Customs (New to Me) 55 Nomad Project: Ditch 79 Camaro Front Clip?

I picked up a 55 Nomad project from and elderly friend of mine in CA who decided it best to let the project move on to someone else and enjoy the finished car he's had since Nam. Its got a great body, no rust, all metal work redone probably 15-20 years ago....*really* nicely done, never any rot. Got the whole shabang... chrome, seats, new Currie rear end, built 350 and trans....but.....BUT.....it's got a 79 Camaro/Firebird front clip grafted into it. Now, the owner *before* my friend is the one who did it or had it done, and a local SoCal shop inspected it and said it was done well. They moved the motor mounts, cut steel for new bumper brackets, radiator, etc etc......but the issue with the 79-81 front clips are that they sit higher (not an issue, can swap springs) and push the wheels out over 1.5" extra on each side....not so easy to fix. I found an old article on Hot Rod from 97 or so showing this *exact* swap on a sedan. They "solved" the issue by going with some Cragar 15x7's with 4.5" backspacing and drop springs. I'm fine doing this, I'm also fine using the Fatman Fab narrowed control arm sets to bring everything in by 1" on each side. HOWEVER.....I'm getting dueling arguments from some folks saying things like:

-"Don't use the Fatman Fab arms, you mess up the geometry"
-"No one will want to buy your car if you sell it because of the evil 79 front clip"
-"Ditch the whole frame and buy a new one, start over."

You get the picture. Does anyone here actually *have* experience with this swap on a Tri-5?

 

No experience here, but I say it looks like a really well done job, why reinvent the wheel?

 

If I was going to spend the time and money it takes to build a ‘55 Nomad I would definitely ditch the clip and put an original frame under it.

 

While not having full experience with a camaro clip frame, you might look through some camaro parts catlogs as the aftermarket has gotten really hot with the late 2nd gen cars. The clip used to be the hot thing as it updated alot of things, side motor mounts, disc brakes, better steering. Now aftermarket has all those things solved on the tri five, but if the welds are good and the bumper brackets all work and the frame is square, I would see no problem with using it. Yeah there is a stigma nowadays with the clip as so many were done poorly.

We had a 55 Chevy pickup in the 90's with a Chevelle clip on it and it worked really well.

 

I'd spend some time thinking about what I want the car to be, when it's done. If that requires removing the clip, then the clip would go. If not, then it would stay.

we really can't tell you want you want.

 

I agree that it seems it was put in well. The drawback is of course the extra track width. The narrowed arms are a good idea. Yes the clipped frame does have a negative effect on value, but if yours drives good and the sheetmetal and radiator all fit like they should, I would leave it and enjoy the car as-is.

 

Why 7's? That is so damn wide for fronts. On my 54 and dads last 56 we ran 5's up front 8s in back.

 

yup, big-n-littles and getting all the parts of the car in place, will go a long ways towards making it sit right. You'd be surprised how much the nose will drop when you add glass, radiator, bumper, etc.

 

In the stage the car is in I’d look for a stock frame. There is so much aftermarket suspension stuff for the stock frame, it fits, later resale don’t need to be concerned with it being clipped. It will make it a much better car in the end.


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I would leave it. Although I am not sure why you would replace an independent front suspension for another one. My 56 Bel Air, 9 pass drove great. The only drawback was the leaking PS actuator. Those never seal.

 

Leave it, get it how you like it, keep your mouth shut

 

Depends on what you want to do with the car. If you don't mind and the work was done correctly then I'd leave it as is and use wheels with offset to compensate. Try to match the rear with the front width too.

If you're wanting a full resto then go with a new frame or hack out the clip and redo with stock but that's a lot of work.

I think sometimes we forget that not everybody out there are "traditional freaks" and want everything done as it was over 60 years ago.

 

You have to understand, that there are a lot of folks out there that love to tell other people what they "should" do. Those folks usually never finish a project. I went through a similar deal on my nephews Apache. We grafted a 77 Camaro on it and had to eventually end up buying adjustable, tubular control arms to get the adjustments right. Somewhere in the installation we miscalculated our caster. They make a lot of stuff for the Camaros.

 

...gotta wonder why it was clipped in the first place. Was it wrecked? if so, the entire frame needs a hard look to be sure it is ok. I'm not against clips, but is this one really a major upgrade?

 

I can speak only for myself but if it was mine, and the graft was well-done and safe, I would take the quickest route to getting the car on the road so I could drive it. I enjoy working on my cars but even more I love getting behind the wheel and heading down the road.

