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I just wanted to ask if anyone had a set of 55-57 Nomad torsion rods they don't mind letting go of. I cut mine out and tossed them years ago. Now the obsessive side of me just wants an original uncut, unheated, unmodified pair to have as a conversation piece when my kids help me install the restored liftgate after the bodywork and paint gets finished. I'd be willing to pay for shipping w/tracking number and $20 for your time. Any help is appreciated.
Thank you
Awful timing on this one... I just this afternoon (2 hrs ago) CUT them from one of my '57 Nomads... I'd be glad to ship them to you (but they are in 3 pieces each).. :) I had to cut them to get them out - but I didn't look very long as to how they could be removed without cutting! I don't think I'd ever use them in a Nomad again (even if in one piece) as they tend to warp the upper liftgate due to the torque on the liftgate. I've installed the 'gas lifts' in two of my Nomads and they will also be installed in my other two Nomads if I ever get to them).. :) I'm pretty sure the rods are still in my '55 Nomad as installed at the factory although I removed the liftgate long ago during disassembly.
Gary
Well I'm interested in the ones in your 55 that are not cut. If you are able to remove the ones from your 55 without having to heat them up and or damaging them, my offer in the previous post is still good since I don't have any other response yet. I'd be interested in the cut up ones too if you can get the ones from the 55 out (I wouldn't mind having the two different sets to show what has to be done. Let me know. Thanks.
Shoot...I replaced mine several years ago with the Madmooks units and recently tossed them in the recycling barrel when cleaning out the shed. Sorry 'bout that...
Yeah, I cut my out and tossed them years ago. Enjoyed the Nomad for a while and then took it apart and now getting ready for reassembly again. My kids help me out at times and I end explaining a lot of things (chemistry of the rust caused from the stainless trim and body panels being two disimilar metals, melting points of the body steel panels vs the potmetal gate, why potmetal is so difficult to work with, etc...) as they get the exposure to working on just about anything. I generally like to connect Math, Chemistry, and Physics so they have better appreciation for all the on the car (a lot of kids hobbies these days are their phone apps vs when I was young. With the Liftgate, its potmetal so I figure I could dovetail into a lot of other stuff.
I appreciate your desire to 'teach' your children using your car hobby to do it.. I TRY to do that also and have had a bit of success with my grandson (He's in pharmacy school, so 'engineering' is not his prime interest, but he does have some interest in some of my cars and helps me occasionally). Of course I tell/told them all that learning physics and engineering is not only useful for engineers, but is useful knowledge for anything one does in life, including *cooking* - as I try to explain principles of heat transfer and energy loss/containment to my wife - to no avail usually! :)
The main facts related to the liftgate is the WEIGHT and the weakness of the potmetal composition, and of course you can use the torsion rods to discuss 'Torque/Torsion' ... how a 'torsion spring' can be used for various support functions (Chryster torsion bar front suspensions is a great example as well), BUT you should not forget that the torsion rods also applies more than just a 'lifting force' on the liftgate and can also exacerbate the warping of the liftgate especially across the top...