GOODTGO Nomad - Cover Car - Classic Chevy International

MEMBERS

PRIDE

“Don’t worry, Honey, it’ll be okay, I have a vision of what this car can be.” Those are the words I spoke reassuringly to my worried wife, when she saw the 1955 Nomad I had just bought. It arrived at our house on a flatbed trailer—a rusty shell of a car with no chrome, no glass, no engine or transmission. “I hope that’s not stopping here!” was all she could manage to say when she first laid eyes on it. The turquoise and white paint had long since faded and what used to be an interior had been replaced by boxes and boxes of parts. The steering wheel was split in two and would barely turn the wheels as I tried to position the car so that I could push it into our garage. That day I began to work on my Nomad, to see if I could bring reality to my dream.

After unpacking boxes and categorizing parts (some of which didn’t belong to any Chevy, let alone this one), I began to make it driveable. I had always dreamt of putting a big block in a ’55—just to be a little different from the other shoeboxes, so that’s where I started. I acquired a 454 with blown pistons and a transmission. The engine was built, balanced and blueprinted. Then, I assembled the engine and tranny and began installing them. That’s when I learned that even good dreams could sometimes turn nightmarish: the engine wouldn’t clear the firewall. Luckily, CCI came to my rescue with a big block re-locating kit and soon after that, the Nomad was my daily driver.

Over the next several years, I put my dream on hold while I hunted down all the things particular to a Nomad: eyebrows and moldings, tailgate bars, rear curved glass, emblems, etc. Eventually it was time to see if the paint color I had carried around in my head since day one could be turned into reality. Working with a paint and body shop, I experimented with various combinations of base colors and different shades of until I found just the right color.

While I puzzled out the paint color, the body shop began removing and replacing the rusted-out portions of the Nomad. Since the car had been sitting outside for 12 years before I bought it, there was a fair amount of rust in the usual places. After the bodywork was complete and the new paint job (consisting of 12 coats of paint and seven coats of clear) was done, the car was towed back to my house—still unassembled. During the ride home in the tow truck, I was asked for the first time, if I wanted to sell the car, from someone who pulled up next to us at a stoplight. That made me realize that the paint color was something special indeed.

Of all the things I've done to the car, the greatest challenge was next: putting it all together with parts that I had never yet seen on the car. Some days I felt like a kid again, assembling a giant model car-but without any instructions. My friend, John, the owner of John Chambers Vintage Chevrolet, became a walking instruction manual and he let me pour over his completed ’55 Nomad, so I could see how all the pieces fit. When the car was assembled, I thought it looked stunning. This challenge was by far the most rewarding part of building my Nomad.

Because I work as an auto mechanic (at B & R Automotive) specializing in tune-ups and fuel injection systems, the next move in the “rectification” of the car was relatively easy for me to make. I decided to install electronic fuel injection. Adding this modern technology gave the car great driveability and a substantial increase in horsepower. The owners of B & R have enthusiastically supported my work on the Nomad. Being able to install the EFI at the shop made that job a lot easier.

Then it was time to think “interior”: I found a 60/40 split power bench seat to replace the makeshift one that came with the car and then I found Chuck Booth—a wizard of interiors. Combining my vision with Chuck’s incredible know-how, we designed a whole new interior. We chose leather in two complementary colors, modified the height of the bench seat, fabricated custom door panels, building a console to hold the stereo/CD player and concealed 10 speakers for the sound system. After Chuck was done, I added some finishing touches like a Dakota Digital dash and clock, Billet dash inserts and a tilt steering column.

A few months later, at a Super Chevy show, I got a lucky “brake.” During the show, lots of people admired the car and asked questions about it. At one point, someone asked me: “What are your future plans for the car?” I answered that I was thinking about installing four wheel disc brakes sometime soon. Well, it turned out that I was talking to the editor of Super Chevy magazine, Terry Cole. He was looking for a tri-five Chevy with original brakes to use in an article about the installation of Baer four wheel disc brakes. He wanted to know if I would be interested. Interested? You bet I was. A short time later my car was sporting just the brakes I wanted and the magazine ran an article on the brake conversion that featured my car. It just goes to prove, you never quite know who you might be talking to at a car show!

As any true auto enthusiast knows, the end of a dream is always just beyond your grasp.
At this point, many people thought that the car was finished, but I still had a few ideas in my mind’s eye. I wanted this car to be different, unique and a bit surprising, so I focused on tucking in 17" and 18" wheels and adding air ride suspension. Power rack and pinion steering (from CCI) and Paul Eyler’s custom sheet metal fabrication in the engine compartment topped off the look.

The question remained, how would others view my dream. It makes me proud to say the car has become a true attention-getter. I’ve been thrilled to win many trophies from the car shows I’ve entered. Chevy lovers of all ages stop me to talk about the car or ask to be photographed with it. And, it’s always fun when someone mentions that they saw my car on the local news coverage of a car show event. So what does my wife think now? She says she can’t even remember the old rusty heap that was once towed into our driveway!

It has been so rewarding to build this car and I know that I couldn’t have done it alone. I appreciate the help I’ve received along the way—it’s been great working with people who shared my vision. I can finally say that I am driving my dream!