For Sale Any love here for a nomad? NOW SOLD

[chodweaver]

Any love on here for a Nomad?

 

 

If this is your mental image, no, not that sort of nomad, this one's considerably less good looking

 

 

Yes, it's a kit car, a Foers Nomad and it’s Faw Sayle.

 

It is based upon a Riley Elf (a Mini to all intents and purposes) but also apparently utilising Landy door handles. To date, I have not found a method of locking said doors. Also, to add to the utilitarian appeal, the doors come off (by design) as they can be lifted off the hinges.

 

 

 

The load cover reveals a useful cargo area. (/marketing drivel)

 

 

 

 

Curiously, the V5 shows its body type to be 'Light 4x4 utility'.

I can confirm that there is no drive to the rear wheels, nor is there provision for such - it's not 4WD, it is front wheel drive.

I have a document detailing a suggested method of completing the Nomad. How rigorously this method was followed when the kit was built is anyone’s guess. But as the document runs to just 7 pages including two pages of diagrams, the builder would have had to be quite switched on to complete it anyway.

Said vehicle is currently not in possession of an MOT. Or indeed a dashboard. There is a floor mat of sorts for the cab, though it is just a flat piece of plywood with rubber matting glued to one side and a gaitor for the gearstick. I CBA to refit it when taking the pics. Soz

 

 

It's not an unfinished build - it has been on the road in the past, possibly from 1984 till 2003 – it had been a project vehicle at a college before my niece purchased it. She took it off the road to replace the dashboard and wiring but this was never completed.

The Riley Elf donor vehicle was originally registered in 1963 and had four owners up to 1976, according to the log book preceding the V5. The V5 shows date of first registration of the Nomad at 1st October 1984, presumably when the kit was completed and received its Q plate, and four former keepers since that date, with the previous owner purchasing it in 2003, and my niece getting her sticky mitts on it in 2010.

My niece is still the owner/registered keeper of this vehicle, though it has resided for the last two years mostly in my garage and more recently under a tarpaulin beneath my kitchen window (fortunately OUTSIDE my kitchen window, but this fact is barely a consolation to Mrs CW who would prefer it not to be on our property at all). The lack of space available to my niece that forced the car’s relocation to Chez Chod, is now an issue at Chez Chod too, so the car is upfersail.

It is mostly painted in blue hammerite. Alas the V5 records it as black/white. The RF60 shows the donor vehicle to have been blue/yellow and to have at first had an 848cc engine, but this has been overwritten with a capacity of 997cc. What is under the bonnet, again, is anyone’s guess. I can’t recognise one capacity A series from another.

 

The cabin maintains a strong connection with its mini roots – it’s small.

 

 

Two seats are provided, origin unknown, one with fabric, one without. Both seats are not bolted to the floor and bolts for these may not be found in the vehicle. They may yet turn up when niece moves house in a few weeks. What will not turn up: the bolts that hold the air filter to the carb.

I am not privvy to the details of its construction, other than it (uncharacteristically for a kit car) does not involve any GRP or fibreglass. It seems to be mostly of steel and is suffering only from surface* rust in some* places.

 

 

There is also use of wood in its construction, both inside the cab and where running boards would be.

 

 

 

I do know it to have a manual gearbox, an engine which is not seized, containing oil I’m not ashamed of, but little or no coolant and a Unipart battery in good health.

 

 

The sum of these items does not however contribute sufficiently to achieve motive power. The engine turns but does not start.

The tank does not smell bad, but the fuel in it must be years rather than months old, so you should draw your own conclusions.

The tyres are most likely not going to pass an MOT, due to age and perishing. None are bald though iirc. I can confirm that none of the brakes are stuck on, having pushed it back and forth prior to taking these pics.

No dashboard is fitted due to niece’s intention to fashion a new dashboard of her own design, utilising the (presumably) original Riley clocks and switchgear. This intention has been realised only insofar as some MDF and Perspex has been cut to some shapes, which have not been fixed together. Holes for switchgear have been made, very neatly it has to be said, with switches now occupying these holes. Some None of the concomitant wiring between this switchgear has been made. The previous dashboard is, I’m told, in the load area.

 

 

 

 

A detailed wiring diagram is not available. Some notes on a jotter pad however, are. As is a Haynes BOL, though I’d quite like to keep that if it’s not required by the next owner.

