1932 Nash selling at Auburn

A great and beautiful car, obviously well-loved and well-used-

could be a fun tour/driver

Any Guesses on price?  I'll open at 40-45G.  Judging by what some Auburns have been selling for lately and what that green Packard dual cowl Phaeton brought.  Could have stood a detailing before selling.  It would just make it look more loved than neglected. 

I'm gonna guess anywhere from 40-50 all in.   We have two public price points from the last couple of years on the Advanced Eight.  The restored one at Guyton brought a LOT of money.

There is only one Ambassador, I believe.

Remember the Auburn Auction last fall where this Auburn sold for 60G.  Of all places I would have thought Auburn would have yielded a higher sale price.

Did this Nash at one time belong to Richard Miller of long island, NY then relocate to West Virginia when he moved there. If it was on long  Island with Richie Miller I know the car, this would have been 40+ years ago and I think he got the car from the Utica, NY area. Richie and his wife Joan also owned a 1932 Reo Flying Cloud conv coupe, a Nash sedan of the same series as the conv sedan, a Stutz limousine with a Rollston body , and a Marmon Little 8 touring car and a i believe a Gardner roadster.

Walt GJul 10, 2020

Did this Nash at one time belong to Richard Miller of long island, NY then relocate to West Virginia when he moved there. If it was on long  Island with Richie Miller I know the car, this would have been 40+ years ago and I think he got the car from the Utica, NY area. Richie and his wife Joan also owned a 1932 Reo Flying Cloud conv coupe, a Nash sedan of the same series as the conv sedan, a Stutz limousine with a Rollston body , and a Marmon Little 8 touring car and a i believe a Gardner roadster.

Walt,  I thought Walter Miller owned this for years and years.  Are they related?

md murrayJul 9, 2020

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/af20/auburn-fall/lots/l0097-1932-nash-advance-eight-convertible-sedan-by-seaman/887404

What a great looking car. It's being offered along with some other really interesting original Walter Miller cars. Anybody know the scoop? I assume that's an older repaint?

Old repaint, by looking at lower firewall pic you can see some original 1932 paint color near the tag.  That original firewall mat cover looks like it's never been off.   The tag decodes as: 10 is 1932 second series, 9 will mean Advanced 8 or Ambassador, depending on what is the last number....which being 3 adds up to Advanced 8 4 door conv sedan.  The suffix "  -8 " means it's the 8th 1093 body off the line.

I'm out of the loop... Walter Miller Cars?  Is this the recently passed Walter Miller of Literature Fame?  I recently joined the Nash club and when viewing past and present owners 1932 Nashes, I know I saw that name as listed for one of the 4 door convertibles and wondered if it was the literature Walter.

I got this 32 2nd series fold out from the literature Walter:

This one is printed in Dutch,  the 1093 is shown in the lower right group of 90 Series offerings.  The 3 closed cars in the bottom center are the biggest, Ambassador LWB offerings which are "90 series" as well.  It does not show a Ambassador Conv Sedan, but I have seen an omission on the 1933 Nash "Full Line poster". (In that case they did not list a 6 convertible sedan for 33, but one fully documented one with proper body tag exists today.)

I know I read someplace years ago stating " 3 Ambassador conv sedans were built. but only one survives".  That must have been about 1933 models because that statement also shows up on the Nash site describing that one survivor.  As a young guy I happened to see it in an open sided pole barn in far Northern Mass in the late 70s or very early 80s stored with many dozens of Nash and some other brands.

Pic above is right after Tom Lester bought it.  Then fully restored, then sold after his passing but now in the Nash club with latest owner, listed as a 1193 which is confusing to me as a non-expert trying to learn precise model numbers.  .The 11 means 33, but I was under the impression that 93 meant Advanced 4 door conv?

I wish I could find my 1933 poster to see if they listed a Ambassador 4 dr conv, and if so, what model number did it carry?. 

