Ebay find of the day: $695.000 Chevrolet Newmad

Commissioned by Dave Hall of Phoenix, Arizona, this very special automobile underwent total bottom-up construction taking over 22,000 man-hours to build. The foundation is a totally custom chassis featuring 2000 Corvette suspension, 500 cubic inch aluminum big block engine and 4L80 E transmission. The body is channeled and lengthened. Most of the sheet metal is hand fabricated along with all chrome trim. All glass is custom "one-off". The interior is of selected leathers fashioned by Paul Reichlin, done in-house. The NewMad has been awarded hundreds of accolades and continues to be one of America’s best and well-known custom cars. SAR custom designed engine compartment. Chris Ito designed and Sar fabricated taillights and body panels, SAR designed and fabricated chassis, the top is chopped 3/4" and pancaked 1 1/2". High output sound system, wheels and steering wheel designed by Chris Ito and fabricated by Budnik.

Information: Preservation of key design elements that distinguish the 1955 Nomad from other similar era cars was our primary design objective. These elements included the front fender/side chrome detail, canted ‘B’ and ‘C’ pillars, tailgate chrome strips, rear wheel well openings and horizontal roof ribs. It was determined from the beginning that these design elements would be retained in one shape or form in the final product.

The critical eye will note that the slab sided body, thick roof section, short front fenders and bulbous hood give the original car a „boxy. appearance. Hence the term „shoebox chevy. became synonymous with the tri-five chevy built between 1955 and 1957. To this end a secondary design objective was established to eliminate the „box. from „shoebox..

Of course all of these design elements are what give the Nomad character or what we like to refer to as it.s soul. Without these it would be just another „shoebox..

A melding of these objectives created an integrated design theme that enhances and „contemporizes. the original cars styling. The end result is a reborn .55 Nomad that is. Contemporary. in design, yet maintains the .Classic. styling elements of the original car.

We call our Contemporary Classic, “NewMad”.

BODY:
 Dimensions: Channeled 3” Roof sectioned 1 ½” Pillars chopped ¾” Wheel Base lengthened 3”

 Front Fenders: Wheel openings re-contoured & moved forward 2.5” Fenders extended 2.5” Modified head & parking lamp openings Custom fabricated parking lenses

 Cowl ’64 Mercury Marauder modified ’64 Mercury electric wipers recessed

 Hood Lengthened 3” Hand formed & peaked sheetmetal w/custom inner structure Dodge Stealth hinges w/60# gas struts Custom latch w/internal release

 Firewall Custom hand formed sheetmetal w/custom inner structure Double wall construction for wiring, plumbing & components Hidden brake master cylinder

 Engine Compartment Hand formed inner fender wells Hand formed radiator support Custom air intake w/K&N filters

 Doors Vent windows removed Flush fit to inside trim detail Bear-claw latches added Power windows & locks Custom lower body detail w/recessed trim Radiused corners

 Front Bumper Hand formed custom fabricated Flush fit to body Peaked Center to match grille opening and hood Integrated hand formed body color valance panel Smooth face with hidden fasteners

 Quarter Panels Taillights angled forward Re-shaped wheel openings Custom lower body detail w/recessed trim Hand formed inner fender panels Hidden gas filler behind left tail lamp assembly Hidden battery switch/terminals behind right tail lamp assembly

 Roof Roof skin sectioned 1.5”, shortened 5” A-pillar hand formed, laid back & flushed w/windshield B-pillar hand formed, laid forward and narrowed C-pillar hand formed, laid forward & flushed w/quarter glass Drip rails removed Re-contoured roof ribs swept back to match B & C pillars

 Rocker Panels Hand fabricated w/reverse reveal removed Lengthened 3” Boxed & smoothed

 Lift Gate Hand formed tube frame Custom hinge w/power lift & remote control

 Tail Gate Re-contoured sheet metal, shortened 1” Radiused corners Custom latch, hidden hinges

 Floor Custom hand formed to allow 3” body channel

 Grille Re-contoured opening w/peaked center Custom cast and chromed grill bar and emblem Custom laser cut grille insert mesh

 Rear bumper Hand formed custom fabricated Flush fit to body Custom license & exhaust openings Integrated hand formed body color valance panel Smooth faced hidden w/hidden fasteners

 Glass Windshield – ’64 Mercury, Chopped 1.25”, narrowed 5”, flush fit Door – Custom single piece, hardtop style finish Quarter – Custom one piece, flush fit Lift gate – Custom frame-less one piece

 Trim Window – hand formed, solid brass, chrome plated Belt-line - hand formed, solid brass, chrome plated Lower body – Frenched, polished aluminum insert Grill – hand formed, solid brass, chrome plated Stock headlight bezels modified to flow w/ belt line trim Park light bezel – hand formed, solid brass, chrome plated Custom cast and chrome plated ‘NewMad’ emblems Custom fabricated flush exterior door handles integrated w/ side trim Custom side mirror stanchions integrated w/side trim

