eBay find of the day: $700k Chevy Nomad
How many hours does it take to turn a 1955 Chevy Nomad into the award-winning Chevy "Newmad"? 22,000 hours. Yes, you read that correctly. One Newmad equals 84 Rolls-Royce Phantoms.
The Newmad began its life as the first generation Nomad, the halo model wagon derived from the Motorama Corvette of 1953-54. Whizbang hotrod designer Chris Ito was commissioned by a Phoenix couple to pen the redesign, and after fixing the shape, the aforementioned 22,000 hours of elbow grease were put in at Steve's Auto Restorations in Portland, Oregon. The word "custom" barely begins to describe it. The chassis was created specifically for the car, the suspension is from a 2000 Corvette, the body's been lengthened, the sheet metal was created by hand, and all of the glass is one-off. The interior pulls from almost every marque known, including a Mercury Marauder cowl, Lexus seats, Jaguar interior door handles, and Porsche window switches. Oh, and the leather is custom as well. The package is powered by a 500 cubic inch aluminum big block with a 4L80E transmission. And thanks to eBay, the Newmad can be yours for the Buy It Now price of $695,000. Which is a bargain, really -- that's only 1.5 Phantoms. (You can read the full story of the Newmad here.)
[Source: eBay]
_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
aman 3:12PM (6/09/2007)
(Heart attack) (heart attack), (asthma attack)(asthma attack). ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
$700,000! seven hundred thousand dollars! you can buy a Saleen S7 with that money!
Reply
iOrange 3:16PM (6/09/2007)
I will take the nomad... pure sickness.
HotRodzNKustoms 11:22PM (6/09/2007)
It would take $2,200,000 (22,000hr. x $100) in labor alone to recreate this car. That's assuming you can find someone with that kind of talent that worked for only $100 a hour and trust me that's cheap for a custom hot rod shop with this kind of talent these days.
mxrz 3:37PM (6/09/2007)
That's absolutely badass, and I'm not a fan of American cars from that era...
Reply
chris 9:00PM (6/09/2007)
I'm the same mxrz, this kind of car is usually the last kind of car I'd ever care about, but this thing is pretty damn awesome. The price does seem a little over the top though, but this probably was a huge amount of work so I guess I can understand.
robz4 3:41PM (6/09/2007)
Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,.....Wait a second...You said $695,000 ? ...Ha, ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ah,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha.
Reply
cowboy bob 4:05PM (6/09/2007)
These people obviously think this is great fun. There can be no realistic belief that anyone would pay a quarter of this price, let alone the whole amount. This is just some people with too much money showing off, and having a (for them) good joke. Piety them for having all that money, and no life.
Reply
Solo Racer 4:12PM (6/09/2007)
I'd rather have an un-molested Nomad, but as ultra customs go, this one's easy on the eyes.
Reply
MIKE 4:38PM (6/09/2007)
so 1 rolls royce phantom goes for $8333.34?? where do i sign up??
$700,000/84 = $8,333.34......hmmmm
Reply
Jaymez 4:54PM (6/09/2007)
No, it takes 8,000 hours to build a Phantom. Apparently, the Phanotm costs around 400,000.
Sean 2:37PM (6/10/2007)
No, it takes 8,000 hours to build a Phantom.
Check your math, Jaymez. 22,000 hours/84=261.9 or so hours to build a Phantom.
Just sayin'...
Steve 12:32PM (6/10/2007)
I saw this car in person, and ITS IS BAD ASS! but i dont think its worth 700K, but to someone it might be. Clean Nomads are hard to find...and this one is on the top for sure.
Reply
rj 4:44PM (6/09/2007)
After restoring a nomad, I dont see 700k as being totally unreasonable for such a custom car. custom glass, body work, chassis, all one off.
that'll win its new owner a lot of awards, too bad it is too nice to drive.
Reply
Frogwhistle 4:50PM (6/09/2007)
I must say 700K does seem a bit steep for... wait, what's that you say? Porsche window switches? Ooohh, fancy..!
Well, that makes all the difference in the world! A steal at the price, then.
Reply
Jaymez 4:55PM (6/09/2007)
There's no such thing as a car that's too nice to drive. If it's going to be in a museum, it may as well be scrap.
I *hate* museum and trailer-queen cars. I'd drive this bitch til the wheels fell off.
Reply
Harrison 6:09PM (6/09/2007)
Hm... they're serious- buy it now is 700K. I wonder if they'll accept a dented 93 Integra and 100 bucks?
Reply
Jim 8:36PM (6/09/2007)
I wouldn't pay $20,000 for that car.
Reply
That One Person 9:29PM (6/09/2007)
Crazy. Simply crazy. It's cool but not worth THAT much. Maybe $100 - 150k.
I could see this price if it were some one off GM special or it was one of maybe three ever built with some special engine. Muscle cars hold value like none other if they are special (remember the Cuda that went for over a million bucks at Barrett Jackson?). My dad had a 67 Vette (not even a special model) with a 327 cu. in. V-8 with 350hp and a four speed and that could easily go for $70-75k if it were in original condition.
I love Nomads. And this is a nice custom. Some people go too far when it comes to customs.
Reply
Brad 9:57AM (6/10/2007)
So this '55 Nomad has non-Nomad chasis, non-Nomad engine, non-Nomad transmission, non-Nomad interior, non-Nomad body panels, and non-Nomad glass. Reminds me of my grandfather saying he owned the same axe for 40 years. He only had to change the handle three times and the head twice. It's a pretty car for sure, but it's sure not much of a '55 Nomad.
Reply
John 9:54PM (6/09/2007)
Hey it is less than $32 an hour. Pretty good labor rate if you ask me.
Reply