Just Retired So I'm Finally Getting Back to Work on My 60 Nomad

60 Nomad

Well Known Member
Those side pipes and stainless rocker mouldings were nice. Made the car look lower than it was. The side pipes are gone, have not decided on that yet? I still have the rocker mouldings. The side pipes kept them from getting dinged up. However the mufflers in the side pipes rusted out and were taken off and standard exhaust was put on, so they got a few dings/dents from stones. Can the stainless rockers be restored? They have some sort of a metal panel inside so you can’t just turn them over and work on the dents from the back. Looks like you would have to bend the end of the rocker and slide the filler panel out to get to the back of the stainless? Anyone know or had this done before?
 

benchseat4speed

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 7
Normally I don’t like side pipes but man those look pretty good on that car. Cragars with spinners look good too. What’s the other 60 and the 56 in the background, parts?
 

60 Nomad

Well Known Member
Normally I don’t like side pipes but man those look pretty good on that car. Cragars with spinners look good too. What’s the other 60 and the 56 in the background, parts?

Well the Parkwood was my brothers first car, I found it for him when I was an appliance repairman about 40 years ago at a customers house. He had a dent in the front, grill, radiator support and stuff, so we got the other 60, the white one, and repaired it the Parkwood. My Dad told him he should fix up the 2 door white one instead but we fixed the Parkwood. 1.gif

Then he had a slightly bigger wreck. The frame and front end was really bad.

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That's my 56 frame in the back background, did a frame off rebuild in the back yard at my Mom & Dad's house, they were not too happy about all the car and parts, so we had to get rid of the leftovers when we were done. So we took the 283 and powerglide out of this Parkwood and put in the white Nomad that my brother found. All of this was like around 1982 or 83.

This is my 56 210 that I did the frame off, can't call it a restoration, just a fixer up. I still have the car in my garage, that's the next project if I ever get the Nomad done.
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The truck in the back was my 56 pickup, I put a 327 in it, added tilt and power steering and drove it for years, that's the only old car/truck that I ever let go. Grand Prix and Motor Cycle were mine too. I always had a bunch of cars it seems. The 56 210 has the original 235 with powerglide, its a nice car, but needs a little more horsepower LOL.
 

1958 delivery

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
Very nice. :) Hate to be a wet blanket but the gloss paint on the top of the dash is not a good idea. When the windshield is in, the glare from the sun will be unbearable while driving. It will reflect back up on the glass making it hard to see.


My 60 Impala came from the factory with a gloss black dash and it was never a problem, but then I was young and usually drunk so that might have helped
 

bobs409

 
Administrator
Maybe the design of the 60 dash helps but I know in my 66 Impala the glare is bad. I found a used dash pad (black) and sprayed it blue to match the original. I used what I had that looked very close which was a mist blue touch up paint. It's not even glossy looking but enough shine I guess that it reflects back up on the glass when the sun hits it.

I wasn't aware of the factory spraying dashboards in gloss. ?? My 63 is still factory finish and it's a notch above flat! Even the column is flat looking.

That's all I know... :D
 

60 Nomad

Well Known Member
Here are some pictures of my repairs on the floor board. At the time they didn't have the whole floor in one piece, but I only needed the to replace the 4 pans anyway. I but welded them then put seam sealer around the welds and painted the floor board with sealer primer. It was welded form inside the car so the welds actually don't show much at all on the bottom and I didn't grind them down on top so it would be stronger, won't show anyway once the insulation and carpet are in.

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60 Nomad

Well Known Member
Just a little update on my Nomad. Had the rebuilt 348 engine running with no problems, sound nice and running smooth. Rebuilt the 700R4 and it seems to be working great, no highway testing yet, just around the neighborhood. This is a one man project so it's slow going. My plan as of now is to do as much as I can myself, paint all the door jambs and cut-in's and stuff then have a profession paint the outside. Just want a nice looking dependable driver, not a show car. I know some of work is putting the cart before the horse but when you do this at home with limited resources an knowledge that's the way it goes. Anyway so far I'm happy with the results and that's what matters. The exhaust is just temporary until I decide how I want it, still debating on that. Here are a few pics of my progress.
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60 Nomad

Well Known Member
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Seems like this is taking forever to get done. Since my last post I have finished up all 4 doors. New window channels installed and all the original glass put back in, except for a new windshield. Next is the rear lower quarter panels. Driver’s side is about half done and I have not started on the passenger side yet. Probably be next spring or summer before it’s ready to paint. Probably get a real body/paint shop to do that. Just hope I can find someone who wants to do it without complaining about the work I have already done myself.
 