 

 

 

Some generous coils of wire are hanging from the bulkhead in a hopeful fashion. Some of these are labelled in accordance with the notes shown above. There is also the alternative of refitting the original dashboard, though again the wiring on this is not complete, which is what prompted its removal by niece.

 

Jury rigging has resulted in much jubilation at a starter motor that turns the engine over, and powering of an ignition system, but as stated above, this has not resulted in a running engine.

 

TL:DR: To paraphrase Keymaster's pointed if somewhat caustic assessment of the vehicle: Smoll car. Partly wood. Kind of mini. Bit pick up-y. No electrickery, enjoy making your own loom.

 

I’ve got quite used to having its odd shape gracing my yard and I think I may miss it. I certainly regret not having got it on the road, though I was only charged with storing it until niece had the time to sort it out. Neither of us have done more than two days’ work on it in two years and I have other vehicles crying out for attention that have a much higher priority than this one, so I’m offering it up. With the history behind it that I’ve just discovered going over its log book and V5, I think it would be a shame to scrap it or have it re-raped for its engine. It’s certainly different, not entirely impractical and probably cheap to run once back on the road. I make no promises as to its chances of passing an mot or indeed to the state of its underside, though i have other vehicles with current mots that are dropping iron oxide on the drive at an alarming rate, where this has shed nothing in two years. It will undoubtedly require a lot of work to recommission it and will need to be trailered away. On the other hand, there is not a curve anywhere on the car, so if any welding is required it will not involve forming complicated repair panels.

 

Niece is looking for about £500 for it. Shiter's discount is available. Please feel free to contact me with questions which I will answer to the best of my ability, or for more pics, or just to arrange a visit to marvel at the concept of a mini based landrover pick up kit car/commiserate/laugh at my predicament - all shiters are welcome to come and indulge in tea and biscuits.

[adw1977]

I was hoping for a Morris Nomad!

[chodweaver]

Soz to disappoint! It's got older bits in it than that, but not been out of the UK afaik.

[Eddie Honda]

I was hoping for a Morris Nomad!

Same here!

[bub2006]

Could be just the thing my friend is looking for to replace the reliant Robin. I'll show him this thread tomorrow /later when I see him.

[AMC Rebel]

I was hoping for a Morris Nomad!

I was hoping for a Chevy Nomad for £500

[Bear]

Same guy/company makes Land Rover based oddities - the Ibex. Interesting find!

[Skizzer]

What a fabulous thing. It's a no from me though, soz.

[Mally]

I knew a man who had a nice one That is not it!

I prefer the Hustler, and 4 seats.

There is a market for anything Mini though, just not at my house, GLWS 

[overrun]

I was hoping for a Chevy Nomad for £500

This one covers me.

[ShiteRider]

Seats look like mk2 fiesta XR2 minus head rests.

[5speedracer]

 

 

Could be just the thing my friend is looking for.

 

Only on here would you be likely to see that statement!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

This is a cool thing and 500ZL doesn’t seem expensive at all to me even if you view it as a source of mini engine, box and subframes, which would be a bit tragic. I bet this is a hoot to tank round in and quite useful. Plus using an old kitcar in 2017 defo tells the world you have mental old giffer sensibilities, which can be quite a cool look if deployed carefully.

 

Sounds like the wiring would be a pain in the ar5e but I guess you could make a wiring loom if you were patient, quite an interesting project. I imagine a decent wiring loom is what will make the difference in something like this between a hopeless liability and a usable practical tool.

[cobblers]

There's only about 12 wires TBH, it'd hardly be a mega undertaking

[eddyramrod]

The wiring needn't be an issue.  When I was in Cyprus I bought a complete wiring loom for my A40, from one of several suppliers over here.  Something like that should do the job perfectly.  I can imagine a Mini/Elf basic loom being easily available, and coming with the benefit of a lovely new wiring diagram too.

Whatever's holding back the engine can't be much, I mean come on: it's an A-series!  You can't get much simpler this side of a wheelbarrow!

 

And yes, I was hoping for a 1956 Chevrolet version, but never mind, this could be just as much fun for someone with a shed to work in.

[Fabergé Greggs]

So what's the construction of the chassis/ subframe mounts? What kind of condition are they in?

[chodweaver]

So what's the construction of the chassis/ subframe mounts? What kind of condition are they in?

Bear with me - I'll get a look at them later and try for some pics.

