupid little car.
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The ad describes it as a Nash, but if it really is a 1958 Series III car (which it appears to be), then the correct marque is simply Metropolitan.
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Small car, so how hard could it be? Still, that orange pick em up holds my eye a bit more.
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These things had a lot of BMC under the skin. I really want to get one of these and throw every Spridget GO FAST part I can find at it. Maybe a MGA Twin-Cam or maybe a period supercharger. It has the potential to be a real LeMons sleeper if you don't mind cheating.
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There used to be an advertiser in Hemmings that offered "every one of the 11,XXX parts" that make a Met.
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I actually saw one fully functional and motivating itself down the road yesterday.
I think it was the first I've ever seen in person. Cute little bugger!
![http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/08/10/140021.1-lg.jpg"width="600">](http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/08/10/140021.1-lg.jpg"width="600">){kind=link}
![https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2494/4242593752_b6005670bc.jpg">](https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2494/4242593752_b6005670bc.jpg">){kind=link}
![http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080330014843/hotwheels/images/f/fe/Metrorail_Mike_Nuttall.jpg"](http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080330014843/hotwheels/images/f/fe/Metrorail_Mike_Nuttall.jpg"){kind=link}
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