Richard "Richie" Miller and Water Miller were not related. Richie moved to Gatlinburg, Tennessee , I thought it was West Virginia but later checked after I made the post. Richie loved the big 1932-1933 Nash cars and had a sedan as well that he drove for decades ( Austin Clark may have made a post card of that sedan) . The car that Walter Miller had he may have bought from Richie Millers estate after Richie passed away. That I do not know.

Walt

auburnseekerJul 9, 2020

Remember the Auburn Auction last fall where this Auburn sold for 60G.  Of all places I would have thought Auburn would have yielded a higher sale price.

The Auburn comp is interesting.  They are visually very similar,  both straight eight engines.   The Nash Advanced Eight was probably a tad more expensive when new.   The Nash is rare,  the Auburn has a bigger following.

The Guyton car brought a lot of money - 340k all in.   But as we say constantly around here,  was maybe smarter than getting the subject car for free and doing the restoration.

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/gc19/the-guyton-collection/lots/r0042-1932-nash-advanced-eight-convertible-sedan-by-seaman/750691

https://rmsothebys-cache.azureedge.net/3/1/0/7/a/a/3107aa1a213edad1bbe5d1be2412514487e8efb3.jpg" data-ratio="75.00" height="925" width="1200" src="https://rmsothebys-cache.azureedge.net/3/1/0/7/a/a/3107aa1a213edad1bbe5d1be2412514487e8efb3.jpg">

Btw,  is it just me or are the Auburn and Nash bodies identical?

alsancleJul 10, 2020

Btw,  is it just me or are the Auburn and Nash bodies identical?

Yep! ...pretty funny

alsancleJul 10, 2020

Btw,  is it just me or are the Auburn and Nash bodies identical?

If you study very closely, the belt is different on the cowl, the lower part of windshield is straight across the width, versus slightly curved up on the Nash.  The belt is slightly different at the very front part of front doors.

I've always thought that Nash tried to borrow various styling details from all 3 of ACD built cars. 

alsancleJul 10, 2020

The Guyton car brought a lot of money - 340k all in.   But as we say constantly around here,  was maybe smarter than getting the subject car for free and doing the restoration.

Well, depends on where a person resides in the financial food chain,  ... If you really zoom in on the blue Nash, you can see the inevitable, albeit extremely minor, signs of a 1000 point Pebble Beach restoration starting to age..  

So, if a lower funded person just "has to have a big Nash" and isn't into competition and wants to be able to drive the wheels off of it, you'd need to find a body guy that knows how to put the subject Nash back into proper factory paint colors, fix the loose wood joints in at least the LF and RR doors, but not tear it all apart.  More like a  used car "fixer upper", and nowhere near the term restoration.  There are a few shops I've seen online, that could pull it off and still keep the general look as being a "repainted survivor".  Good prewar survivors have been gaining respect and more buyers for at least the last few years.

BTW ...the blue Nash certainly proves AJ's view on just how great certain cars do look in blackwalls.  Hot Damn

F&JJul 10, 2020

Well, depends on where a person resides in the financial food chain,  ... If you really zoom in on the blue Nash, you can see the inevitable, albeit extremely minor, signs of a 1000 point Pebble Beach restoration starting to age.. 

Frank,  did you know it has been to Pebble or was that an educated guess?

alsancleJul 10, 2020

Frank,  did you know it has been to Pebble or was that an educated guess?

It was an educated guess, meaning that I DO see it was a top shelf, no expense withheld restoration.  So, I knew it just had to have been shown against the best of the top shelf contenders.

Back to what was said about current/past collector desirability of the Auburn instead of a big Nash, I honestly believe that the Nash brand name, even if subconsciously,  carries the negative stigma of the dying decade of Nash and then turning to another negative stigma, the Rambler.  Many people my age, when buying our first cheap teenage daily driver cheap used car in the mid to late 60s, would never consider these brands.  They had the stigma of being everyone's last choice just like Studebakers.

When I started going to Hershey in 71, I only had time to look in the lower priced classes of 1929-1930 because of the 29 Desoto roadster I had.  One year, while heading to the old long tar show field. I spotted a huge early 30s very expensive looking ambulance.  I sidetracked over to read the grille emblem..WTH? Nash???  I never had a clue that Nash ever built such monster high end classy cars.  It was a 32 First series, LWB Ambassador? perhaps it was.

