Madaguy 1955 Nomad Build
05-28-2024, 12:41 PM
#161
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Well, it's been several weeks since my last update because I burned myself out haha. I needed to take a break from working on the car, but recently got some more motivation to get back to it. After the swap meet where I found my very hard to find piece of trim I put the door panel back together and bumper installed, but that's where I really stopped working on the car.
I got the front bumper installed, but now I need to figure out something different with my front end. I think the frame horns are bent because the fenders and hood now don't fit like they should. But it looks way better haha.
My father-in-law sent me a license plate bracket he wasn't using so that I could install the front plate.
I found this sticker online so that if it wasn't obvious enough, that people know it's not done yet haha.
That brings me up to this Sunday. I had a few beverages and finally bit the bullet and installed the rear wheel covers. They were much more difficult to install and get straight than I had anticipated. Thankfully I was in a good state of mind and just pushed through haha. I'm not 100% happy with the install, but they really aren't too bad. I think I didn't get enough glue in some spots so it is lifting a little, but otherwise is straight and looks a ton better than before.
Then I cleaned up and dyed the rear panels. This was pretty straight-forward and the SEM paint lays down so nicely.
Then I got out the section above the rear wheel wells. That didn't need any paint, just waiting for the wheel well covers to be installed.
Then I was able to test fit to get an idea for what the interior will look like. I love the color scheme, just wished the wheel well covers came out better. OH well, I guess it matches the car haha. I think it will partially be covered by the rear seat so I may get lucky there.
I am still chasing a transmission leak and replaced the Jiffy-Tite fittings with -6 AN so I can also add a cooler. I ordered all but two fittings, and decided to just cut a short section off of the hose to make a by-pass to check for leaks. I had hoped that would fix the leak, but it don't believe it did. It didn't leak as much after I parked it, so it could have just been some residual fluid on top of something, but I don't think I'll get that lucky.
The install went pretty smoothly, but the Jeg's AN adapters for the 4L80e I ordered did need to be modified. The rear one fit perfectly, but the front one was too long. I had to cut off a section and taper some of the threads on the end for it to fully seat. But otherwise, it all seems to have sealed up without any issues.
I ordered the last few sheet metal pieces to finish up the rear of the car. Instead of patching the panels for the spare tire well, I ordered the pieces to just spot weld them together. Should make for a clean repair and then I can weld it all to the body. Will be nice to wrap that up and get the rest of the interior installed. I also have 6 sets of seatbelts on the way so that I can start enjoying the car with my family!
Cheers,
Ryan
I got the front bumper installed, but now I need to figure out something different with my front end. I think the frame horns are bent because the fenders and hood now don't fit like they should. But it looks way better haha.
My father-in-law sent me a license plate bracket he wasn't using so that I could install the front plate.
I found this sticker online so that if it wasn't obvious enough, that people know it's not done yet haha.
That brings me up to this Sunday. I had a few beverages and finally bit the bullet and installed the rear wheel covers. They were much more difficult to install and get straight than I had anticipated. Thankfully I was in a good state of mind and just pushed through haha. I'm not 100% happy with the install, but they really aren't too bad. I think I didn't get enough glue in some spots so it is lifting a little, but otherwise is straight and looks a ton better than before.
Then I cleaned up and dyed the rear panels. This was pretty straight-forward and the SEM paint lays down so nicely.
Then I got out the section above the rear wheel wells. That didn't need any paint, just waiting for the wheel well covers to be installed.
Then I was able to test fit to get an idea for what the interior will look like. I love the color scheme, just wished the wheel well covers came out better. OH well, I guess it matches the car haha. I think it will partially be covered by the rear seat so I may get lucky there.
I am still chasing a transmission leak and replaced the Jiffy-Tite fittings with -6 AN so I can also add a cooler. I ordered all but two fittings, and decided to just cut a short section off of the hose to make a by-pass to check for leaks. I had hoped that would fix the leak, but it don't believe it did. It didn't leak as much after I parked it, so it could have just been some residual fluid on top of something, but I don't think I'll get that lucky.
