Could of had a V-8: 51 Nash-Healey Roadster

Donald Healey and Nash-Kelvinator CEO George Mason met on the Queen Elisabeth, going from the United States to Great Britain. Healey was returning to England after his attempt to purchase engines from Cadillac, but GM declined his idea. Mason and Healey met over dinner and a production plan ensued during the remainder of the voyage. A prototype was built shortly after an agreement was reached, and the resulting Nash-Healey hit the track. Almost out of the box, the Nash-Healey finished fourth at Le Mans. The best finish the Nash-Healey had was in ’53 when the newly designed Coupe finished 3rd overall at LeMans behind 2 Gullwings. The engine fitted to the early Nash-Healey was sourced from the Ambassador inline six-cylinder OHV 234.8 cu in engine and three-speed manual transmission. Donald designed a hi-compression aluminum head that increased power to around 125 bhp. Considering the length and bulk of the engine, it was not that inspiring. Donald wished the deal for V-8 Cadillacs came through. Today’s find is a 1st year, aluminum-bodied car, that had one owner until recently. The Healey saw periodic attention until 2000 when the owner passed away. Then it sat for 13 years so the old lump of an engine does not turn. But that shouldn’t frighten anyone away because we are talking about an American inline-6 not a 12-cylinder quad-cam Ferrari engine. It needs some other things to make road worthy but we like the patina on this one. Of course, only a close inspection will determine how far and how much is required. Hagerty has a range from $50,000 to over $100,000 thousand for an early Nash-Healey. That may sound like a lot of money but back in 2007 top cars were going for closer to $200,000! The trend is sort of flat with a little uptick. Can’t tell yet where that curve will take us. Learn more about this car at the eBay Auction by clicking here.