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Old gas stations

David Conwill

Call Me a Cab
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2,854
Location
Bennington, VT 05201
The guy (with his cap and plus fours) holding the checkered flag sign is fantastic

If you think he's cool, check out this AAA official at the Mines Field races in 1934.

1934 Mines Field Men in the pit check the tire of two man car number 31.jpg
 

David Conwill

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,854
Location
Bennington, VT 05201
For our car guys (used in a gender neutral sense) - any idea what kind of car this cute thing is (looks like a tin toy was built up to full scale)?

That's a 1949 or '50 full-size Nash. I think it's a 600 (1949) or Statesman (1950), as it doesn't look quite long enough to be an Ambassador. You can tell it's no later than 1950 because the rear fenders are still rounded.
 
Messages
17,220
Location
New York City
1949 - 1951 Nash.

That's a 1949 or '50 full-size Nash. I think it's a 600 (1949) or Statesman (1950), as it doesn't look quite long enough to be an Ambassador. You can tell it's no later than 1950 because the rear fenders are still rounded.

I'm always blowen away by the level of knowledge on this site - thank you gentlemen.
 
Messages
17,220
Location
New York City
Based on the above guidance, I looked up both the '49 600 and the '50 Statesman (did Nash swing from a numbing system to a naming system for its models between '49 and '50?) and came up with no definitive answer.

After looking at a lot of pictures from both years, I'm leaning to it being a '50 but based on nothing more than it "feels" closer - all identifying features seem to line up to either year.

I did notice that the hood ornament and sun visor are on some not others, but I assume both were options in both years - so that tells us nothing, correct?

A 1949 600
1689632-1949-nash-airflyte-std-c.jpg


And a 1950 Statesman
1950NashStatesman_01_700.jpg


And the car in question
proxy~02.jpeg
 

David Conwill

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,854
Location
Bennington, VT 05201
Looking into it, I'd say that is a 1949 Nash 600, possibly the Deluxe Business Coupe*. Styling changes are minimal between 1949 and '50--primarily an enlarged rear window and heavier bumper guards in 1950. I think it's a 600 because with where the woman is standing, I think a "Statesman" script would be visible, whereas the "600" badge would not.

Incidentally, Nash did switch its naming system between the two years. The 600 moniker came from the original's supposed ability to travel 600 miles on a single tank of gas. In 1950 the Statesman got an enlarged engine. Whether that impacted fuel economy or whether the 600-mile figure was no longer notable, I don't know. Maybe they felt like emphasizing the economy of one of the Airflytes would hurt Rambler sales, as the compact had just come out.

*The Deluxe Business Coupe, near as I can tell, was the only Airflyte to come with small hubcaps instead of full wheelcovers.
 
Messages
17,220
Location
New York City
It appears to me that the Nash machines of this vintage were designed by the stylists in the firm's Kelvinator division...

I have no idea how I'd have felt about the '49 / '50 Nash's style at the time, but looking back, I like its odd mix of bulbousness and attempted streamlining. I almost feel bad for it, as if its diet failed, so it tried to find the most sliming outfit.
 

Benzadmiral

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,815
Location
The Swamp
For our car guys (used in a gender neutral sense) - any idea what kind of car this cute thing is (looks like a tin toy was built up to full scale)?
I suspect it's a "bathtub" Nash, nicknamed so for its "upside-down bathtub" lines. The Superman series in the Fifties featured one, I believe, a convertible top model that George Reeves and Noel Neill drove from time to time. (Thus my remark above.)

ETA: I wrote the above before I looked at the defining posts just above. Good work, gentlemen.
 
Last edited:

Benzadmiral

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,815
Location
The Swamp
Servicing “bulbous streamliner” at Humble Oil station. ;)
View attachment 90826
Let's see. The girl on the passenger side is cleaning the windshield. The girl at the back has probably just finished filling the tank and is checking the externally-mounted spare tire. The girl by the bumper, I'd guess, is checking the RF tire, or has just finished doing so. And the girl by the driver is giving him her phone number!
 

2jakes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,680
Location
Alamo Heights ☀️ Texas
Let's see. The girl on the passenger side is cleaning the windshield. The girl at the back has probably just finished filling the tank and is checking the externally-mounted spare tire. The girl by the bumper, I'd guess, is checking the RF tire, or has just finished doing so. And the girl by the driver is giving him her phone number!

Actually, the girl by the driver is asking if he prefers Yellow or Checker Cab because the girl on the passenger side
cleaning the window noticed that the inspection & state stickers have expired. The girl at the back detected a severe
gas leak. The girl by the bumper found leaking brake fluid and oil.
Goober and Jethro are saying that it’s going to take quite a spell before he can drive it out. :(
greasemonkey.jpg

When the driver asked how much this would cost, they replied...” How much you got?":D
 

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