Each month Rod Authority has the privilege to present some of the most beautiful world-class customs. Not only do we have the opportunity to report on these spectacular creations, it also allows us the pleasure of meeting the people behind the builds. There is usually an intriguing story and history behind each car. The background that lead to the three year build of Fred DeFalco’s immaculate 1957 Nomad at Dana Manier’s, The 401K Club Hot Rod Shop in Anaheim, CA is no exception.

"Midnight Nomad" At A Glance

• Owner: Fred DeFalco – Anaheim Hills, CA
• Build: Dana Manier’s – The 401K Club Hot Rod
• Engine: Chevrolet LS-1 350ci
• Front Engine Assembly: Billet Specialties – Tru Trac
• Transmission: GM – 4L65 Automatic
• Differential: GM 10 Bolt, Posi-traction with a 3.73 gear ratio
• Brakes: ABS Electric 4-Piston Disc, 12 inch front/11 inch rear rotors
• Suspension: CPP – Tubular Control Arms
• Shocks: QA1 – Coilovers
• Interior: Ron Mangus Custom Hot Rod Interiors
• Plating: Sihilling Metal Polish
• Wheels: Budnik Wheels – 16-inch front/18-inch rear
• Tires: Kumho
• Paint: DuPont – Cobalt Black
• Exhaust: MagnaFlow

The 401K Club

The name originated with Dana, convincing his father, John Manier, to take a portion of the money from his retirement fund and re-invest it in a custom car restoration. The result of diversifying his investments produced a restored, custom ’56 Nomad and a 500% profit. The car was sold ten years after it was completed, pretty sound investing. The monetary gain doesn’t include the fun and camaraderie that father and son enjoyed while building the car and then showing it at many of Southern California’s events. Dana also mentioned, “the time we spent together was priceless”. Through the build he’d convinced his father, who is now passed, that a restored hot rod should be a part of anyone’s investment portfolio.

Both Dana and Fred shared separate but very successful careers in the Southern California real estate industry. Fred was a general contractor and superintendent of high-rise projects while Dana focused primarily in sales and investment properties. Dana saw the housing market starting to slow in 2005 and returned to his first love, hot rods. He opened his now, very successful, The 401K Club Hot Rod Shop in January of 2006.

The So Cal Connection

It took three years to complete the ’57 Midnight Nomad build, but the car’s genesis dates back more than thirty years. Both owner and builder are Southern California native’s and grew up around the local car culture. Their passion for cars had always paralleled and eventually they intersected at a local car show where Dana and his father were showing their ’56 Nomad, “investment” car. Fred DeFalco also had a car entered in the show. As so often happens, people meet, interact through a common cause or hobby, and then life takes them in different directions. Many years later Fred DeFalco’s and Dana Manier’s reunion resulted in this luminous, Cobalt Black, ’57 dubbed “Midnight Nomad.”

The Build is On – My Way

Dana originally purchased the ’57, “It was in a thousand pieces when I first saw it four years ago,” Fred recalls. Eventually, Dana convinced Fred to purchase the project and have his shop restore and customize it.

This is Fred’s sixth custom hot rod build and this time he wanted everything done exactly to his style and taste; simple, clean, low, sleek, smooth, with very subtle but extensive customizing. Together with Brent Karlsson, master fabricator, painter, and designer, Fred’s vision came to fruition.

Devil is in the Detail – The Front of the Nomad

At first glance, the meticulously prepared exterior of the Nomad appears to be an excellent frame off and stock restoration. As they say, looks can be deceiving, and that’s definitely the case here. Unless you are an expert on ’57 Chevrolet Nomad’s, you’ll likely miss a lot of the subtle but very extensive customizations. The fantastic metal fabrication throughout this project was done by Brent Karlsson, to his usual exacting standards and very tight tolerances.

The bumper is all one piece–custom hand crafted, polished, and chromed steel. It has been crafted for snug fit and has been shortened so it tucks in very tightly to the body. Next and also, ever so subtle, the ‘Chevron’ emblem on the front of the hood has been opened to relax the angle. Again, this modification was done to maintain the Nomad’s sleek look. Probably the most obvious change was done to the hood. All of the factory stock trim has been removed to give the hood that smooth and clean look. The hood has been extended in the back to minimize any gaps and the corners have been radiused to eliminate any sharp angles in order to achieve a flush fit.

The grille has been blacked out and the driver’s side headlight buckets have been modified to provide improved fresh air intake to the injectors. What’s not visible is the custom air intake box featuring a changeable air filter and custom piping that replaces the stock air tube. There are so many fine details on this build and we’ve only started.

Under The Smooth Custom Hood

For both performance and reliability, a crate Chevrolet LS-1 engine was selected for the Nomad’s powerplant. Hiding the performance engine, is a hand built four piece engine cover that’s both functional and of course sleek, smooth, and clean. The top of the radiused cover extends from the very front of the engine bay to the firewall.

Three functional ’54 Buick port holes have been fabricated into each side of the engine cover to provide heat ventilation for the LS-1. The firewall is also a hand made custom creation of Brent Karlsson.

The front engine components including the drive belt, alternator, and water pump, are a Tru Trac assembly from PPC. There’s also nothing stock about the hood’s polished hinges. They are billet aluminum from Lokar.

All New – Complete Custom Interior

Virtually nothing is stock inside this Nomad and it starts with the hand crafted, one-piece dash. The dash features fabricated AC vents to match the Buick “port-holes” found under the hood. The center of the dash features a classic Chevy truck instrument cluster.

The pedals and door handles are billet aluminum from Lokar as well as the automatic transmission shifter. The steering wheel was taken from a ‘56 Chevrolet model but was downsized in diameter and cleaned up to eliminate the horn ring.

Ron Mangus‘ Custom Hot Rod Interiors created the gorgeous saddle colored leather seats, door panels, console trim, and suede headliner. The console picks up at the bottom of the dash and continues through the back seats. Behind the shifter are electric window switches and the controls for a Kicker Stereo system. A hidden starter button gets this Nomad going.

Behind the back seats is a custom storage compartment that replaces the spare-tire well. The battery has also been relocated to the inside of the rear fender well.

Over, Under, and Back

The rear of “Midnight Nomad” also features some subtle touches. The rear bumper is one piece and has also been narrowed to match the front end. The valance between the tailgate and the bumper has been altered to remove any gaps.

A look under the car reveals the 23 gallon custom aluminum gas tank and the MagnaFlow exhaust system.

Final Thoughts and Observations

Fred DeFalco, the owner of the pristine ’57 Midnight Nomad commented that he’s now faced with a bit of a dilemma. “I’ve always preferred to drive my custom cars but with this one I’m probably going to have to trailer it. I plan to show my Nomad at as many shows as possible around the country. Guess it deserves the protection of a trailer in route.”

If you’re lucky enough to see “Midnight Nomad” in person you’ll be breath taken by all the awesome details that went into this build. Be sure to check out Rod Authority’s photo gallery for additional shots that highlight “Midnight Nomads” subtleties. The cobalt black paint tops off this pristine build. If you catch this Nomad in the sunlight the color’s true shade reveals itself as a deep midnight blue.