New member building a wagon.

[56Safari]

Thanks Guys, I'm pretty excited to get this thing moving. I know its going to take a while, but I'm looking forward to it. Really looking to learn a lot more metal working so this should certainly be a helpful baptism by fire sort of deal.

Rick,
Thanks for the canadian pontiac information, I didn't realize they were the same as the nomad frame. I will certainly consider that if I run into any major obstacles and need a hailmary to make it all work. I really dig the longer front end on it though and I would like to keep it. I'm currently trying to figure out how I'm going to make the 124" wheelbase work. I have a Front C4 IRS with the Baer 13" big brake track package on it that I pulled from a corvette I parted out that I intend to stuff in there. (The older baer kit, not the one with the 2 piece Eradispeed rotors. I may upgrade rotors later). I planned on extending the front and building custom front frame stub if I get the stones to cut the front off of it. I still need to take measurements of the car on its current frame, then pull the body off, put in the new floors with inner and outer rockers put it on the new frame and take more measurements, see if I can build a plan and see about building a jig to keep it all straight. I've got plenty of work to do before I get to that point, so I'm trying to focus on specific areas and just work on tackling it in stages. The floor pans are mostly gone (braces are still there though) but the drivers side inner rocker is almost gone, and the driver rear quarter needs some work, its separated from the outer rocker and a bit flimsy on the lower portion. I would like to get the body structurally straight and sound before I move on to anything else. (And then probably radius those rear wheel wells ) And I think having the IRS in and done with the kit in from Laszlo will also make it a little easier to set up the front and get the ride height dialed in how I want it. Thanks guys, looking forward to hearing more advice and suggestions as this goes on

[WagonCrazy]

What are you planning for an engine & trans? You may need to modify the firewall depending on how the back of the engine sits, or the height of the transmission under the existing tunnel. Easy mods compared to all the other stuff you're about to do.

[56Safari]

On the road and can't sleep, just caught up on your entire thread wagoncrazy, your Nomad is looking great, definitely jealous of the condition your sheetmetal is in. Looked through all your nomad pics on photobucket, was that carpet padding in the inside of the roof above the headliner when you acquired it?

I am wanting to go with an LS variant and I am still deciding between throwing a T56 or a beefed up 4L60 in there. I've always driven stickshift cars and automatic trucks, figure I'll have plenty of time to sweat this decision unless i find a steal on a donor car with engine/trans I can use, then part out the rest of the car. That could end up dictating this decision for me. I have the 4.8 in my 99 silverado and I love it, hell of a motor. At this point I'm not overly picky on what I use (I would prefer aluminum block to shed some weight, but I could overlook that if the price was right), I'm not looking to build insane power with the motor (I say that now). Also, I'm hoping that this extended wheelbase gives me a little extra room to avoid any reworking of the firewall. But if I do have to, that'll give me the excuse to rework the whole thing and make it smooth.

[rockytopper R.I.P 5-13-2017]

This should motivate you. I competed against this Safari wagon at Goodguys and the Ultimate street car challenge autocross pretty sweet ride.

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/1956-pontiac-safari/

[BamaNomad]

A couple of months ago there was a '57 Safari for sale in TN (looked very solid), but was a disassembled project with TWO frames; a stock one, and a modified one (wtih C4 Corvette suspension)... for $7500...

[56Safari]

That sounds like a heck of a deal, 57 was the smallest production quantity for the Safari's. I looked at several torn apart projects, I was interested because I knew I could get better value for my money if I went that route. However with this being my first full build and having never torn apart a tri five era car, I decided against it. I really like dissembling a vehicle and seeing how its put together. Except when I parted out the rest of my 85 corvette after taking the suspension, it was just a series of WTF?'s, how the hell did they get that bolt in there, etc. So many ads on craigslist where people just remove stuff and throw it into a pile with zero organization. The thought of that just gives me a headache.

[chevynut]

I'm hoping that this extended wheelbase gives me a little extra room to avoid any reworking of the firewall. But if I do have to, that'll give me the excuse to rework the whole thing and make it smooth.

Even with the stock tri5 body and frame there is no need to modify the firewall to put an LS engine in it. I don't know if the Pontiac has a longer engine bay or not because I haven't seen where the extra length is and where the radiator sits. The wheelbase is 122" so that's actually 7" longer than a Chevy.

Those Safaris are cool wagons and are getting more popular.