Another Nomad project... :)

[BamaNomad]

Today I went to Nashville, TN and completed purchase of another Nomad (57) project, then trailered it home.. This is a Nomad 'kit', but the main attraction to me is that the body work and paint have been completed (a few years ago), but the owner ran into $$ difficulty and didn't complete it. The bodywork and paint are nicely done (and certainly cured by now).. The body is sitting on the original frame again, barely bolted on and it will come back off and go onto my Corvette Corrections chassis. I will also use the LS1/4L60 trans combo and all the other prepared/restored parts which I'd completed for my other '57 Nomad (bodywork/paint NOT complete as yet). Attached are some photos of the car as I purchased it... I'll post more photos here as I prepare the parts and begin assemblying the car... PS. This is an early Nov '56 LA assembly, spent some time in southern Calif, then went to Texas in the 80's.. and to Nashville TN about 10 yrs ago. Originally was a sierrra gold/adobe beige car before the repaint...

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[Rustaddict]

What an awesome find! You ought to have a much more fun build just bolting parts together and not having to mess with body any paint work. The PO sure picked the right color red. It ought to be a beautiful car when done.

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

Congrats Bama.

[chevynut]

I personally sometimes think red is overdone on these cars , but that sure looks like some nice paint work. I like the fact that it's painted inside and out too like a new car is. It is BC/CC or single stage paint...I assume the latter? Do guys ever paint the inside with BC/CC too? I usually see the inside masked off for some reason and I'd thought about painting the inside of mine myself before the outside gets painted.

Should be fun assembling it and it'll be a beauty when done. Congrats on the find!

[BamaNomad]

Thanks guys. I spent today washing the dust off, and polishing off the little spots/scuffs that were there, and after all that I'm even happier about the paint. It seems to be an awesome paint job performed by a man who knew what he was doing! Even the bottom side is painted like the top. I tend to be more of an original guy, trying to mimic the way the factory did things, so this will be a little bit different for me.. and hopefully I can do it justice. I also painted the backside of the rechromed bumpers and tomorrow will clean those up and apply some wax so they will preserve until I install them. I want to totally paint the engine and trans (thinking a silver metallic since the entire engine compartment is RED). I also have an unpolished AutoRad radiator system to install - although I might have to polish that too to keep up with the paintwork.. I have a not too small amount of work to do before I install the body on the chassis, and after that I'm going to have some questions about the *best order* to install wiring, dash components, lights, assemblies, and stainless/brightwork... The color I was told is 'Super Red' - a color used in the early 2000's on Chevy's smaller vehicles. PPG paint was used; the owner told me it was base clear, but really it looks like a single stage to me, although the painter may have mixed in some additional clear on the top coats. I'm hoping that the original red/black interior materials I have will work with this color. If it doesn't I'll be trying to come up with something compatible in an original-appearing pattern.

[BamaNomad]

What an awesome find! You ought to have a much more fun build just bolting parts together and not having to mess with body any paint work. The PO sure picked the right color red. It ought to be a beautiful car when done.

Yes; having the bodywork/paint FINISHED was my primary attraction to this car... I think I purchased a 'paint job', and got a Nomad tossed into the deal~ In my area of North Alabama, finding a decent painter that follows thru on his commitment, and doesn't specialize in emptying the owner's pocket book is a real challenge... which is why my first '57 Nomad is sitting in MY shop incomplete...

[Custer55]

That's a great looking project. Nice to have one with a nice paint job already done. I look forward to seeing your progress updates!!
Brian

[markm]

great start, a lot of hard work done.

[567chevys]

I like it , A really good start .
post some pictures as you put it together.

Thanks Sid

[Rustaddict]

Yes; having the bodywork/paint FINISHED was my primary attraction to this car... I think I purchased a 'paint job', and got a Nomad tossed into the deal~ In my area of North Alabama, finding a decent painter that follows thru on his commitment, and doesn't specialize in emptying the owner's pocket book is a real challenge... which is why my first '57 Nomad is sitting in MY shop incomplete...

It ain't just Alabama. That is pretty much everywhere you look.

[BamaNomad]

After getting the car 'kit' home on Saturday, washing it etc on Sunday, prepping and rewrapping the rechromed bumper parts, since then I've been going thru the boxes of parts, pulling out the first of the parts I need to clean up and paint (restore) for installation; things like hood latches since I had to tie down the hood on the trip home..

Yesterday I ordered a few parts I know I will need soon (hood bumpers front and side, body mount kit with hardware, etc). I ordered from Ecklers (via phone) so I got my 10% discount and a break on the shipping. I've been going thru a list of the 'necessary' things I must do prior to mounting the body on the chassis which include:
1) Installing the engine/trans back on the frame so I drill the holes for the transmission support.
2) I also want to paint the engine/trans before the final installation; I'm thinking a silver metallic single stage since the entire engine compmt is red..?
3) Measuring the space between the C4 differential and the 'modified' spare tire well (now a storage compmt) to determine how much space I would have for a custom tank. Appears so far that I have a space approached 10" x 12" x 34" or so... which would accommodate 15 gallons or so, but I'll need to have one built to that shape/size if I don't want to modify the 'finished floor' of the Nomad. The actual design/fabrication should probably wait until the body is mounted for the best measurements and design.
4) I need to work out the how the fuel line(s) would run up the chassis from the fuel tank... and run them before mounting the body.
5) Park brake cables; I tentatively plan on using the existing pull handle mechanism for the '57 body and of course the C4 rear park brake assembly but I'm 'blank' on the details..

Any help/suggestions for the park brake actuation cables and the fuel line/tank issues are very welcome ..

Here are some photos after it reached my garage.. (the body was put back on the original-unrestored chassis after it was painted).. I'll post a few pix of the NEW chassis next.

[BamaNomad]

Corvette Corrections Chassis it will go on...

This is the Billy Dawson chassis that will go under the car after I accomplish a few more necessary tasks.. The plan for the drivetrain is LS1/4L60 driving the 3.08 posi rear... The wheels/tires shown on the chassis are from a '90 ZR1 and are too wide for the Nomad...

[chevynut]

Any idea how much front and rear suspension drop that chassis has? Where does the rear swaybar mount?

[Custer55]

Bama,
I can't help you with the gas tank issues as my 2 door sedan is completely different than a Nomad in that area. From my experience fitting the body to the frame though, I had the body on and off the new frame several times to get everything to fit properly and run the parking brake cables. The 4 post lift I built was worth the time and money it cost many times over during that process. I don't know how you plan to do that on yours but like I said I am glad I took the time to build my lift as it saved a bunch of time in the long run.
The bottom of your Nomad looks great by the way. Hopefully you won't need to do much to make the body fit on the frame.
Brian

[chevynut]

A Nomad/wagon has a lot more room under the cargo area than a sedan/HT does under the trunk if the spare tire well is removed. The cargo floor is a lot higher than the trunk floor. I don't know what mods were done to the spare tire well since you didn't post pics of that. The swaybar is also a consideration if it's up in that area. I personally don't think cutting more out of it and re-painting that area would be a big deal, since it's all covered anyhow....but if you're like me....

Newman used to use the stock e-brake setup and even had a cable kit for his frames that routed like stock. I'm using Lokar sheathed cables with a foot-style Lokar e-brake pedal.

By the way, your tires are set inboard too far, your track is too narrow, and your roll center is too high on that stock frame.