57 Nomad Project

[kwhizz]

A little history on this car.........The first Power Tour we went on was in 2005.....Started in Milwaukee and ended in Orlando.....There was a group of guy's that flew in from Australia to do the tour.....They flew into L.A. and bought this car and drove to Milwaukee....We got to meet them at a Party in Milwaukee before the Tour started.......LOL.....Wild group and a lot of fun........So......while in Milwaukee, the owner of the car met and got a girlfriend ......So.....After the Tour he drove the car back to the Milwaukee area to be with her..........He sold the car to a friend of mine in July of 05......Floyd had the car 10 years and kept it in a heated climate controlled environment........Labor Day weekend we were at a car show and noticed Floyd had the Car for Sale.......The rest is history......The car is a perfect California rust free piece that was gone thru in the early 2000's and built to what was normal back then.........LOL.....Just a couple weird things about the build back then......obviously the builder didn't want the A/C condenser in front of the polished radiator......so .....it was mounted parallel to the road behind the front bumper with an Electric fan blowing air thru it when required........except mounted in that position while driving down the highway it didn't work too good.....LOL........the other thing is with the Condenser mounted in that position ......there wasn't any room for the front sway bar........so......the car was a little wishy washy going down the road......all soon to be corrected along with a LSA drivetrain transplant..........So......Here we go again.........

Picture of when we picked up the car from Floyd



Pic's of the car















More pic's to follow later

Ken

[armourmark]

You know, you should have bought a truck load of LSAs a few years back and enjoyed the large discount!!

[Schwartz Performance]

Sweet!!

[kwhizz]

A little more info and Pic's..........The car has 4 wheel power Disc brakes and a 9" Ford rear axle assy with all new parts in it.......3:55 Posi......So....That part of the build is already completed.......Parts are starting to show up for the conversion.....new Nomad Gas tank to be modified for the GM ZL1 fuel pump.....Holley 302-1 Pan and gasket showed up.....also received a repro original looking Wonderbar Radio all set-up for Satelite etc........and I ordered a new LSA / 4l85E connect and cruise drivetrain from GM today.......That should arrive next week......Here are some pic's from under the car to show the rust free condition......

[kwhizz]

Just for what it's worth.........I ordered the LSA engine package thru Schwartz Performance.......Great guy's to deal with

Ken

[2ndroundko]

This is gonna be good. I have a soft spot for wagons!

[Motown 454]

So many sweet rides how do you ever decide which one to drive? The connect and cruise kit will be a breeze for you after all your other builds you've upgraded, it's so complete. I love Nomads.

[Godbolt]

Beautiful wagon. I love the rear glass.

[kwhizz]

Here's a picture of the front suspension.........Maybe adding some good shocks, but that's about all



Here's how the A/C condenser was mounted behind the front bumper....





Even though the trans fluid went thru the Radiator cooler....it was still run into this air cooler mounted behind the bumper with minimum air flow.......Gone......





Gone..........



There is now room for a sway bar............





Ken

[minendrews68]

Love it!!!!

[kwhizz]

Did some more dis-assembly ......getting ready for the new drivetrain that will be arriving next week.......and parts are starting to arrive (I like to plan in advance so when I start .....I can keep going).........as you can see, when it was built, it was built with all the good stuff !!!





















Holley #302-1 Oil Pan arrived








Heat Exchanger

[wfo guy]

I have history with tri fives from years ago. I'll be watching.

[kwhizz]

I also received my new Wonder Bar Radio.......AM/FM Stereo /Sirius/Bluetooth...........Modern stuff to keep up with the drivetrain......LOL









But.......This car just amazes me.....can't wait to get the "Old" drivetrain and clean this old "Beater" up..........Just happened to spray some cleaner on the frame and wipe it off.............."WOWZA".........Look at this.......

[kwhizz]

A couple of neat things about this car..........whoever built the car in California originally did a great job with the install of the engine/trans..........the frame engine mounts are a work of Art.......and the trans has a tubular trans mount and frame mounts installed very professionally.........Gonna save a lot of fabrication and installation time getting the new drivetrain in..........Ended up very carefully taking the core support out........Pulled the headers off (Glad I never had to change the Spark Plugs on this puppy)..........dropped the trans out and then pulled the engine..........Now I can get the engine compartment Sparkling again.......

[kwhizz]

Got a few more parts today.......The new A/C condenser arrived along with the LSA fuel pump......The Pump and Nomad tank will be a little project from the other pumps I have modified, .....I had to make them shorter to match the depth of the Tanks.......This one I have to make it longer to work in the Nomad tank which is approx. 12" deep.........And....since the Engine is out I did a quick clean-up of the engine compartment...........Again.....Great Job by the person who originally built this car.....The new engine didn't make it to the shop today.........Gonna have to wait till next Monday now........I can do some serious cleaning now .................Happy Thanksgiving to All!!!!!

[kwhizz]

While waiting for the drivetrain to show up.........I have just been cleaning things.......Again.....What a car.....Just gonna make it LSA "Better"........Before and after on the rims .....then a shot of the engine compartment again......A couple of things that will be changed is I realized that the 9" Ford rear end in the car is an open rear end.......Posi-unit on the To Do List.........And since this car was built roughly 15 years ago......I think I am going to update the A/C system in the Dash to a newer version with the Electronic controls.......Gonna order a Kwik Performance Alternator/Power Steering Pump unit and get that part put to bed.....As you can see in the pic's also......Floyd just recently installed the Wilwood Brake system all around.......The Drivetrain should be delivered next Monday............

[kwhizz]

So..........I called today to check on the delivery of the drivetrain.......It hadn't been shipped from GM yet.....It seems they are out of stock of the Engine controller kits.......So we asked to ship everything less the controller as that's the last thing I to install......So it will be shipped tomorrow......I also ordered a new Electronic controlled Vintage Air Evaporator Kit.......Also got a bunch of Dakota Digital stuff ordered..........VHX Gauges.....Clock.....Fan Controller.......GPS Speedometer module.......Got a little more dis-assembly accomplished........

Look at the detail that the original builder put into the car.....Firewall pad....



Old Radio coming out...............



Old A/C unit out..............





Sitting a little high in the front ............LOL

[Motown 454]

I had to wait for a controller before mine shipped too.

[twosaturns]

great project, looking forward to it!

just wondering, could you try limiting your use of ellipses, it makes it kind of weird to read your updates. a single period will do in most cases, lol.

[kwhizz]

Still waiting for the Drivetrain to show up.......In anticipation of the new A/C set-up showing up.....I removed the Heater controls as they will be converted over to electronic controls.......I also removed the Gauge housing as I ordered all Dakota Digital gauges.......the gauge housing was chrome plated at some time in it's past and the chrome sort of faded away in some area's.......so....I'm going to paint it back to original.....sent the housing and the lower steering column cover out to the plater to get the chrome stripped off......then off to the paint shop for paint.....All the Dakota Digital stuff showed up today.......With the cluster out that gives me access to get the wiring all straightened out..........