---
title: "1961 Nash Metropolitan With 8.8-Liter Big Block V8 Is More Engine Than Car"
description: "If Pee-wee Herman is ever cast for a Fast & Furious spinoff, this is what he'll drive."
date: "2020-01-01"
modified: "2020-01-01"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/31682/1961-nash-metropolitan-with-8-8-liter-big-block-v-8-is-more-engine-than-car"
categories:
  - "Builds"
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
---

# 1961 Nash Metropolitan With 8.8-Liter Big Block V8 Is More Engine Than Car

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2019/12/236023_Front_3-4_Web.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Movies like *The Fast and the Furious* and *Ford v Ferrari* have given the general public the impression that racers are a machismo-afflicted, self-serious bunch. That, of course, couldn't be further from the truth. Motorsport fans have senses of humor as self-aware as any, and when building a race car, [not everybody takes the endeavor so seriously](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/28476/the-top-10-wonderfully-horrible-race-cars-of-the-2019-24-hours-of-lemons-b-f-e-gp>) that they forget racing's supposed to be fun. New Jerseyan Rodger Purdy Jr. certainly had that in mind as he constructed one of the strangest drag cars ever conceived: A Nash Metropolitan.

![Chevy Big Block-Swapped, 8.8-Liter V8 Nash Metropolitan](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1577845126622-236023_misc_65ffd9db-09a4-4c16-a43d-6210d682f40d_web.jpg>)
*Chevy Big Block-Swapped, 8.8-Liter V8 Nash Metropolitan*

*, *Barrett-Jackson**

![Chevy Big Block-Swapped, 8.8-Liter V8 Nash Metropolitan](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1577845136949-236023_rear_3-4_web.jpg>)
*Chevy Big Block-Swapped, 8.8-Liter V8 Nash Metropolitan*

*, *Barrett-Jackson**

![Chevy Big Block-Swapped, 8.8-Liter V8 Nash Metropolitan](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1577845154648-236023_side_profile_web.jpg>)
*Chevy Big Block-Swapped, 8.8-Liter V8 Nash Metropolitan*

*, *Barrett-Jackson**

Nash Metropolitans are known for being one of the smallest cars America ever produced in large numbers. They come in at about six inches shorter and four inches narrower than [a first-generation Mazda Miata](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/29942/mazda-will-restore-your-na-miata-roadster-to-factory-perfection-for-40k>), which ought to give you an idea of the scale we're talking about. Though their sub-1,800-pound curb weights meant they offered surprising performance for cars that came with just 42 horsepower, Metropolitans were anything but fast; they took more than 19 seconds to break 60 miles per hour, and would kick and scream all the way to their top speeds of 75 mph.

![message-editor%2F1577845899708-236023\_engine\_web.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1577845899708-236023_engine_web.jpg>)
*Chevy Big Block-Swapped, 8.8-Liter V8 Nash Metropolitan, *Barrett-Jackson**

But those are problems an engine swap can easily solve and in this case, the solution is an 8.8-liter (540 cubic-inch), [big-block](<https://www.thedrive.com/vintage/2145/the-10-biggest-american-car-engines-of-the-last-century>) Chevrolet V8. Augmented with a ram-air intake, Pro Comp aluminum cylinder heads, and custom, fender-exist exhausts, this gargantuan engine produces an equally swole 620 horsepower according to [*Hagerty*](<https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/12/31/worlds-baddest-nash-metropolitan?sf115096388=1>). As the Metropolitan's original three-speed manual and rear axle aren't up to taking that kind of beating, they were upgraded to a drag racing-grade Turbo-Hydramatic 400 three-speed automatic and a Ford "nine-inch" truck differential, with a short 4.10 final drive to maximize acceleration. Monstrous rear tires, a much-needed wheelie bar, and a drag chute complete its transformation into a Pee-wee Herman-worthy drag car.

![message-editor%2F1577846520686-236023\_misc\_7586428e-3e65-40b4-90b0-19460b8c0b69\_web.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1577846520686-236023_misc_7586428e-3e65-40b4-90b0-19460b8c0b69_web.jpg>)
*Chevy Big Block-Swapped, 8.8-Liter V8 Nash Metropolitan, *Barrett-Jackson**

All of these come together on a custom platform reportedly built by Pro Street Chassis in New Jersey, which uses a [Ford Mustang II](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/15114/this-ford-mustang-ii-mach-1-has-a-turbo-nissan-silvia-engine>)-based front end to mount multilink coilover suspension. There's not much Nash left in this car—so little, in fact, that the DMV titled this car as a 1961 Rambler. If you want your name on said title and its keys in your hand, you're in luck, because it's coming up for sale at [Barrett-Jackson's 2020 Scottsdale auction](<https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1961-NASH-METROPOLITAN-CUSTOM-COUPE-236023>), which kicks off in less then two weeks.

*Got a tip? Send us a note: tips@thedrive.com*

![Chevy Big Block-Swapped, 8.8-Liter V8 Nash Metropolitan](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1577847050826-236023_interior_web.jpg>)
*Chevy Big Block-Swapped, 8.8-Liter V8 Nash Metropolitan*

*, *Barrett-Jackson**

![Chevy Big Block-Swapped, 8.8-Liter V8 Nash Metropolitan](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1577847039621-236023_misc_713d358d-f93e-4b26-82bf-fa66eb755577_web.jpg>)
*Chevy Big Block-Swapped, 8.8-Liter V8 Nash Metropolitan*

*, *Barrett-Jackson**

## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)