1947 Nash Ambassador Gasser Hidden for 37 Years Flaunts Psychedelic Livery, SBC V8

The 1949 redesign turned the full-size into the most aerodynamic automobile of its era. It also pioneered the enclosed wheel design, the one-piece curved windshield, and fully reclining front seats that turned the interior into a three-person bed.

Even though the bold design and the Nash brand disappeared in 1957, the Ambassador remained in showrooms as a Rambler and an AMC through 1974. As a result, it's one of the longest-lived automobile nameplates.

The late 1940s and early 1950s Ambassador has a special place in my heart. I love the quirky design and the company's out-of-the-box strategy for this model, and I think it's one of the greatest classic cars you can buy for not-so-much money. But I'm not here to talk about enclosed wheels, full-size beds, or how the 1954 version was the first American car to have a front-end-mounted fully integrated HVAC system.

I'm here to show you one of the few Nash Ambassadors converted to gasser duty. And no, it's not a modern conversion for the nostalgia classes. This 1947 Ambassador was part of the iconic Gasser Wars of the 1960s.

The full-size coupe was taken off the road and transformed into a dragster in 1966 after almost two decades of acting like a daily driver. The Nash looked rather plain in its first years on the race track, sporting a white paint job, steel wheels, and "Miss Brown II" lettering on the front fenders.

The car was then modified into a more aggressive racer, got a blue paint job, and a big scoop atop the hood. More importantly, the owner set the engine further back into the chassis. The Ambassador didn't get its current look until 1971. That's when the plain blue finish was removed, and the owner went with a somewhat psychedelic pattern hand-painted over a white base coat.

Unfortunately, the car didn't return to the drag strip in this form. And the reason is quite silly. Apparently, the white paint turned yellow a few days after it was applied. Displeased with the result, the owner chose to retire the Ambassador. And the two-door Nash remained in storage for a whopping 37 years.

Brought back into the light in 2008, the car was finally returned to quarter-mile duty by a new owner. And almost everything on the car is just like it was when it was parked in 1971. Including the yellow base coat, which looks pleasantly vintage if you ask me. What's under the hood? Well, this Nash draws juice from a small-block Chevrolet V8 connected to a four-speed manual gearbox.

And you know what's even more impressive about this Ambassador? The sheet metal is still all original, which means it's a whopping 76 years old as of 2023. Check it out in the video below.