 

It was done at least 20 years ago, from what I can tell, in order to get IFS up front...before the newfangled kits and such had been developed and were easily obtainable. In fact, here's the article I found from 1997 showing this exact swap on a Bel Air:

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/43078-modern-subframe-installation-2/

The frame and graft job was inspected by trusted shop in Burbank where I used to live. They gave it a passing grade and said it was done well...just a matter of whether or not I want to keep it.

 

Do you want a fun car to drive ?

Do you want an original car ?

Do you want a car that is perfect or a car that is fun ?

Do you want to spend a ton of money or have a nice safe car that’s fun ?

for me , if it was mine I would buy the correct front wheels and spend my money elsewhere and get driving sooner , who cares about resale as if it runs and drives it should not be an issue.

 

My '55 Cadillac is NOT exactly a tri-five Chevy denizen, but I put in a '78 Pontiac Trans-Am sub-frame in -disc brakes, sway bar, power steering (virtually the same as your '77 Camaro) ..and NEVER regretted the decision. My '55 drives like a new car, will turn inside a Volkswagen and handles wonderfully with radial tires. I've enjoyed driving the car all over the U.S., to and thru Canada (three times) from my home in Denver, ColoRODo for the last 10 years and wouldn't change a thing... IF it were me, I'd finish the car as is...take it out and drive the hell out of it...IF you don't like it then, replace the whole frame and quit worrying about it...!!!

R-

 

I would go back to a stock frame. There is plenty of stuff available to make them sit, ride and handle well and you regain all the mounting points for hanging the front sheet metal. There are plenty of stock frames available with people switching to aftermarket chassis. That being said, make sure you have the car registered in your name before you switch the frame or you could have a California nightmare with a different VIN on the frame.

 

As was said go with what your likes and budget allow. Original frames are out there for around 5-700 bucks . A grafted in front subframe would be a turn off for me if in the market as I value 55 Nomads as one of the most iconic 50s cars produced. I recently sold my 55 Nomad and it would not have interested the buyer with an altered frame . Its condition in original rust free form was key. Current trends lean towards resto modded Nomads and they bring strong money but it takes a lot to get them to that level. My comments are opinions so good luck with your Nomad as they are and always will be a true Chevy classic.

 

I'd say leave it the way it is...unless you want to add and extra year to the build, and an additional $10K+ setting up a new frame

 

dropped spindles will get it down if need be, was the clip rebuilt with new parts or orig worn out stuff?

 

Looks well done, especially compared to some cobbled together clipped cars i've seen/ worked on after the swap. I'd be fine driving it and it would probably be a blast, but if i was a buyer looking for a nice Nomad, and i didnt know the history of it, that it was inspected by a reputable shop, and i couldnt poke around it when it was still all apart to see it was well done, a clipped frame would probably be a check in the minus column. If planning on long term/ lifelong ownership, i would go with the current set up, or if its going to be sold in a few yrs, i would probably try and find a stock frame to swap in to help with resale value, especially in its current state and would be easier now than when its all together.

 

An option not discussed yet is to replace that second-generation Camero front clip with one from a first-series Camero or 68-72 Nova as they are a few inches narrower, and rear-steer to boot. Having said that, what makes better sense investment wise is to replace your hacked original frame with an updated original.

 

If I were building a Nomad and in your shoes, I would just swap the whole frame out. There is nothing wrong with the original independent suspension and not that expensive to find a nice one. Seems several folks like to swap tri-five frames with some expensive aftermarket setup which leaves nice leftover parts for guys that think they are fine. I have a good friend that has restored and modified tons of tri-five Chevy’s as a living for years and they always have extra frames because of what I mentioned. They also specialize in Nomads if anything.

 

No direct experience with that frame, but plenty with that subframe and need for narrower wheels, including on my 46 Hudson BigBoy pickup. I went with the Cragars and, ultimately, with some wheel vintiques from Summit that had a very narrow profile - its surprising how much difference 1" less forward spacing makes in appearance. Try not to have to undo the work that's been done - that's a smooth cruising setup.

 

I figure a new original frame will ad more value to the car than what it cost to swap over, plus you can sell your modified frame and get some of that back. even done "right" the Camaro frame will turn away many buyers when the time comes.

 

If it's safe, drives well, and looks good, most would not care what front clip it has. I've seen restomods go across the auction block for six figures. That's usually not the case for an original, unless it has a pedigree.

I would not use rims narrower than 6" on the front. 5" rims will narrow your choice of tires. Skinnies? No way.