The install went pretty smoothly, but the Jeg's AN adapters for the 4L80e I ordered did need to be modified. The rear one fit perfectly, but the front one was too long. I had to cut off a section and taper some of the threads on the end for it to fully seat. But otherwise, it all seems to have sealed up without any issues.
I ordered the last few sheet metal pieces to finish up the rear of the car. Instead of patching the panels for the spare tire well, I ordered the pieces to just spot weld them together. Should make for a clean repair and then I can weld it all to the body. Will be nice to wrap that up and get the rest of the interior installed. I also have 6 sets of seatbelts on the way so that I can start enjoying the car with my family!
Cheers,
Ryan
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jrs396 (06-02-2024)
06-03-2024, 10:27 AM
#162
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iTrader: (27)
Thanks man, I'm getting very close now. I can't wait to get take them out for the first time. I placed an order for some seatbelts and other misc. parts, so I'm hoping sometime over the next few weeks I can get those installed and we can take a legitimate drive to a Cars and Coffee!
Thanks FedEx...
By some miracle everything was still in the box. Really have no idea how that happened since there were small pieces in there.
Next was getting the spare tire well installed for good. I thought that it was going to be a pretty quick job, but I was quite wrong as usual. Here's what I started with. The tub is in great shape, but the flange that gets spot welded to the body left a lot to be desired. Overall it was worth saving though. Here's what I started with.
The sides were in the worst condition and Golden Star sells the new sides, so I grabbed that kit to make my life easier.
Carefully stripped off the rusted pieces and cleaned up the flanges.
I cut off the front right flange as it was too far gone and just needed to cut out. I used the piece I cut off as a template for some new metal. I'm still working on my welding position and feel for the TIG welder, but I'm starting to get better. I dipped it a few times in part because of the shape of this piece I was welding out of position and because it was late at night, I couldn't sharpen anymore. My gaps were tight enough that in some spots I didn't need to add filler.
Next up was test fitting the panels. I took some mental notes on how the original pieces were installed so that I could replicate it with the new panels.
I had to make some minor adjustments, but the the first test fit went fantastic. One tip I'd give is to measure the opening on the car first, then make sure it was slightly narrower so it fit into the groove. That's the only adjustment I needed to make before I put it back in.
Fully welded now, with spot weld holes drilled.
I cleaned up all the surface rust and sprayed it with rustoleum paint. For anyone that hasn't used those Turbo Cans, you have to try them. They work so well and lay down very even coats. Must have for large flat areas.
Once I was happy with the fitment, I burned it in. I probably should have done this a long time ago, but some strategically placed welding blankets saved the wheel well covers and glass.
I wire brushed the spot welds and topped off with some flat black. I need to come back with some seam sealer and it will be a done deal.
The last piece of sheet metal work that needs to be done is the lower filler panel that goes under the rear tailgate. I'll have to pull the tailgate off, so I've been putting it off. That's why the red weldthrough primer is still there and not sprayed black. Once the tailgate and bumper are off, it shouldn't take much to get it cut out and installed again. But that is for another day since I want to drive this car!
The last piece that I installed on the car was the rear liftgate garnish moulding. I haven't installed it because it requires an odd size screw 12-24 machine screw. Luckily the local hardware store had a few in stock, so I was able to buy what they had and at the very least install it so it wasn't kicking around the garage to get damaged. Needs to be cleaned up and painted at some point too.
Back in November my wife and I commissioned a house to be built, and we are hoping to receive the Certificate of Occupancy this week. Assuming that happens my next few weekends will be moving boxes, unpacking, hanging pictures, and etc. So it's very likely that there will be little to no progress on the car. That said, between now and the end of the week, I'd really like to get the rear seats dyed, carpet laid down and seatbelts installed. Time will tell if I can get those things done!
Cheers,
Ryan
Thanks FedEx...
By some miracle everything was still in the box. Really have no idea how that happened since there were small pieces in there.