Then, when going up to that pole barn in Mass decades ago to look at a couple of cars listed in Hemmings, we were headed to the open pole barn and I saw that huge Nash from quite a distance.  I asked the sawmill yard worker who was showing me around, if that was a Duesenberg!  He said no, it's a Nash.  I said are you kidding?

Point being, if a person was never exposed (back in the pre-internet decades) (or in person), to the fact that Nash made the "Kenosha Duesenbergs", you didn't even bother to read a Nash ad in Hemmings. 

I don't mean to disrespect anyone in life, but I certainly know that some extremely wealthy people tend to purchase what their peers do. Thank goodness they are a very small minority, as all prewars should be coveted/preserved by someone.

Me? and my little poser 32 Nash conv sedan?  Sure, I still wish I could have a big series Nash, but for a long time now, it really suits me as now a very low income person, ......probably just like the first owner was in 32.  That body style on an entry level chassis, allowed the lower end buyers to kinda have a "classy looking upscale car".

Frank,  your Nash is very cool and attractive.   I'm a car snob and I love it.

I'm struggling with the Auburn vs Nash thing because my natural inclination would be to take the Nash 9 times out of 10,  but I don't really have a reason why.   Rarity? Longer wheelbase?  Slightly lower windshield?   The twin plug overhead valve thing is nice,  but not huge to me.   125HP vs what in the Auburn?

alsancleJul 10, 2020

I'm struggling with the Auburn vs Nash thing because my natural inclination would be to take the Nash 9 times out of 10,  but I don't really have a reason why.   Rarity? Longer wheelbase? 

I have always thought the 31/32 Auburn is one of those rare "pinnacle" automotive styling designs, referring to a styling & proportions homerun.  To choose only one word, it would be stunning, vs. beautiful or classy.

If I had to choose between the best Auburn 4dr conv or the blue Nash above, I'd go with the nash.  Same would be true if choice between the Miller Nash in it's condition vs a 31/32 Auburn 4dr conv in same condition....But I don't honestly know why either.

I keep forgetting to say that when I went through the members-only 32 Nash Club's current owners photos, there is a hardcore 32 Nash-only collector in the eastern US that has nearly 2 dozen of all the 8 cylinder models, mostly 2nd series but some high end big 1st series too. About half are open cars: conv sedans and 2 sizes of conv coupes (which are scarcer). 

Take a close look at the car up for auction, I like it, and have inspected the Guyton car since the sale, as it ended up with a friend. Walter’s old car is on my want to own list. A quick back of the envelope calculation makes me think the number being tossed around is too high. I’ll guess 35k all in.........maybe.

edinmassJul 10, 2020

Walter’s old car is on my want to own list.

That would be cool if you end up with it.  I won't ask if you plan on bidding, but even as a person not following past or current auctions, I think that 35k would be near impossible, as in too low.  I am thinking the 32 Nash collector I spoke of, might not be bidding on it because he has at least 3 1932 second series 4 dr conv sedans, in 80 and 90 series.

BTW AJ, my senior moment lasted only 24 hours... I just now found my 1933 full line sales poster.  Years back Dave Mitchell was restoring a clients big series 32 conv sedan, and he was totally adamant that Nash never, ever, offered a 4 door convertible on the Ambassador 142 WB in 32 or 33.  He insisted that the longest WB on all of those convs was the 133, despite me asking about the "one survivor out of 3" story...

...I will take a pic of the poster in daylight, but I now see where the confusion comes from.  Nash simply changed the model names on the prior Advanced 8 1932 Conv to now be known as the 33 Ambassador Conv, but the WB stayed the same at 133. I assume the 33 Ambassador conv likely now had the biggest engine and other Ambassador features, but the new name switch did not mean anything about WB getting longer like all of the 32 Ambassadors had ( only 3 styles of bodies, all closed ).