Ordered sheet metal after 20 years.

[Olderthandirt]

New half floor pans & cargo pan arrived today from CARS Inc.. Its been 20 years since we moved to a large farm in Maine and the Nomad has been patiently waiting to be worked on. Two years ago purchased a nice 86 corvette, "cheep" for a donor car.
When I purchased the Nomad 26 years ago I replaced the inner & outer rocker panels, four floor pans & started making a replacement pan for under the rear seat, at the time replacement were not available. Floor support were all good, except for the one under the rear seat & a replacement was purchased at that time. i went with the half floor pans so I would not have to finish all the welded seams & replace the area under the rear seat.
All my replacement panels were gas welded in, that's the way i was taught back in the Flintstone days. Next purchase is going to be a mig welder which I will need to teach myself how to use. When the weather warms up a little here in Maine I hope to get started, will post picture of my progress.
What's your thoughts on Eastwood Mig welder 135 Amp & Hobart® Welding Helmet - Impact Black 770756
http://store.cyberweld.com/hohowehei...pdItemDataTabs

[Maddog]

Home Depot has good prices on migs, make certain to get the one that has the gas tank hook up, flux wire is too dirty.

[chevynut]

Good news OTD! MIG welding is really pretty easy when you get the hang of it. All you do with sheetmetal is make a bunch of tack welds, ensuring you have good penetration so you can grind both sides smooth. And I second the vote for a gas MIG...don't mess with flux. I use .024" wire for just about everything and it works well.

As far as welding helmets, we just use Harbor Freight ones for $40 each and replace them if they break. We use the crap out of them and they perform well. Those who say they won't risk their eyes are FOS imo. The switching time is pretty much the same for any of these, and you are protected anyhow. We weld for hours at a time and never have any headaches or any other issues. They're not the best, but they work great.

If it was me I'd stick with a name-brand welder. I don't know what Eastwood sells, but if you look on eBay you can get good Miller or Lincoln MIG welders pretty cheap with free shipping. Hobart is now owned by Miller, I believe, so I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of those either.

BTW, what's the donor vette for? Are you using the suspension or just the engine and tranny?

[Olderthandirt]

My plan is to use as much as I can. That's why I purchased a complete car for $2,000. Figure I can use the suspension, complete ABS system, rework the wiring harness's, looking at maybe the telescopic steering column, possible the complete drive train. I still have not decided on that. Choices are the Corvette 350, a 327 with camel head, cam & solid lifters, 850 Holly dbl pumper, built in the mid 70's, muncie 4 speed that cam in the Nomad or a Grand National 3800 turbo charger with the 200-4R 4-speed overdrive trans.
Thank you for advice on welding equipment.

[chevynut]

Sounds cool OTD. I have often thought that it would be a lot cheaper if you could use most everything out of another car, instead of buying all the aftermarket stuff.

Glad you're getting started on it after so long...it sounds about like my story. Have you ever posted pics of your Nomad? I don't recall seeing them. What year is it?

If you need any help with the C4 suspensions, you know where you can get it.
Keep us posted on your project.

[Olderthandirt]

Its a 56
My favorite of the three years. except for the front bumper end that stick out like a cattle catcher.
My plan is to make the front bumper follow the line across the front. Not to have a 55 left over front bumper. It fits on the 55 because the front fenders are rounder.
Posted some on that other site a few years ago. I am on a new computer, all my pictures are still on my old computer. Will get them off tomorrow and post some.
The nomad factory color is black with a black & citrus yellow interior. Some time in its life it was two toned citrus yellow back end. I plan on going all black exterior with the black & citrus yellow interior. Stock design on the interior except for the seats covering. front seats will be buckets rear seat may be stock, but that is not etched in stone. will add PW PL AC & cruse control system from the corvette.

[chevynut]

OTD, actually the 55 and 56 front bumper ends are the same...the only difference is the center section. The 55 curves and the 56 comes to a point. I think the bumpers actually sit in about the same position.

One thing you can do to keep it from looking like it sticks out so much is to flip it upside down. I pulled mine in a little after I welded it to make a smoothie. You could pull it in a lot further if you wanted to cut the splash pan down. Then you could trim the ends.

20110221_0465.jpg

Black with yellow would look really nice. I remember seeing one like that in a magazine a few years ago. They put a 53 Chevy grille in it, I think. IMO a 56 BelAir should be two-tone to accentuate the cool trim.

[Bakins]

I've heard good things about Hobart welders, but they don't generally have continuous/infinite controls. I have a Miller MIG and have gotten fairly decent. It's a dual voltage unit and I've welded some 3/8" with it using 220 - had to fix my tiller. It was a little pricey, but I've been happy with it:

http://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.co...er-rack-951375

[Olderthandirt]

I was unable to find any of the old photo's when the Nomad was together.
This is a photo I just took of were it has been sitting for the last 21 years.

Plan is to install the new half floor pans I just purchased. Then remove the body & install it on the rotisserie I had built in 1986.
I asked a welder to fabricate to engine mounts large enough to hold a body, raze it with two old style car jacks. He did a great job.
Will post more photo's of my progress.


DSCN1987.jpg

[chevynut]

It looks just a little dusty, OTD.