Next was getting the spare tire well installed for good. I thought that it was going to be a pretty quick job, but I was quite wrong as usual. Here's what I started with. The tub is in great shape, but the flange that gets spot welded to the body left a lot to be desired. Overall it was worth saving though. Here's what I started with.
The sides were in the worst condition and Golden Star sells the new sides, so I grabbed that kit to make my life easier.
Carefully stripped off the rusted pieces and cleaned up the flanges.
I cut off the front right flange as it was too far gone and just needed to cut out. I used the piece I cut off as a template for some new metal. I'm still working on my welding position and feel for the TIG welder, but I'm starting to get better. I dipped it a few times in part because of the shape of this piece I was welding out of position and because it was late at night, I couldn't sharpen anymore. My gaps were tight enough that in some spots I didn't need to add filler.
Next up was test fitting the panels. I took some mental notes on how the original pieces were installed so that I could replicate it with the new panels.
I had to make some minor adjustments, but the the first test fit went fantastic. One tip I'd give is to measure the opening on the car first, then make sure it was slightly narrower so it fit into the groove. That's the only adjustment I needed to make before I put it back in.
Fully welded now, with spot weld holes drilled.
I cleaned up all the surface rust and sprayed it with rustoleum paint. For anyone that hasn't used those Turbo Cans, you have to try them. They work so well and lay down very even coats. Must have for large flat areas.
Once I was happy with the fitment, I burned it in. I probably should have done this a long time ago, but some strategically placed welding blankets saved the wheel well covers and glass.
I wire brushed the spot welds and topped off with some flat black. I need to come back with some seam sealer and it will be a done deal.
The last piece of sheet metal work that needs to be done is the lower filler panel that goes under the rear tailgate. I'll have to pull the tailgate off, so I've been putting it off. That's why the red weldthrough primer is still there and not sprayed black. Once the tailgate and bumper are off, it shouldn't take much to get it cut out and installed again. But that is for another day since I want to drive this car!
The last piece that I installed on the car was the rear liftgate garnish moulding. I haven't installed it because it requires an odd size screw 12-24 machine screw. Luckily the local hardware store had a few in stock, so I was able to buy what they had and at the very least install it so it wasn't kicking around the garage to get damaged. Needs to be cleaned up and painted at some point too.
Back in November my wife and I commissioned a house to be built, and we are hoping to receive the Certificate of Occupancy this week. Assuming that happens my next few weekends will be moving boxes, unpacking, hanging pictures, and etc. So it's very likely that there will be little to no progress on the car. That said, between now and the end of the week, I'd really like to get the rear seats dyed, carpet laid down and seatbelts installed. Time will tell if I can get those things done!
Cheers,
Ryan
06-03-2024, 04:07 PM
#163
On The Tree
That's on Jegs not FedEx. Their tape machine was running too dry or something that tape should fail before the tape just becomes unstuck. You should thank FedEx for not dumping the poorly taped contents.
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ryeguy2006a (06-04-2024)
07-05-2024, 08:39 AM
#164
TECH Fanatic
Thread Starter
iTrader: (27)
The last month has been pretty busy for my family, but things are starting to settle down now. Before we completely moved out of our old house I was able to get the back seats dyed and reinstalled. I'm really happy with how they turned out. These seats were the last of my mis-matched interior parts!
After one light coat
Second medium coat.
I sprayed on another two coats, then moved onto the seat bottom and support rod.
I let them dry for a few days before I handled them, although they were dry to the touch within about 30 minutes. Then it was time to get them installed in the car. With the move only days away, the best place for them to continue to dry was installed in the car. Huge transformation!!
Then I couldn't help myself and quickly installed one of the rear interior panels. I love how that interior turned out. Can't wait to get all of the chrome polished up and installed. Will completely change the look.
Before I knew it moving day arrived! Our new house is only about 10 minutes away from the old house, so I loaded up the Nomad with a bunch of parts and bins. Coolest moving truck ever!
