55 Nomad

[James2]

Had a good time with friends Saturday at the "Stark Scale Model Club" Show, I found this little gem in the swap meet area and it just seemed to call out to me.

So what I thought I would do is, a restor/fresh'n up. I kinda like the color so I will attempt to polish the body or maybe clear coat it. I was thinking about a white roof also. Some Bare Metal Foil will be added, along with a new set of wider tires and keeping the stock wheel covers. I'll be fixing the rear bumper and searching for the front bumper and turn signals. A couple of things under the hood perhaps but mainly working on just the appearance for now. Not sure what to do with the interior just yet. Also I thought I'd make it more interesting by tracking the cost involved as the build progresses.

Initial cost   $10

 

Edited April 14, 2019 by James2

[mod3l Lover]

Cool!

[Modlbldr]

Looks like a good resto project and your ideas sound like they will fit the bill. I like the idea of tracking the cost too.

Later-

[SCRWDRVR]

I like it!!! Love the color... I have a 1\16th scale Nomad I have yet to start on. I have always been a fan of the Nomads I'll enjoy following this, I like the tracking cost also...

[espo]

Great find for only $10. I like your idea to freshen up the body finish. Small block Chevy parts should be easy, and I notice who ever built this used 283 "rams horn" exhaust manifolds anyway.  

[fivesuns]

Nice score. I like your plan.

[James2]

Sunday I took a few minutes and started the dis-assembly. I'm pretty happy with the shape the body is in and I believe the interior will be easily updated. Let's hope the glass is ok and comes out in one piece. The glue was typically thick in most areas but brittle enough to separate the pieces easily.

At least until I turned the body over. These spots were pretty heavy and I didn't even try to break the interior tub free. I used a small razor saw blade mounted in my knife handle and was able to saw through one of the front connections without damage. After returning home from work this weekend I'll try the other side. But the rear point I think I'll try scribe it loose with a x-acto blade in reverse.

One of the other things I'll be doing is working on this sometimes from the hotel where I'm staying during the week. Should be interesting! And I think I found some bumpers in my spare parts box, which adds no new cost to the project so far.

And thanks for the interest and comments everyone...

Edited April 16, 2019 by James2

[Vince66]

Nice color following this build. 

[James2]

Looks like a wet weekend coming my way so perhaps I'll get some bench time in. I'd like to get this ready to take on the road and hopefully work on it during the week.

Thanks for the interest...

[bisc63]

Might check the "wanted" forum for bumpers if yours don't work out, as a lot of folks are building gassers these days, stock bumpers are rarely used and so should be an easy score.

[James2]

Thanks again guys, here's todays update.

I managed to finess the interior tub free and removed the glass with only a small break. This piece had a lot of glue on it as did most of all the other connections, which came apart relatively easily.

 

Next up I decided to clean up the flash, most young modelers miss this step. I carefully scraped and cut the inside edges to remove the unwanted flash but leave the paint intact. There are a of couple scribe lines on the front grill area and rear quarters that will have to stay since my plan is to not repaint.

Then I thought I'd try a small amount of polish. I taped the rear door line and polished the quarter panel, you can see the difference in the photo.

I am resisting a clear coat for cost and the no paint theme, but we will see. So far I have not spent any more on the project

Next I'll be looking for that just right wheel/tire combo!

 

[James2]

Before leaving for work, I found the Wheel/Tire Combo in the spare parts box. Got the stance just right...

 

 

[James2]

After a couple evenings in the hotel this is where the 55 is at...

So far I've spent $10 for the car, $2 worth of  BMF and a few cents of glue. I did find some bumpers and tail lights in my stash and my buddy gave me some new tail light trim pieces. I need to find some front turn signals still. Not to bad for a swap meet build.