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Nash-Healey
Manufacturer	Nash Motors
Production	1951 – 1954
Assembly	Warwick, England and Turin, Italy and Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
Class	Sports car
Body style(s)	2-seat hardtop 2-seat roadster
Layout	front-engine, rear wheel drive
Engine(s)	234.8 in³ (3847 cc) 125 hp (93.2 kW) 252 in³ (4130 cc) 140 hp (104 kW) Nash Ambassador I6
Transmission(s)	3-speed manual with overdrive
Wheelbase	102 inches, 2590 mm (roadster) 108 inches, 2742 mm (hardtop)
Length	170.75 inches, 4337 mm (roadster) 180.5 inches, 4585 mm (hardtop)
Width	64 inches, 1626 mm (roadster) 65 inches, 1651 mm (hardtop)
Height	48 inches, 1219 mm (roadster) 55 inches, 1397 mm (hardtop)
Curb weight	2400 pounds, 1088 kilograms (approximate)
Fuel capacity	20 U.S. gallons, 75.7 L

The Nash-Healey was a two-seat sports car, built in partnership between Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and British auto enthusiast Donald Healey between 1951 and 1954. It was the first American sports car built since the Great Depression and served as a halo vehicle to promote the sales of the other Nash models.

Contents 1 Origin 2 Design 3 Restyle 4 Racing 5 Production 6 External links

Donald Healey and Nash-Kelvinator CEO George W. Mason met on the Queen Elizabeth, an ocean liner going from the United States to Great Britain. Healey was returning to Great Britain after his attempt to purchase engines from Cadillac, but General Motors declined his idea. Mason and Healey met over dinner and a production plan ensued during the remainder of the voyage. The two became friends because they were both interested in photography. Mason had a stereo (3-D) camera that intrigued Healey.

The Nash corporation already had many inroads into Europe with its appliance division; Kelvinator, named after William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin "Lord Kelvin" of England, who pioneered modern refrigeration.

As originally conceived, Nash Motors would supply main parts, including the Ambassador's inline six-cylinder (first the 3848 cc and later the 252 in³) engines, three-speed manual transmissions with overdrive, torque tube drive, as well as the differentials, to the Donald Healey Motor Company in England for installation into handcrafted aluminum bodied 2-seat sports cars designed and built by Healey.

The Nash-Healey was designed with a ladder-type steel frame and drum brakes to provide stopping power. Healey developed the suspension system with a trailing link, coil springs, and anti-sway bar in the front and a rigid rear axle with coil springs, and a Panhard rod. Healey's components also included aluminum heads and multi-SU carburetor systems that were fitted in passionate sports car tradition.

The cars returned to the United States for sale through the Nash car dealership network. Healey's design for this car was later incorporated into its Austin-Healey. The Nash-Healey debuted at the 1951 Chicago Auto Show. It had luxurious appointments including leather upholstery with foam rubber cushions, an adjustable steering wheel, chrome full wheel covers, and five 4-ply whitewall tires. The only colors available were "Champagne Ivory" and "Sunset Maroon".

The new car's suggested retail price (MSRP) Free On Board (F.O.B.) New York City was set at US$3767.

The new Nash model was compared to the Jaguar XK120.

Perhaps for increased production rate, and perhaps for his associated manufacturing esteem, in 1952, Italian designer Pinin Farina was brought in to restyle Healey's original body design. Carrozzeria Pininfarina was contracted to build the bodies, which were now fabricated of steel. Nevertheless, from Italy, the bodies were shipped to Healey where the suspension systems and the power trains were installed. It was expensive to build because of all the shipping involved. The Nash engines and other mechanical components came from the U.S. to Britain. The body was brought from Italy to Britain where Healey assembled all the parts into complete cars. Finished cars were then shipped for sale in the U.S.

The 1953 Nash-Healey hardtop (designated as the LeMans hardtop) was awarded first prize in March of that year in the Italian International Concours D'elegance held at Tresa, Italy.^[1]

For the 1954 model year, a hardtop version supplanted the convertible model, which was built on a slightly longer wheelbase.

In its first year, one Nash-Healey was entered in the Mille Miglia race and it finished in ninth place, a good performance for such a new car.

Over the next years, Nash-Healeys entered several 24 Hours of Le Mans races in France.

A Nash-Healey took first place in its class (behind a Ferrari and a Talbot) and third among all entries in the 1952 Le Mans race. Significant was that of the total 58 race cars that had started, only 17 finished.

In 1954, Nash-Healeys finished first and second in their class (Sports 3000), with all the other Nash-Healeys in this class also completing this grueling race. That year there was one more Nash-Healey fitted with a larger 5000 cc engine to compete with the powerful Jaguars and Ferraris. However, it did not finish due to oil-pressure problems.

By 1954, the Nash-Healey had acquired a resume of racing trophies. Plausibly for its expense in production and lower sales because its higher price tag, the Nash corporate sports car passion was significantly changed after a series of racing accidents where a certain competitor's cars made several fireball crashes into the grandstands full of spectators (See: 1955 Le Mans disaster). Nash corporate conscience took up a new advertising slogan; "The only race we're interested in is the human race." Hence, the Rambler image was conceived in thought, and Nash set about to replace the Nash-Healey with a different fun small car – the Nash Metropolitan.

Slightly more than 500 Nash-Healey sports cars were built in the four-year model run. For contextual comparison, the Nash-Healey is framed in U.S. auto history with the 1953 Kaiser Darrin, 1953 Chevrolet Corvette and 1955 Ford Thunderbird.

1951 - 104 (Healey design)
1952 - 150
1953 - 162 (roadsters and hardtops)
1954 - 90 (only hardtops)

• Article written by John Conde (AMC public relations department) September 8, 1975

• Postage stamp with the 1952 Nash-Healey issued by the USPS in 2005

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1916 - 1957 Historic
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Nash Motors, American Motors, and Jeep-Eagle timeline of captive import cars, United States market, 1950s—1980s  v • d • e  — Next ->
Type	1950s									1960s										1970s										1980s
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Sports	Nash-Healey																															Fuego
Subcompact				Metropolitan																									LeCar (R5)										Summit
Compact																															18i/Sportwagon						Medalion