Mike Dodson got into the car hobby in 1984 and has bought and sold an average of one car a year ever since. He took his wife, Vickie, on their first date in a 1957 Chevy to dance to the 50’s music of Al Nelson’s Band in Fort Worth. Mike won his first show trophy in 1986 at the Super Chevy Sunday event at Green Valley Raceway in Ft Worth with a 1966 Corvette. Then in 1987 the Dodson’s bought their first Classic Chevy, a red and white 1956 Nomad that his brother-in-law Bobby Brown spent five years building. In the intervening years Mike has had 19 Camaros along with many other great cars. Most recently Mike and Vickie enjoyed showing an outstanding 1940 Ford coupe. Then the next project was a 1957 Corvette whose restoration was finished in March 2005. It scored a 994 out of a possible 1000 points at the DACC hosted Lone Star Classic Chevy Convention in May of 2006 and then he sold it in June.

This stunning black and white 1956 Nomad was built from a hopeless looking pile of metal pieces in exactly one year. Mike made a deal to purchase the “bones” during the 2007 Ft Worth Rod and Custom Show and it debuted at the 2008 show as the feature car in the Dallas Area Classic Chevy Club display.

Donny Bright is Mike’s number one man who does a fabulous job at, seemingly all things! And he’s FAST! Donny finished a superior black 1967 Camaro for Mike’s son-in-law Tommy Simmons, in June 2007 and immediately started the Nomad.

The Nomad body and frame were chemically cleaned to bare metal with a dipping process at Metal Rehab in Arlington. Donny painted and assembled the frame and new suspension parts with 2” drop spindles and 4-wheel power disc brakes. The completed frame went to Larry Jenkins who installed and set up the ZZ4 GM crate motor, Tru-Trac front runner system, dual 4-bbl Edelbrock 500 carbs, Doug’s Headers and all the mechanical work.

Meanwhile, Donny was doing the body work on the Nomad. The most monumental task was to realign the roof of the wagon. It had been replaced by a previous owner after a steel beam had crushed it… (Do you think this could have been the Nomad crushed on the TV show “Home Improvement”?) After all the paint and body work was done, Donny realized the driver door just wasn’t “right”. It too had been damaged by the beam and had to be re-skinned and repainted.

The Nomad got all new wiring harness, tail gate strips, Ididit steering column with tilt wheel, Classic Auto Air, and Classic black and white gauges. The original Bel Air stainless trim took 60 hours to polish, and the bumpers were rechromed. Inside the wagon got the original appearance treatment with a complete new original style black and white interior and black carpet. After the body went back on the frame a custom stainless steel exhaust system was installed.

A really special feature of this Nomad is the NOS black steering wheel. Mike’s brother-in-law Bobby Brown, presented him with this steering wheel when he found out this Nomad was going to be black and white. The steering wheel had been under Bobby’s bed ever since he bought it 20 years ago from a Chevy dealer that closed down. It had never been on a car. He was just waiting for the right car that was worthy of it… What a great brother-in-law!!

When Mike Dodson sets out to build a car, you can be assured it will be an eye-popper! He gives credit for being able to have these great cars to all his friends and Bobby who share their knowledge of Classic Chevys, to Donny and Larry for their expertise, and to Vickie for her patience. He takes credit for the detail work and keeping things clean with the help of Tommy and grandsons, Dawson and Brayden Simmons.

Spec Sheet:
Engine: ZZ4 crate motor with Tru-Trac front runner system
Induction: Dual 4-bbl Edelbrock 500 carburetors
Exhaust: Doug's Headers and stainless steel exhaust
Transmission: 700R4 Transmission
Radiator: Be Cool "Show and Go" Aluminum Radiator
Rear end: 12-bolt Mosier posi-track with 3.42 gears
Front End:2" drop spindle
Brakes: 4-wheel power disc brakes
Steering: 500 series power steering gear box
Wheels: 18" Coy wheels
Tires: Nitro steel-belted radials
Frame: Stock, dipped & painted, dropped 2" in back
Body: Stock/smoked glass
Paint: Black-PPG-DBC9700 base with DCU 2202 clear
Body & Paint by: Donny Bright
Seats: Stock black & white
Upholstery: Stock black & white with Black Carpet
Steering: Ididit column with tilt wheel
Gauges: Classic black & white gages
Air Conditioning: Classic Auto Air

 

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