 Lighting/Electrical One-off custom rear tail lamp lens/assembly One-off custom parking lamp lens/assembly HID headlamps Custom interior lighting w/fader American Auto Wire Premier fuse panel

 Paint Body – House of Kolor Majestic Blue w/Kandy Cobalt Top – House of Kolor White Pearl

INTERIOR:
 Dash Hand fabricated w/ends integrated into door panels Custom gauge & glove box openings blended to console Leather wrapped w/colored insert Instrumentation - 2001 Cobra instrumentation cluster w/150 mph speedo Custom one off Budnik leather wrapped steering wheel

 Seats Modified Lexus SC400 10 way power seats Hidden aircraft style seat belts Custom hand fabricated rear seat modules

 Door panels Hand formed composite w/integrated armrest & door pull Jaguar XJ8 door handle assembly Custom stainless sills leather wrapped w/SAR logo

 Headliner Hand formed composite material Pleated rear section to match exterior roof ribs Articulating rear left hinge cover

 Console Custom fabricated full-length w/integral front/rear armrests Corvette C-5 Trans shifter Front storage compartment w/ hidden suspension controls Integrated Porsche window switches Hidden access panel for fuse panel

 Cargo Hand formed composite tonneau cover w/chrome accent trim Hidden compartments for amp, speakers and batteries

 Materials Custom dyed two-tone Grey leather throughout Ultra-suede Grey headliner Multi-tone Sahara fine-point square weave carpeting

 Sound System Clarion DRX9255 head Clarion CDC635 six disc CD changer Rear - Sound Stream SP6 6” mid-range speaker Sound Stream SPL 60G 6.5” woofer Front – Sound Stream SP6 6” mid-range speaker w/separate tweeter / cross-overs Hand formed perforated steel speaker grilles Rubicon 550 Watt 5/3 Channel Amp Dyna-mat insulation on all interior surfaces

DRIVE TRAIN:
 Engine 496 Cu In Arias aluminum Big Block Chevy 540 HP, 565 Ft Lb Torque Brodix Oval Port Cylinder Heads w/2.190 intake & 1.880 exhaust valves SCAT crank/rods, Clevite Bearings Comp Cams roller camshaft/lifters SpeedPro Pistons/Rings Jessel Belt Drive March Performance billet surpentine belt system Meizere billet water pump Custom fabricated Hogan TPI intake manifold w/36 lb Accel injectors Arizona Speed & Marine 58mm Throttle Body BDS Custom wiring harness Make Fast Engine Control Module Accel Ignition system Oberg membrane oil filter Power Master gear reduction starter & 120 amp alternator Lokar throttle cable Setrab oil cooler w/Spal fan Custom cast aluminum induction cowl

 Transmission Hughes Performance GM4L80E automatic four speed overdrive HGM Compushift On-Board programmable controller Hughes 2500 stall speed torque converter Setrab trans cooler w/Spal fan

 Cooling System Ron Davis custom aluminum x-flow radiator Dual 16” Spal cooling fans Custom aluminum reservoir and recovery tanks

 Fuel System Custom aluminum 18 gal. Fuel tank Holley in-tank 255 liter/hr fuel pump Inner frame stainless fuel lines Hidden filler neck behind rear tail lamp

 Exhaust System Custom fabricated stainless steel headers w/8 primary tubes Custom fabricated 2.5 inch polished stainless steel exhaust system Spin Tech polished stainless steel mufflers and exhaust tips

CHASSIS:
 Frame 4”x5” custom fabricated rails w/tubular x-members & body mounts

 Suspension Front - Corvette C5 IFS control arms w/Air Ride Shock-Wave suspension Rear - Corvette C5 IRS control arms w/Air Ride Shock-Wave suspension Front/Rear Torsional sway-bars

 Differential Dutchman IRS aluminum housing Strange Engineering 9” center section w/ 3.89 posi & steel billet yoke Custom Dutchman axle w/Porsche CV joint

 Brakes Baer Racing 14” rotors Baer Racing 4 piston calipers Ford Cobra Hydro-boost power master cylinder Stainless/braided lines Lokar parking brake cable

 Steering Narrowed C4 Corvette Rack & Pinion Borgeson Polished Stainless U joints Flaming River custom tilt column

 Wheels/Tires Front – 20”x 8.5” Budnik/Ito One-off / BFG g-Force T/A 255/35ZR20 Rear – 20”x10” Budnik/Ito One-off / BFG g-Force T/A 275/35ZR20

LUXURY FEATURES: Power door locks Speciality Power windows Power lift gate Power disc brakes Power Steering Cruise Control Tilt Steering Column Tinted Glass Air Ride Suspension Vintage Air Automatic climate control Remote opening rear hatch Lexus power seats