Nash Metropolitan

After I decided to hold off on my '40 Nash, I began looking for another project to get some experience with welding and body work. I figured that by the time I finished a car that had parts available, I would be able to tackle the Nash.

I ended up finding a 59 Nash Metropolitan in WI for $100. In the pictures, the car did look rough, but it was complete so a guy from my church and I drove up to WI from KS. We drove as far as my in-laws in Rockford, IL the first day which put us about an hour and a half from the car. The next morning, we got up and continued the journey.

I was glad that Bob's trailer had an electric winch on it because the car had two flat tires. After paying for the car and getting her loaded up and tied down, we headed out for my parents who live in IA. After a 6 or 7 hour drive, we ended up in Evansdale, IA. Bob mentioned to my dad that I definitely got my money's worth of rust.

That evening, dad took Bob and I to the old neighbor who helped me with body work on the Javelin and who did some work on my 40 Nash. We then went to his brother's place who was finishing up a '39 Chevy rod. While we were there, I found out that Bob and I were the talk of the town. It seems that a number of people had seen this old Metropolitan on a trailer going through town and they were trying to figure out who it belonged to.

Once I got the car back to KS, I went to work in cleaning her out. I was able to get the valve stems replaced on the two flat tires so they would hold air and the car was much easier to move around. I then went to work cleaning the car out so I could see what I actually had. I ground off the rust and then sprayed it blue and white with rustoleum. From a distance, it looked fairly decent.

In the meantime, I came across another Metropolitan that was located about an hour south of us. The guy wanted $450 and so I offered him $100 and he took it. My wife had a Dr. appointment in the area of the car so I borrowed Bob's trailer again and we picked the car up on the way home.

I grabbed this car for body parts. I had a good hood and mine was shot and then the doors, fenders, rear fenders, etc were all good and usable. The floor was another thing. Sometime in the past, somebody knocked out all the glass to tape the doors shut. So squirrels used it to hide their nuts and water got inside and pretty much destroyed the thing.

I borrowed a plasma cutter from a guy at church and he showed me how to use it. And I have to say that a plasma cutter is a wonderful tool that makes things so much easier. It is a piece of cake to use and does a very nice job in cutting.

I cut the yellow and white Metropolitan apart with the plasma cutter, leaving the frame, drive train and dash. I gave this to a friend in town who is restoring a Metropolitan so he could pull any suspension, motor and dash parts that he may want or need.

I put those pieces up in the garage and then started on the donor car. I bought a '72 Matador for $200 and it had a 360 in it with 60,000 miles and I traded for a Mazda pickup for the frame. My plan was to put this 360 or the 401 that I have and the pickup frame in the Metropolitan. I figure a small 2 seated car with a big motor is a good combination. Bob was going to help me narrow and shorten the frame so that the Metropolitan body would fit on it. Unfortunately, the car was too far gone for my pocketbook to fix.

So, I ended up cutting this Metropolitan up as well. I currently have two Metropolitan bodies that are in pieces in the attic of the garage.

If I get the AMC Spirit done this fall, I do have a project for this winter. I want to weld the trunk area back together and cut out the trunk lid area so that I can put the front seat inside the trunk facing back. After painting it and having the seat frames reupholstered, it should make a nice little couch.