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60 Nomad

Well Known Member
It was a little harder than I expected. Maybe because the fender wells and drivers side fender were NOS? I would think that parts that had been together for 40 plus years would fit together better than parts that had not been fitted, maybe that had something to do with it? The new rubber between the fender well and the fender was the biggest challenge, the rubber just seemed too thick and stiff. Also would have saved some work if I had the doors on first, ended up readjusting the front clip, hood and doors many times to get it right.
 

60 Nomad

Well Known Member
Just a update on my 60 Nomad. Progress is slow but I'm getting there. Before I get it painted and the interior completed I decide to put it on the road and drive it some, get the front end aligned and make sure the 348 and 700R4 don't have any issues. Wouldn't want to be working on something major with the care after getting it painted and upholstered. The 348 is running great and the 700R4 is working just as I wanted after I modified some of the electrical controls to the torque converter lock-up. The first test drive the 700R4 would lock up as soon as the transmission went into 4th gear. It only had a pressure switch that would close when the transmission shifted into 4th gear so 4th and lock-up would happen at the same time. So I added a adjustable timer set it to close 8 seconds after the pressure switch closed. Then it would shift into 4th and I could gain a little more speed and then it would lock-up the torque converter 8 seconds later. Seemed to have better acceleration this way. Of course the brake switch is in series with the circuit so if I hit the brakes the torque converter would unlock and if it was still in 4th it wouldn't just lock right back up, it would delay 8 seconds. This was nice, you could feel all 4 gears and lock-up after 8 seconds. Before it would just lock-up as soon as it went into 4th and you couldn't really tell if it just went into 4th or 4th & lock-up. So after that was good I didn't like the fact that when cruising the back roads 30 or 40 mph or so when the car was in 4th it was locking up the torque converter. Not bad on level ground but when going slow up an incline it felt like it would be better not locked-up. So I bought a Ron Francis Speed Sensor that connects to the speedometer output at the transmission. Just disconnected the speedometer cable, connected the sensor and reconnect the speedometer cable to the sensor so my speedometer still works.
Now I'm totally happy with how it works. So now when I'm in 4th gear and going over 45 mph there is a 8 second delay before the torque converter locks-up. If I'm going under 45 mph and in 4th gear the torque converter doesn't lock-up. The brake switch is still in the circuit so whenever the breaks are pressed the torque converter is un-locked. I added a couple indicating light down on my air ride control panel. One for the speed sensor, it lights up when going over 45 mph and the other light up after the 8 seconds of delay and lights up when the torque converter lock-up solenoid is energized. So this is working great for me. I'm not suggesting it to anyone, just putting it out there for someone who might want to do something similar. Here is my drawing I made for my car. Like I said just what works for me.


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I mounted the indicator lights on the panel for my Air Ride Control Panel. The top light comes on when going over 45-47 MPH and the bottom light comes on when the Torque Converter is Locked-Up.

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Here is a video of the lights working. The car gets over 45 while in third so the top light comes on, then you can hear the car shift into 4th and while cruising in 4th it locks up the torque converter after 8 seconds, bottom light on.
 
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60 Nomad

Well Known Member
Couple of recent picture. I put floorboard insulation and carpet in with matching floormats. Been working on getting rid of as much of the old blue color on the interior trim and stuff. Put the bumpers, lights, mirrors and what ever I needed to be able to drive it safely around and make sure it's mechanically good before I get it painted and the interior done. It's going to be a fun driver car, not a show car, so be easy on me :)

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