NOMADIC LIFESTYLE

DON'T BE FOOLED BY ITS DEMURE APPEARANCE THIS '57 CHEVY NOMAD IS A RAUNCHY RESTOMOD PACKING MODERN MUMBO

- CRAIG PARKER

With a production run of about 6000 units, the '57 Chevy Nomad is the rarest '57 Chev of them all (see sidebar below). So, when it came time to give their treasured longroof a full rebuild, Donna and John McCoy-Lancaster didn't want to start hacking it up.

Instead, they took the restomod route, maintaining their Nomad's timeless styling while making it stop, steer, ride and accelerate infinitely better than it did when new. With three more '57s in their shed, along with a host of other classic and collectible machinery, the duo know what they're on about. Luckily, they had plenty of time to plan the rebuild, as the procurement process of the car they now call COOL took some 20 years.

"After landing in Australia in '78, it had three owners before us," John says of the car. "Doug Clarke to start with, followed by Greg Abrahams. When Greg put it up for sale in '95, we couldn't quite get our finances together and missed out. But we were determined, so we bought a replica Nomad keyring and bided our time."

In 2003, third owner Adam Scard decided to move it on, at which point Donna and John were finally able to secure ownership. Over the next 14 years, the McCoy-Lancasters added a ton of mileage to the odometer. They drove it everywhere: to shows, during club runs and to ferry the kids to school as a cool cruiser loved by all. "We knew it needed a full rebuild," John says, "but we were enjoying driving it too much. Eventually, rust started appearing in interesting places."