What are the differences between a 55' 2 dr wagon and a Nomad? I have a 55' Handyman parts car with a good title and have been talking to a guy with a 55' Nomad that is rough, and has no front sheetmetal, and no tags or title. The handyman has no frame left and the nomad has a good frame. What parts are nomad specific and would need to be used to convert the 55' wagon to a nomad?
That's correct. The Nomad has a lower roofline than a standard wagon. Uses the same windshield as the hardtops and converts.
I can get a nomad that has a complete body tub with all the doors, glass, and trim on a good frame but no tags or title. The car is rough but comes with new quarters, 1 piece floor, etc I have a badly rotted 55' handyman that is only good for parts but has a good title. I was going to use the remains of the nomad to convert the handyman. The VIN will still say 6cyl handyman obviously.
except for the floor, cowl and dash, nothing is the same the front sheet metal and frame will interchange. your best bet is to cut every part of the handyman off, basicly ,leave about a 1/2 inch of the handyman around the vin tag. then cut the exact opposite of the way you cut the handyman on the nomad, weld the 2 together, and you are done! the main issue this will give you, is that your vin will reflect a 210, or 150, as the handymans were not belairs, and the nomads were. All kidding aside, the handyman will be a good parts car for the nomad, do some research, and see if you can get a bill of sale from the guy for the nomad, and then go through all the bureaucratic channels in your state to get a vin assigned to it. **** hint,hint***** the original nomad vin # is stamped on the top of the left hand frame rail under the drivers seat area! just be careful, because that vin is probably somewhere in the us (or canada)on another nomad that has your missing vin plate and cowl tag.
the way I see it use the handyman as a body panel and vin tag donor for the nomad. If it needs quarters and floors cut and weld them in off the handyman - it sounds like more work than an entire roof/windshield transplant but really it is probably about the same. I am pretty sure you cannot tell anything about wether the car is originally a nomad or not and I don't think there were any trim tags for 1957 Chevys (not that it matters much - most states you don't need a title to register a vehcile that old so if you have a vin number you may still be able to get paperwork). edit: I take that back you can tell the model from the vin but I don't think nomad had a special letter in the vin number like 150, 210s, and Sedan Deliverys do. Also the Passenger cars had cowl tags, the corvettes didn't so I am double wrong.
sound like this will end up as "el camino' type roadster pick up pleeze do it and get one more nomad cut up so they're value stays where it is !
The wheel wells and probably the whole quarter panel is different. You could try doing a VIN search to see if that number comes up as someone else's car. If it does, then go for it. You could always find a Nomad title too.
There was also Nomad-specific front fender trim and chrome headlight eyebrows on the '55s. I don't think the actual fenders are different, but the trim is. I believe the trim is repoped, but not cheap. Of course, you could always leave the trim off as a "custom" touch...
Well now, here's what I'd do. It sounds like the "Nomad" is in better condition, and as such, easier to redo using the "Handyman" wagon for parts. Even use the VIN tag and title from the "Handyman". Most people, who don't really know their classic Chevrolets, call a 2 door wagon a Nomad; here's a case where you can call your "Nomad" a "Handyman" or 2 door wagon. Or go through a title service to make the "Nomad" legal. Personally, I really don't care too much for "Nomads", I like things Plain Jane. But, in your case, go with the "Nomad". Butch/56sedandelivery.
I would guess that the same differences apply to Safari vs. sedan-based 2-door wagons (although it appears that the Safari name was used on more than 1 body style)?
What they said, it would be alot of work..notice that on the Handyman wagon the tailgate/ass end section of the car is more vertical..the Nomad section is laid forward a bit more..Go for it! almost nothing cooler than a Nomad...
You would be better off later on $$$ wise to build the Nomad and use your Handyman as a donor. As long as the roof & cowl is solid that is... There is a HUGE price difference in a finished Nomad vs. a 2dr Handyman...
A nomad will have a "c" as the first or second letter in the vin. "c" stands for belair and all nomads were belairs. an example would be VC55J10001 for a v8, or C55J10001 for a 6 cylinder. all you can tell from the vin on a 567 is engine (V or no V) model (belair,210,150) year (55,56,57)
Well, the Nomad has had its body tag and VIN tag removed, and getting a new VIN is a real PITA here in ontario. Its also very illegal to swap Vins between vehicles technically... How much of the vehicle can you change over before its a moot point anyways? Its my grandfathers axe - sure we replaced the head twice and the handle 4 times, but its still my grandfathers axe.
is your handyman canadian or american? another interesting fact I just found out is that all nomads were built in the US, and then exported to canada... so if your handyman has all the canadian tags,which are completely different than us tags, it will stick out like a sore thumb. find some one in the US that can help you get it title up with broadway title, or one of those other outfits, and then "import" it back to canada. like I said earlier , the cowl is the same, so if you cut the roof posts high up above the vin. and then replace all that with the nomad parts you will have the nomad. In my case this would be no problem, since if I got a 55 nomad , I would never sell it, so I wouldn't really care about the documentation. If you are looking at this as a resell, or a way to make money, don't because you will just get problems. If you are doing it beacause you want a nomad then go for it!
I am just thinking of doing it because I have always wanted a nomad! The nomad has no tags or VIN. If I ever sold it, it would be sold as a 150 handyman that has been converted into a nomad.