The new garage is 2' wider and deeper than my old garage which is noticeably larger. Oh and since I had some input on the garage, I upgraded the outlets from 1 single in the old garage, to 7 20 amp 110v and a single 50 amp 220v
. One of the reasons that we moved was to have more space around our house and have a much bigger yard. We accomplished all of those with the new house and as a bonus, there is enough room to install a nice detached garage someday in the future.
Got the place more organized and was able to tuck the car into it's new parking spot!
That brings me up to this weekend. I'm finally over the hump for installing shelves, pictures, painting and etc. to get some time to work on the car. I ordered some alignment plates and caster/camber gauges online and will attempt to put a rough alignment on the car. I called around to several shops and they weren't interested in working on a car this old. Huh... I should be able to get it pretty close. My initial measurements were the car was toed out 1"! That would explain why it pulled so hard to the right. Should be quite a bit better now. Also while I was under the car I found my front shocks are blown out. Got some work to do before this weekends Cars and Coffee! Oh and Happy Independence Day!
Cheers,
Ryan
After one light coat
Second medium coat.
I sprayed on another two coats, then moved onto the seat bottom and support rod.
I let them dry for a few days before I handled them, although they were dry to the touch within about 30 minutes. Then it was time to get them installed in the car. With the move only days away, the best place for them to continue to dry was installed in the car. Huge transformation!!
Then I couldn't help myself and quickly installed one of the rear interior panels. I love how that interior turned out. Can't wait to get all of the chrome polished up and installed. Will completely change the look.
Before I knew it moving day arrived! Our new house is only about 10 minutes away from the old house, so I loaded up the Nomad with a bunch of parts and bins. Coolest moving truck ever!
The new garage is 2' wider and deeper than my old garage which is noticeably larger. Oh and since I had some input on the garage, I upgraded the outlets from 1 single in the old garage, to 7 20 amp 110v and a single 50 amp 220v
. One of the reasons that we moved was to have more space around our house and have a much bigger yard. We accomplished all of those with the new house and as a bonus, there is enough room to install a nice detached garage someday in the future.Got the place more organized and was able to tuck the car into it's new parking spot!
That brings me up to this weekend. I'm finally over the hump for installing shelves, pictures, painting and etc. to get some time to work on the car. I ordered some alignment plates and caster/camber gauges online and will attempt to put a rough alignment on the car. I called around to several shops and they weren't interested in working on a car this old. Huh... I should be able to get it pretty close. My initial measurements were the car was toed out 1"! That would explain why it pulled so hard to the right. Should be quite a bit better now. Also while I was under the car I found my front shocks are blown out. Got some work to do before this weekends Cars and Coffee! Oh and Happy Independence Day!
Cheers,
Ryan
Last edited by ryeguy2006a; 07-05-2024 at 09:12 AM.
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07-08-2024, 12:46 PM
#166
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Thread Starter
iTrader: (27)
Not yet, but it's in the shopping cart along with a billet wheel turbo. 
Picking up where I left off, the steering links had been replaced at some point, but it must have been a while because the adjusters were pretty stubborn. It took a lot of heat and penetrating oil, but they finally freed up and allowed me to get the toe set. My initial reading was 1" toe out! Yikes. That would explain why it was pulling so badly, but honestly I'm surprised that it drove as well as it did. I set the toe in to about 1/16" as a baseline to see how that would be. Took the car out on my lunchbreak and it was amazing how much lighter the steering was. It still pulled slightly to the right, but was 90% better.
My goal is to get all of the factory gauges to operate, so I'm going to try out the 3 wire temp sensor. I ran the wires inside the car and the next time I have my gauges out I'll wire it up.
It's a little thing, but I found a guy online who sells keychains in the profile of your car so I reached out. At the time he didn't have one for a '55 Nomad, but about a month later he sent a message that it was complete. I placed an order the same day. Turned out great!
