Nash Ajax 4D 6-cyl — 1925

The car has a remarkable history. It was seized by Finnish customs during the Prohibition era in the 1920s. During this period, from 1919 to 1932, a total ban on the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages was in force in Finland. The car was sold at a customs auction and purchased by Hjalmar Skogman, who lived in Gamla Karleby, Finland.

The car's original owner and first registration date have not been traced. However, it has been established that its previous registration number was VA-5404.
After the car was purchased at the auction, it was re-registered with the registration number VF-404 in 1930, and was not taken off the road until November 23, 1961. Upon Hjalmar Skogman's passing, the car was taken over by his son Lars. The car was then fully restored by Lars Skogman in the early 2000s. Thanks to proper storage, the car was well preserved when the work began. After the restoration was completed, the car was used for displays at car meets and in other motoring-history contexts until around 2010, when the owner stopped using the car for health reasons. When Lars Skogman passed away, the car was taken over by his sister, who lived in Sweden. The car has therefore not been on the road since 2013 and has since been stored indoors. The current owner is the nephew of the late restorer. At present, the 6-volt starter battery is missing, and the carburetor is in place but not fully connected.

The car is therefore not fully roadworthy today, but it has a documented history, an extensive restoration behind it, and has since remained untouched for many years. For anyone wishing to complete the project, much of the history and documentation has also been preserved. See the owner's comments. The car has Finnish papers, but everything is available to apply for an origin check with the Swedish Transport Agency and subsequently have it inspected for registration. In the Swedish vehicle registry, according to the statistics database Car.info, there are 0 cars registered under the brand name "Ajax". However, there are a total of 98 registered Nash cars in Sweden, where any surviving Ajax cars may be registered as early examples of the Nash or Nash Light Six.

This is a distance auction. Photos and information about the vehicle and its technical condition have been provided by the owner. BWA has thus not inspected the car in person at the seller's location.

• Mechanical condition

  Equipped with a 2.8-liter straight-six flathead engine producing approximately 21 horsepower, according to period specifications. Three-speed non-synchronized gearbox, which requires double-clutching when shifting, as was common in this era.
  The car has not been driven for about 10 years. We have no reports of known technical issues, apart from a flooding carburetor. Two spare carburetors are included.

• Interior condition

  Nicely restored interior. Executed entirely period-correct.

• Exterior condition

  The car was restored and repainted approximately 20 years ago. The paint is still in good condition. There is surface rust on some of the chrome trim, and the grille appears to be the unrestored original in used condition. During the restoration, newly manufactured tires of the correct type, made by Michelin, were fitted. The spare wheel also received a new tire.

• General condition

  Fantastic history on a 100-year-old car. Well-executed restoration carried out in the early 2000s. In need of some attention and recommissioning service.

The car was used by liquor smugglers during the Prohibition era, and at some point it was seized by customs. The Nash was purchased from customs at auction by my uncle Lars Skogman's father, Hjalmar Skogman, who lived in Gamla Karleby, Finland. The car was re-registered in 1930 with registration number VF-404. It was first taken off the road in 1961. The car was completely restored by my uncle Lars Skogman in the early 2000s. At the time of the restoration, the car had already been stored in a heated garage since the 1960s and was therefore well preserved when the work began. After the restoration, the car was driven until around 2010. I drove the car myself around 2008, when we took a trip of approximately 7–8 kilometers. It ran at the time, but I recall that one issue was that the carburetor had a tendency to leak. After my uncle's passing, the car was transported to Sweden around 2013. Since then, it has unfortunately been stored in an unheated garage and has not been in use on the road. Despite this, the paint is still in very good condition and the interior is, as far as I can judge, in very fine condition. There is incipient rust on some chrome details, and in a few places on the frame there is minor surface rust in the paint. However, this is not a matter of any severe rust. At present, the starter battery is missing and the carburetor is not fully connected. In addition, two further carburetors are included, which appear to be unused or very lightly used. My assessment is that my uncle most likely intended to try these in order to resolve the issue with the original carburetor, but that the work was never completed. There is also a considerable amount of original documentation and photographs from the restoration, which accompany the car. The documentation provides a good picture of the car's history and the restoration work.

The History of the AJAX Automobile Brand.
Charles W. Nash – an orphaned boy who began his working life as a farmhand and went on to become president of General Motors and subsequently founded the company bearing his own name – was one of the pioneers of the American automobile industry.
While his Nash Motors factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was running at full capacity, in early 1924 he acquired the former Mitchell automobile factory in nearby Racine, just over 16 kilometers to the north.
The plan was to launch a lower-priced companion brand to Nash that would produce a high-quality car in the price class of around $1,000, which was approximately $400 less than previous cars from Nash. The name chosen was Ajax, after the hero of the Trojan War in Greek mythology. For a car in the lower price segment, the Ajax offered a number of premium features, led by its engine; it was equipped with six cylinders instead of four. A recurring motto for Nash was to "give the customer more than he paid for." The design was of the L-head type with a one-piece cast engine block and featured seven main bearings, six camshaft bearings, and full-pressure lubrication. With a bore of 3 inches, a stroke of 4 inches, and a displacement of 170 cui, the output of the Ajax six was measured on a dynamometer at "more than 40 horsepower" at 2,800 rpm, according to reporting in *Automobile Trade Journal*. These were remarkably good figures for the time.
A Carter updraft carburetor was used, and an Auto-Lite electrical system was also included as standard equipment. Although the Ajax chassis was among the smaller models in its price class – with a wheelbase of 109 inches and an overall length of 153 inches – it was a high-quality construction with frame rails pressed from 8-gauge sheet steel (over 4mm thick steel). The design followed industry standards with semi-elliptic leaf springs front and rear, an open driveshaft, and Hotchkiss drive, all under the direction of chief engineer Earl G. Gunn. The car came standard with 21-inch steel wheels from Budd and balloon tires, as well as another notable feature: brakes on all four wheels – an advanced feature for 1925, especially considering the price. While the larger Nash models were offered in a range of body styles, the Ajax lineup was limited to two variants: a five-passenger touring car for $925 and a five-passenger sedan for $995. The standard color for both was "Mallard Green" (a Duco enamel finish) with black fenders. The Ajax cars were marketed exclusively through Nash's dealer network, and the advertising emphasized that the car was Nash-built. Ajax as an automobile brand was produced by Nash Motors for just over a year, between 1925 and 1926, but since the Ajax name was unknown and hard to sell, Charles Nash chose to discontinue the brand. Starting in the summer of 1926, the car was instead renamed the Nash Light Six. To protect the resale value of the cars already sold, Nash offered free conversion kits. Owners of an Ajax could therefore have new hubcaps and radiator emblems fitted so that their car was transformed into a Nash.

Location: Piteå

For viewing the vehicle, contact the inspector/case manager:

Mathias Casserlund

mathias.casserlund@bilwebauctions.se

Collection must take place before: 2026-10-28.

NOTE! Payment (deposit to our account) must be made within 5 days and before collection.