I was just wondering if any auto buffs here could identify this car, from those two govt photos?
All I know about it is that it was used in the “Annie” nuclear weapon test of March, 1953, and was probably donated by one of the major U.S. auto manufacturers.
Either it’s a “before” picture, or the car made it through the explosion unscathed, so there’s no scorching or blast damage that would make it overly hard to I.D. There are a few numbers and slogans (like “THIS CAR WILL GO THRU THE ATOMIC BLAST”) painted on the paneling, but I don’t think they cover any identifying features, either.
Can anyone help?
It’s a late 40’s Nash, probably a '48.
Killer—thanks for the info, all!
Now, if I may ask a little more trouble…does anyone happen to know the length of a 48 4-door Nash? Even the diameter of the tires would be helpful.
At a rough guess, I’d say that it was close to 19 or 20 feet long, as that was about the average length of cars during that era. I’d imagine that the Nash club has a website with a board where you could post your questions. (My interest in Nash’s doesn’t start until they became AMC.)
I found this site, it may be a little help:
Did anyone else think of that goofy old Jerry Lewis movie where he drives one of these cars around and when some one asks what kind of car it is, after wiping off some dirt, Lewis replies, “Its a 4-door Radioactive”…