I've put quite a few short trips on the car now, and wanted to take it on a longer trip about 30 mins away to the Cars and Coffee in Charlottesville. I've been driving it around with no rear shocks because I was too lazy to repair the broken stud on the passenger side, but finally bit the bullet. Really didn't take that long and installed the new shocks. I didn't get any pictures, but I also found out the front shocks were completely blown out so I swapped those out two for a pair of new shocks. It was a late night and working early in the morning to get it all done, but now has a complete suspension and decent alignment.
New shock stud.
I worked right up until the time that I left for the C&C cruise in, and was immediately impressed with how much better it handled even without a sway bar. Very happy camper! It's hard to see in the picture, but I got a premium spot right next to a very cool original paint '57 hardtop Bel-Air. I parked the car and there was an almost immediate crowd around the car, but I had to get some breakfast but turned to snap this picture. Pretty cool it got that much attention.
That was one of the largest Cars and Coffee's that I'd seen at that location. Lots of cool JDM cars showed up too. One was a legit '99 GTR fresh from Japan! I've always loved those cars and this was the first time I'd gotten to see one in person. Really cool. And I LOVE the color of the NSX in the pictures.
Really great show and got to talk with a bunch of cool people. It's funny how the LS swaps really aren't impressive anymore, but again the #1 question I received was what brake booster I was running. People had a hard time comprehending a Tesla brake booster on a Bel-air haha.
My boys have been really excited to get a chance to ride in the car, so Sunday morning I decided it was time to break out the carpet and see if I could make it happen. I laid out the carpet in the sunshine for a few hours, as I got the front seat pulled out to prepare for installation. Took a little while to get it exactly where I wanted it, but the ACC carpet was a really nice fit overall. I've only ever used a one piece carpet, but the multiple pieces actually helped with fitment to give you more wiggle room. Huge added bonus was the carpet came with a thick jute backing which I didn't think was part of this kit. It was about 95* installing the carpet, so I really didn't grab many pictures.
Once I was happy with the placement of the carpet, I started marking the holes for drilling. I drilled the first hole and it pulled some of the thread with it, and was immediately upset. Then I remembered one of the car shows I watched mentioned using a soldering iron to melt a hole rather than drilling and it worked AMAZINGLY well. I did the rest of the holes that way and won't ever drill again.
Next up was test fitting the rear seatbelts. I ended up going with a 60" for the rear and 74" for the front. Gave me the perfect amount of slack both front and rear. It took me a few minutes to figure out where I wanted to drill the holes, but once I got on a roll it went pretty quickly. I used some of the Allstar plates on the bottom side for extra protection.
I used the booster seats for mock up and the fit great. I installed 3 pairs of seat belts so I can always take a 5th passenger. I got rolling and forgot to install the middle seatbelt in the front, but I do have one that I can install fairly quickly since I'll use the same holes for the inner lap belts.
I would have liked to install them under the seat more, but there's a crossmember under the pan and that's as far forward as I could go.
I bought this blanket when I was 16 in Mexico, and found a perfect use for it! I'll run like this until I buy a new seat cover down the road. Or maybe I won't I do like the way it looks haha.
I was able to finish just in time for dinner and then we all went to get some ice cream for dessert. Took the long way home for about a 35 mile drive. It cruises so nicely down the highway, and took it up to about 75 at one point to pass a car. Passed the test and performed flawlessly, with one exception which was the transmission temperature was slowly creeping up as we drove along. A few months ago I bypassed the cooler as a temporary measure to get it running/driving and not leaking. I only need two fittings to plumb in the cooler, so I'll be placing an order at some point this week. I'm really pleased with the car overall and has come such a long way since I bought it not quite 2 years ago.
Cheers,
Ryan
Picking up where I left off, the steering links had been replaced at some point, but it must have been a while because the adjusters were pretty stubborn. It took a lot of heat and penetrating oil, but they finally freed up and allowed me to get the toe set. My initial reading was 1" toe out! Yikes. That would explain why it was pulling so badly, but honestly I'm surprised that it drove as well as it did. I set the toe in to about 1/16" as a baseline to see how that would be. Took the car out on my lunchbreak and it was amazing how much lighter the steering was. It still pulled slightly to the right, but was 90% better.
