Tom Petty once wrote a song called ‘The Waiting is the Hardest Part’.
There isn’t a car guy around who hasn’t sung that song when it comes to chasing a car purchase from a reluctant owner.
Jerry Suterland
Stew Edey was that guy when he rebuilt a 327 for a 1956 Chevy Nomad back in 1994. He liked the car and the owner, so Stu stated working the owner to sell him the Nomad.
Stew knew it would be a long wait because the Nomad was the guy’s summer driver. It was used for every road trip and most of them were hundreds—if not thousands of miles.
The day did come decades later when the owner told Stu the car was finally for sale. He’d gone through some personal changes in his life, so the Nomad was finally on the selling block.
Stu jumped on the deal but they both agreed that the car should go on a farewell tour with the previous owner at the wheel. The car had so many memories for him it seemed like the right thing to do.
The Nomad is in Stu’s hands now and he has a simple game plan—leave it exactly the same way it was when he bought it. That meant he would keep the Nomad intact and untouched. The only thing Stu didn’t keep was the ride height—he didn’t like looking at the road to determine if he was going to rip an oil pan off on a speed bump.
Stu said he preferred to look over—not beside–the classic hood of a ’56 Nomad, so he fixed the problem. The springs were cut and there was a 2” drop spindle so Stu replaced what he had to and raised the ride height. He may bump it up a little more just to be satisfied.
This is a well-used road warrior because it shows all the scars from all the miles over the years. There are 97,000 miles on it since the rebuild, but Stu isn’t worried because the previous owner was big on preventative maintenance, so he’s not concerned about the 327, the 350 transmission, or the 8 ½ -inch 3:08 rear end.
Stu has owned some high-end cars over the years, but this Nomad is his favorite because he doesn’t have to worry about a 50,000-dollar paint job. This is a car that’s seen it all and more and it wears the scars to prove it, so Stu doesn’t see any need to fix the paint. Every mark is a badge of honor because the heritage of this car is its biggest asset.
He knows the Nomad’s history is what makes it unique, and his goal is to be the best caretaker he can be for this Nomad, so new paint isn’t in its future. That would unwind every story this car has—Stu recognizes that, so he summed it up this way.
I feel pretty lucky to own it.
Stew Edey
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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