 

Sent from my BV6000 using Tapatalk

[Junkman]

My mental image was actually this:

 

[bub2006]

Spoke to the guy this morning. His words were something along the lines of I'm going to swear at this twatting robin For a few hours then look into q plate insurance. Thanks for the heads up. I'll let you know what the verdict is!

[Uncle Jimmy]

Wasn't the Chevy Nomad known for its propensity to poison it's passengers with exhaust fumes? Something about the rear bodywork caused the exhaust to be sucked back in through vents in the tailgate area.

[Junkman]

Nope.

 

But the Foers Nomad looks like it could kill its occupants in this and many other hilarious ways.

[Mally]

I keep coming back to this thing.

I have no need for it, little space for it, little if any time to spend on it, but I pity it greatly.

It needs a wire brush and hammerite,  a loom, seats, probably ball joints, maybe rear subframe, very likely rear radius arm bushes, CV Boots, shockers, exhaust, tyres, various other odds and sods. Maybe a bit of welding. 

That's providing it runs drives and stops.

Probably take a month of my life as a minimum (I work long hours).

When it's fixed no one will buy it.

It's still a no then, can't justify it to the wife, or anyone else for that matter.

FFS I just paid £600 for an all singing and dancing 75 Tourer with 5 seats and MOT.

If anyone fancies saving it I will contribute £50 to the buying price, (providing it sells for £150 at least).

I may come back to it later................

[dave21478]

The wiring shouldnt be an issue - I am a complete electrotard and even I managed to scratch build a loom for a mini, with modern style fuse box and everything.

[Mally]

What does the V5 say about Body Style and number of seats?

Just wondering if its been converted from a saloon, or whatever they call those with 4 seats and a proper roof.

[Chalkie]

Oh I have one of these. I'm only a few miles from the seller but I'm still trying to get the one I've got back on the road.

The one for sale is converted from a convertible style. It should have a full length hood and a bench seat in the back.

[AlabamaShrimp]

Seats look like mk2 fiesta XR2 minus head rests.

Definitely XR2 seats. Don't know how much they go for now but I don't think they would be cheap

[chodweaver]

What does the V5 say about Body Style and number of seats?

Just wondering if its been converted from a saloon, or whatever they call those with 4 seats and a proper roof.

 

V5 shows body style to be 'Light 4x4 utility' and the field for number of seats is empty. Regarding proper roof, it looks to have a tubular roll bar across the top of the cab. I've taken more pics tonight, but they might not show that. I'll try for that tomorrow.

[chodweaver]

Time for some pics from the underside...

 

Offside rear subframe mount

 

Ditto

 

Rear subframe rear bar

 

O/s radius arm pivot

 

Topside of o/s radius arm, inner wheelarch and handbrake cable

 

Chassis crossmember and o/s radius arm pivot

 

Ditto

 

Ditto

 

Floorpan and crossmember

 

Ditto

[matty879]

stuff like this really floats my boat,shame im skint this next few weeks,i would of liked that.

[chodweaver]

Sorry if some of the pics are a bit poor - Mrs CW took the proper camera out with her this evening, so I had to make do with the phone.

 

There's less detail on the n/s as the car is tight up against a wall on that side. I aim to get it moved out a bit at the weekend and get some better pics of that side.

 

Looking forwards from just in front of the o/s/r wheel

 

O/s/f subframe and some running gear

 

Ditto

 

Inside the rear subframe looking forward

 

...and looking towards the n/s

 

Rear subframe n/s detail and fuel pump

 

N/s/r corner of rear subframe

 

Suspension doughnut, o/s/r

 

Rear mounting of above

 

O/s/r corner of rear subframe

 

O/s radius arm pivot

 

Some of n/s sill

 

O/s/f steering gear and caliper

 

Drivers seat mount

 

Cab floor and seat mounts

 

O/s/f wheel arch needs new rivets or sparkles

 

N/s/r wheel arch showing previous colour

 

N/s/f wheel arch also showing previous colour

 

Previous dashboard. I'm starting to see why niece removed it

 

And some detail on the tyres. I reckon I was wrong about two of them - both rears seem to have no perishing on them. The spare is good. One of the fronts is cracking nicely but doesn't hold air for long anyway. I was trying to get the date codes here in the pics. If you can't make them out, but could decode them if you knew what they said, let me know and I'll write them down and post them up

 

 

 

 

And finally, as Mrs CW has now brought the proper camera back, have the gratuitous pic that she was showing to her friend: of what unchecked dry rot can do to a floor.

 

 

I wish this wasn't my house