Jim Dworschack's 1951 Nash Healey

The Nash Healey as it appeared when Jim bought it from Chip Hughes in March of 2005. The car had spent its first 55 years in the panhandle area of Texas. Photo courtesy of Jim Dworschack.

"I bought it as a pink rolling body shell," Jim told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2019. "It had a Hemi in it for an engine, but the rest of the car was still Nash Healey. Under the pink paint was a darker blue and under that the original factory maroon." Photo courtesy of Jim Dworschack.

Painted original factory maroon, the Healey was back on the road in 2016, and it made its debut at the 2016 Grand NASHional Meet in Richmond, Virginia. During the restoration, Dworschack replaced the nerf bars with an original type front bumper. Photo courtesy of Jim Dworschack.

Front end modifications included a vastly enlarged grille opening with an egg-crate grille, hooded headlights, a flattened hood, and cowl air scoops. Photo courtesy of Jim Dworschack.

Photo courtesy of Jim Dworschack.

Photo courtesy of Jim Dworschack.

A photo of the Healey taken on the way to the 2016 Grand NASHional Meet in Richmond, Virginia. Photo courtesy of Jim Dworschack.

Photo courtesy of Jim Dworschack.

Photo courtesy of Jim Dworschack.

Photo courtesy of Jim Dworschack.

1951 Nash Healey owned by Jim Dworschack of Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin.

Texas

Jim bought the Healey from Chip Hughes in March of 2005. Back then, the car had spent its first 55 years in the panhandle area of Texas. "I bought it as a pink rolling body shell," Jim told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2019. "It had a Hemi in it for an engine, but the rest of the car was still Nash Healey. Under the pink paint was a darker blue and under that the original factory maroon."

Custom bodywork

According to Dworschack, the custom bodywork on the car appeared to be professionally done. "These include the entire front clip. Note that I put the original type front bumper on it," Jim shoots in, "the pink version came with nerf bars." Front end modifications included a vastly enlarged grille opening with an egg-crate grille, hooded headlights, a flattened hood, and cowl air scoops. The windshield had been slanted back a bit more, "and most amazing of all the modifications, the redesign of the panel below the trunk lid. On this panel, the trough between the fender and body was carried completely around the deck lid. I label this amazing because the work is so perfect that the original factory paint is still intact on the inside of the trunk showing no signs of working the metal and no filler used. Also, the dash panel was replaced with an engine-turned panel with many 2" holes for gauges."

Back on the road

Painted original factory maroon, the Healey was back on the road in 2016, and it made its debut at the 2016 Grand NASHional Meet in Richmond, Virginia. " I only had a few debugging miles on it when I left home with it," Jim told Kustomrama. "I took a scenic route to the meet and a meandering route home to visit friends along the way totaling 2500 miles." Late 2019 Jim had not completed the restoration, and he was still working on all the details on the car.

Do you recognize this car?

Jim is currently researching the history of the car, trying to shed some light on who restyled it, and when it was done. "Due to the pink color choice and the style of the modifications, I am thinking it was modified in the middle to later 50's, but this is purely a guess. The lore that came with this Nash is that the car was used as a dirt track racer at a place called the Rattle Snake Raceway."