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A favorite wagon built to draw attention
In 1954, 2 million Americans showed up for General Motor’s Motorama. There, the Corvette Nomad concept car was the first modern two-door, stylish station wagon shown to the public. The reaction to this new and unique wagon was overwhelming. Chevrolet’s head of styling, Harley Earl, was impressed, and he immediately gathered his designers to convert the design to a Chevy for 1955.
In February 1955, The Chevrolet Nomad was introduced into production. It first sold for about $2,500, making it the most expensive station wagon at that time, but that didn’t slow the public from buying these attractive hardtop-style wagons. The Nomad came with a variety of engines-and power. The 235.5CI six-cylinder put out 123 HP, and the 265CI V-8 was offered with a minimum of 162HP, and the optional four barrel Power-Pak version at 180HP.
Nasser Abo Abdo, owner of the 12-volt giant Audiobahn, Inc., also owns this ’55 Nomad. It obviously holds a special place in his heart, so he’s not letting this oldie go. The Nomad was designed to display Audiobahn manufactured products. In previous years, Abo Abdo spent well over a year to build his favorite of all cars, and then embarked on another vehicle makeover to incorporate further mods that began with the suspension, engine, custom paint and, of course, an incredible sound system.
Olin Designs in Arizona completed the bodywork, and owner Rob Olin and his crew spent a great deal of time cleaning up the 47-year-old dents. To keep things simple, Abo Abdo kept the black background and added a shimmering flame design, which Olin had drawn, laid out and painted. The front and rear bumpers were left original chrome, along with the door handles. The “eyebrow” headlights are stock, as well as the taillights. Sitting at all four corners are 18x8-inch Colorado custom wheels. The flamed wheel formance items, including Magnaflow headers and exhaust, which were treated to a heat-coat finish, plus the addition of a more powerful Optima battery. Concerns for adequate power supply for the Audiobahn sound system also necessitated the incorporation of big-supply wires and four more Optimas mounted under the car to feed power to the amps.
But this car was not designed for all-out street power, just great performance. It was really created to showcase Audiobahn’s audio components, and it does that in spades. Scott Owens of Edge Audio designed and installed the system. The Panasonic deck is housed in the console with an Audiobahn equalizer just below it. When the deck is opened, a screen appears displaying the functions, which include transitional radio along with CD and DVD functions. A monitor installed in the dash, and another in the rear, allows convenient movie viewing. There are four 18-inch Audiobahn subwoofers located in the rear, which were incased in wood, paint and gallons of fiberglass. Every accented piece created by Owens was painted to a smooth shine to give it a custom touch, matching the rest of the vehicle. Two 5 ¼-inch speakers from Audiobahn sit in each door panel, along with two 8-inch speakers in the kick panels. An intricate amplifier rack created from a metal skeleton and layered in wood and fiberglass received paint to match. It houses seven amplifiers to power the enormous subs. This stylish Nomad has been a showcase vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show where it earned a Top Ten Award. It has also been seen at other shows, including the Spring Break Nationals in Florida and the SEMA Show. Look for it at your next show, because it’s worth looking over just for the ideas.
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