My goal is to get all of the factory gauges to operate, so I'm going to try out the 3 wire temp sensor. I ran the wires inside the car and the next time I have my gauges out I'll wire it up.
It's a little thing, but I found a guy online who sells keychains in the profile of your car so I reached out. At the time he didn't have one for a '55 Nomad, but about a month later he sent a message that it was complete. I placed an order the same day. Turned out great!
I've put quite a few short trips on the car now, and wanted to take it on a longer trip about 30 mins away to the Cars and Coffee in Charlottesville. I've been driving it around with no rear shocks because I was too lazy to repair the broken stud on the passenger side, but finally bit the bullet. Really didn't take that long and installed the new shocks. I didn't get any pictures, but I also found out the front shocks were completely blown out so I swapped those out two for a pair of new shocks. It was a late night and working early in the morning to get it all done, but now has a complete suspension and decent alignment.
New shock stud.
I worked right up until the time that I left for the C&C cruise in, and was immediately impressed with how much better it handled even without a sway bar. Very happy camper! It's hard to see in the picture, but I got a premium spot right next to a very cool original paint '57 hardtop Bel-Air. I parked the car and there was an almost immediate crowd around the car, but I had to get some breakfast but turned to snap this picture. Pretty cool it got that much attention.
That was one of the largest Cars and Coffee's that I'd seen at that location. Lots of cool JDM cars showed up too. One was a legit '99 GTR fresh from Japan! I've always loved those cars and this was the first time I'd gotten to see one in person. Really cool. And I LOVE the color of the NSX in the pictures.
Really great show and got to talk with a bunch of cool people. It's funny how the LS swaps really aren't impressive anymore, but again the #1 question I received was what brake booster I was running. People had a hard time comprehending a Tesla brake booster on a Bel-air haha.
My boys have been really excited to get a chance to ride in the car, so Sunday morning I decided it was time to break out the carpet and see if I could make it happen. I laid out the carpet in the sunshine for a few hours, as I got the front seat pulled out to prepare for installation. Took a little while to get it exactly where I wanted it, but the ACC carpet was a really nice fit overall. I've only ever used a one piece carpet, but the multiple pieces actually helped with fitment to give you more wiggle room. Huge added bonus was the carpet came with a thick jute backing which I didn't think was part of this kit. It was about 95* installing the carpet, so I really didn't grab many pictures.
Once I was happy with the placement of the carpet, I started marking the holes for drilling. I drilled the first hole and it pulled some of the thread with it, and was immediately upset. Then I remembered one of the car shows I watched mentioned using a soldering iron to melt a hole rather than drilling and it worked AMAZINGLY well. I did the rest of the holes that way and won't ever drill again.
Next up was test fitting the rear seatbelts. I ended up going with a 60" for the rear and 74" for the front. Gave me the perfect amount of slack both front and rear. It took me a few minutes to figure out where I wanted to drill the holes, but once I got on a roll it went pretty quickly. I used some of the Allstar plates on the bottom side for extra protection.
I used the booster seats for mock up and the fit great. I installed 3 pairs of seat belts so I can always take a 5th passenger. I got rolling and forgot to install the middle seatbelt in the front, but I do have one that I can install fairly quickly since I'll use the same holes for the inner lap belts.
I would have liked to install them under the seat more, but there's a crossmember under the pan and that's as far forward as I could go.
I bought this blanket when I was 16 in Mexico, and found a perfect use for it! I'll run like this until I buy a new seat cover down the road. Or maybe I won't I do like the way it looks haha.
I was able to finish just in time for dinner and then we all went to get some ice cream for dessert. Took the long way home for about a 35 mile drive. It cruises so nicely down the highway, and took it up to about 75 at one point to pass a car. Passed the test and performed flawlessly, with one exception which was the transmission temperature was slowly creeping up as we drove along. A few months ago I bypassed the cooler as a temporary measure to get it running/driving and not leaking. I only need two fittings to plumb in the cooler, so I'll be placing an order at some point this week. I'm really pleased with the car overall and has come such a long way since I bought it not quite 2 years ago.
