55 Chevy Nomad Gasser

[DannyDodge]

Hey guys,  it’s been along time since i just built a model,  i was into it heavy when i was younger, but haven’t built anything in years

 

so I’m jumping back in, trying to keep the build simple but I’ve changed up a few things 

 

the kit came with a straight axle setup it was a weird traverse spring setup and i wanted to run a parallel spring set up,  so i made some mount/shackles/springs and a tube axle   Slapped it all in the chassis and painted it 

 

i started to assemble the motor and wiring it up,  only real mods i made on the motor are the headers,  they are the kit headers but with the square collectors cut off and the end filed into single pipes to look like short zoom or style headers

 

I also included a picture on how the cars gonna sit,   I radiused the wheel wells,  the kit had marks on the inside that they suggest to cut to,  which i did but in my opinion opens the wheel well up to much , but i think it will turn out ok 

[larman]

Looks great so far! Stance is right on. 

[Bainford]

Looking good so far. I started a '55 Nomad gasser a bunch of years ago. I really should drag it out and get on with it. Perhaps I'll find some inspiration in this thread.

[cobraman]

I agree, looking good.

[TransAmMike]

Love a good looking '55 Nomad Gasser.  Knock it out Dan.

[Zippi]

Love those Gassers.  I'll be watching this one. 

[Tortuga Kustomz]

nice man, I have one on my bench but yours looks super cool already

[slusher]

great color and real nice work so far.   Love the nomads.

[dragcarz]

Looking great, can’t wait to see it completed, love the color!

[DannyDodge]

So moltov pens are new since i built my last model and i decided to give them a try,  i was never that great at doing fine details so I’m looking for things to help.

 

i bought 3, 2, and 1 mm pens,  the 2mm worked best for me,  but i had nothing but trouble with the 1mm. The paint wouldn’t flow right or it would run out real quick then  I’d have to pump it then there would be to much,  i don’t know.  Maybe i got a bum pen but i had no luck with it 

 

anywho,   I did the interior in the green to match the body, and the black, shot a semi gloss coat over it to give it a vinyl appearance, detailed the dash out, added the aftermarket gauges under the dash and painted the trim on the floor and door panels,  the race bucket was painted up to resemble a aluminum bomber/race style seat, with a alternating color scheme padding,  made up a simple 4 point roll cage,  put the battery in the back with some wires running to it.  The moon tank i was going to put up front but i just couldn’t find a spot where i liked it, so i put it in the back.    Overall I’m pretty happy with the interior,  i need to do alittle better job on the fine painting details,  but once the interior is in the car it looked perfect 

 

Sorry for the long post guys but here’s the pics! 

[TarheelRick]

Nice work on that interior.  Just wondering how tall your driver is going to be?  It's going to take some mighty long legs to reach those pedals.

[DannyDodge]

5 minutes ago, TarheelRick said:

Nice work on that interior.  Just wondering how tall your driver is going to be?  It's going to take some mighty long legs to reach those pedals.

ya forgot to add, i set back the driver location, tho I did not make new pedals, we will pretend he's just really tall

[bluestringer]

Looks great. I've got a 57 gasser waiting to be built. Maybe the fall before I get to it. 

[larman]

Not to nitpick, but if you are going for an authentic vintage gasser, it would have a front passenger seat. They were required for the class.

[DannyDodge]

7 hours ago, larman said:

Not to nitpick, but if you are going for an authentic vintage gasser, it would have a front passenger seat. They were required for the class.

that style of roll bar wouldn't of been used in a old style gasser either, i did have a matching passenger seat painted up, but decided not to use it. i guess this can be considered more of a modern style gasser recreation.

Edited August 27, 2021 by DannyDodge

[larman]

9 hours ago, DannyDodge said:

that style of roll bar wouldn't of been used in a old style gasser either, i did have a matching passenger seat painted up, but decided not to use it. i guess this can be considered more of a modern style gasser recreation.

Ok. I hope I didn't come off as a WA, or know-it-all. I was just mentioning it in case you didn't know. The car is coming along very nicely! As far as the roll bar, what is wrong with it?  

[slusher]

Great looking interior…

[Tortuga Kustomz]

I like how this porject is turning man, love the interior

[DannyDodge]

On 8/27/2021 at 5:14 PM, larman said:

Ok. I hope I didn't come off as a WA, or know-it-all. I was just mentioning it in case you didn't know. The car is coming along very nicely! As far as the roll bar, what is wrong with it?  

oh no not at all, as far as the roll bar a early style gasser would have less "points" like a 3 point, loop around the drive with only one downward support, if any.

[DannyDodge]

Well i finished it up over the weekend,  i finished the body in test or emerald green lacquer/duplicolor black.

i wanted to try something new with the chrome trim,  i used to use bare metal foil, but the local hobby shop was out and I’ve read the quality has declined dramatically,  didn’t like how the Molotov pens flowed so i didn’t use that,  ended up using metallic silver sharpie and a sharpie metallic silver gel on which turned out better than i thought it would.

 

once that was all done i buried it under testors lacquer clear, it looked really good but the roof was peely,  so i took the time and wet sanded and hand polished it out.

 

did a quick wash on the grill and glued that in with the tail lights and rear bumper, the rear window had some weird flaw in it from when it was made,  in the corner it looked like there was a air bubble in the plastic, so i threw it out and made a new one from some clear plastic stock, doing so lost the ability to open the rear glass but i was fine with that.

 

slapped it altogether and the pictures below so the finished product,   Not the best in the world but I’m pretty happy with the result,  not bad for my first mode back after a 10 year hiatus, I’m gonna grab some nicer pictures and post it up in the finished build section of the forum.  Thanks for looking guys and all the nice words of encouragement!

 

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by DannyDodge

[cobraman]

Looks great !

[larman]

Nice job! Looks really good!

[lucky 130]

Really kool color combo, altho I couldn't for the life of me why you didn't polish out the lint in the roof, then I realized it was on MY screen! We all get old, sorry.

[slusher]

sharp 55 !

[Zippi]

Man.....your 55 is taking on an additude.  looking good.