Joe Wilhelm's 1939 Nash

An early photo of Joe's Nash. Photo courtesy of Kevan Sledge.

Joe's old Nash as it sat in August of 2017 when it was advertised for sale on Instagram. Photo courtesy of Kevan Sledge.

Photo courtesy of Kevan Sledge.

Photo courtesy of Kevan Sledge.

Photo courtesy of Kevan Sledge.

Photo courtesy of Kevan Sledge.

Photo courtesy of Kevan Sledge.

Photo courtesy of Kevan Sledge.

1939 Nash coupe owned and restyled by Joe Wilhelm of San Jose, California. According to Kevan Sledge, this was Joe's first custom; "He bought this car after the war in 1946 and immediately started customizing it." Bruce Glascock, who was a good friend of Joe, told Kevan that Joe and his wife drove the car on their honeymoon when they got married in the 1940s.

Chopped and Channeled

Joe's Nash featured a channeled body, and a heavily chopped top. The running boards were removed and, the deck lid welded shot, and the fenders were molded to the body. The door handles were also removed for a cleaner appearance.

New Front End

The front end on the car was reworked in the mid 1950s, and the treatment resembles the work Joe did on Andy Anderson's 1955 Jaguar XK-140MC Royal. Supposedly Joe did the frontend treatment on the car after the original frontend was wrecked by his brother. "I'm told that he did the frontend before the famous Jaguar Royale he did for Andy Anderson," Kevan told Kustomrama in August of 2017. Joe owned the car all the way up until the late 1960s or early 1970s.

For Sale

In August of 2017 the car was advertised for sale on Instagram. By then it sat on a 1960s GM chassis. It was powered by a small block Chevrolet engine. The work was supposdely done by Joe in the late 1960s. Get in touch with Kustomrama at mail@kustomrama.com if you are interested in the car, and we will set you in touch with the owner.