Cheers,
Ryan
07-08-2024, 03:31 PM
#167
It’s nice seeing your progress Ryan. I wish I had your desire.
07-17-2024, 01:50 PM
#169
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Thread Starter
iTrader: (27)
I really debated back and forth on what to do about my gauges on the car. My first thought was mounting one of the Holley 6.86" Pro Dashes in the stock opening. They are super functional and customizable, but quickly came to the conclusion that it doesn't fit well with the vibe I'm going for. Next was possibly one of the RTX gauges from Dakota Digital, but didn't really want to fork over that much cash right now. By then I narrowed it down to using the stock gauge cluster with fuel, engine temp and speedometer. Fuel was easy since I used a stock tank and sender. Engine temps should work fine using the 98 Camaro 3 wire temp sensor, but the tricky part was getting my factory cable driven speedo to work with the 4L80e. My choices were either the Dakota Digital cable box that drives the cable using the VSS signal from the transmission or a mechanical tail shaft conversion. After talking with quite a few people and reading on the forums, I decided against the DD box in favor of the tail shaft conversion. There were several manufacturer's out there, but the one that I went with had the best price and his service has been outstanding. I went with http://t56cablespeedometer.com/, and have been very pleased.
The process was very straightforward. Remove the current tailshaft housing, install the drive gear adapter on the output shaft, then reinstall the modified housing. The hardest part was waiting for the Loctite to dry haha.
Dan recommends putting Loctite on the set screws and letting it dry 24 hours. At 24 hours and 1 minute I was installing the modified tailshaft housing. I was able to get it swapped out in time to go to the C&C in my town, so it was a pretty quick drive. Got up to 65 mph and it worked great and just as accurate as my Holley speed output. Love having the original Speedometer working. Just need to hook up the wires for my temp sensor and I'll be in business. Once I dial in the tune for the car I'll put the 3.5" screen in the glove box.
In total cruising around this past weekend I have about 45 miles on the car since my odometer now works. I'm excited to see how many miles I can put on the car this year. Might be time to change the plugs and dial in the tune!
Cheers,
Ryan
The process was very straightforward. Remove the current tailshaft housing, install the drive gear adapter on the output shaft, then reinstall the modified housing. The hardest part was waiting for the Loctite to dry haha.
Dan recommends putting Loctite on the set screws and letting it dry 24 hours. At 24 hours and 1 minute I was installing the modified tailshaft housing. I was able to get it swapped out in time to go to the C&C in my town, so it was a pretty quick drive. Got up to 65 mph and it worked great and just as accurate as my Holley speed output. Love having the original Speedometer working. Just need to hook up the wires for my temp sensor and I'll be in business. Once I dial in the tune for the car I'll put the 3.5" screen in the glove box.
In total cruising around this past weekend I have about 45 miles on the car since my odometer now works. I'm excited to see how many miles I can put on the car this year. Might be time to change the plugs and dial in the tune!
Cheers,
Ryan
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07-17-2024, 08:45 PM
#170
Launching!
Man this thing is just cool! I’ve loved following this build and the car is turning out awesome!
kudos!! And excited to see it all “wrap” up. Cause I mean are we ever done? Lol
kudos!! And excited to see it all “wrap” up. Cause I mean are we ever done? Lol
07-18-2024, 10:55 AM
#171
TECH Fanatic
Thread Starter
iTrader: (27)
Thanks man, I appreciate it! I love how this car turned out and can't wait to keep improving it and making it better. My main focus was getting the car back on the road to go on drives with my family. I love getting out and exploring back roads. It was pretty cool because at separate times everyone in my family said that they love riding in my Nomad way more than they ever did in my Camaro. The Camaro ended up being more of a track type car than a cruiser. It had a stiff ride, was loud and way more cramped.