'57 Chevy Four Door Meets '57 Chevy Nomad

If you haven’t figured...        read full caption If you haven’t figured it out by now, Chevy didn’t make an El Camino until the ’59 model year. Paul McNamara made his out of a ’57. Many of the reproduction parts came from Danchuk.

It all started with nomadic...        read full caption It all started with nomadic tendencies.

The detail work in the bed...        read full caption The detail work in the bed is pretty spectacular considering it’s 100 percent custom. The tailgate and hinge assembly was salvaged from a Nomad along with the quarters.

The gut required just two...        read full caption The gut required just two seats, so they might as well be Recaros. Check out the original on-dash rearview mirror and tissue dispenser.

This phantom Elco rides high...        read full caption This phantom Elco rides high on stock suspension—even the brakes are the original four-wheel drums—but the wheels are 15x7 Chevy rallies with flat caps and P215/70R15 treads.

Here’s a tip we liked:...        read full caption Here’s a tip we liked: The Auto Meter tach and shift lights along with the Autogage oil and volt gauges were all hung from the stock sunvisor bracket.

The 454 puts a good hurl to...        read full caption The 454 puts a good hurl to the 3,400-pound Elco, but the 5 mpg with the 4.11 gears keeps the annual mileage down to around 500 on cruises to the famous Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank, California.

As a prop maker for the Hollywood make-believe business, Paul McNamara of Valley Village, California, has become accustomed to making things out of the ordinary. It’s his stock in trade. Yet stock is not how he wanted to rebuild his ’57 Chevy four-door. While trying to figure out what to do with the car, he stumbled upon a badly burned ’57 Nomad. The front was pretty well wasted but the rear survived in better shape. The make-something-out-of-nothing bulb lit up, and soon an unreal El Camino entered the stage.

The bodywork was turned over to Car Body Repair in Burbank, California, where the rear clip of the four-door took a hike and the Nomad rear took its place. The B-pillar was modified to accept a ’58 Chevy station wagon liftgate window for the rear glass, and the bed sheetmetal had to be custom-fabricated along with a stainless-trimmed wooden floor. Once the four-year-ordeal bodywork was prepped, the faux Camino was sprayed Ferrari Red, then turned over to Castor’s in Van Nuys, California, for upholstery. The Recaro seats were covered in red and black naugahyde along with the door panels. Paul finished off the wiring and added Auto Meter gauges and a Classic Sounds stereo.

Paul had been hot-rodding cars since he was 18, so the power for his one-off ’57 would be no exception. Although the suspension was rebuilt like stock, Paul slid a Chevy 454ci big-block between the framerails. Don’s Automotive worked its magic, preparing the heads and the block, fitting 10.0:1 Speed Pro pistons, and Sealed Power rings and bearings. An Isky cam with a 0.510-inch lift and 280-degree advertised duration were installed to work well with the open-chambered heads that were ported, polished, cc’d, and fitted with stainless steel valves and Isky springs. A Milodon timing chain would keep entrances and exits perfected. As they say in the movie business, timing is everything. After adding an Edelbrock Performer intake, a Holley 850 double-pumper, and a Mallory dual-point distributor with MSD wires, the 454 was finished with a set of Moroso valve covers and Hedman headers bolted to an aluminized exhaust system with Flowmaster mufflers. The big-block is backed by a TH400 automatic with a TCI converter and shift kit transferring the power to a Chevy 10-bolt with 4.11 gears.

After nearly four years of blood, sweat, and maybe a few beers with friends Luke DeNitto and Joe Urbanovich who helped him on the project, Paul had his El Camino for real. Although it seemed to take longer than the longest road in California aptly named El Camino Real, the work and the wait were worth it. What was once a Nomad is still a nomad by the fact it can still pick up and go whenever it wants.