In their three years of production, the buying public never really warmed up to Chevrolet’s Luxurious Sport Wagon “experiment.” In total, only 22,375 Nomads were sold for the 1955, 1956, and 1957 model years. It was probably a combination of its high Bel Air trim level price, being too upscale for the typical 2-door workhorse station wagon, and being perceived as not as practical as a traditional 4-door kids and grocery hauler wagon of the 1950’s. It was definitely a niche market, and one that has made them highly collectible for decades with prices continuing to rise. Here’s one of the 7,886 Nomads produced for the 1956 model year that the seller says “has been in a garage that had no heat and no light and was cut off from the world for about 25 years.” Based on the photos, I’d say the dust, cobwebs, and flat tires back up that claim.
The seller says the Dawn Gray/India Ivory two-tone paint combination is original. Looking at the photos, the Nomad’s currently condition looks pretty good. The seller states that all doors open and close properly, including the rear hatch, but that the driver’s side vent window is broken out and the rear hatch has a small dent and the Nomad emblem has a broken piece. Other imperfections noted include the Bel Air emblem on the driver’s rear quarter has a broken piece and there’s body damage on the passenger side rear quarter panel. Although dusty, the glass, chrome, and trim appear to be in good shape based on the photos.
Chevrolet’s sales brochure describes this ’56 Nomad’s interior as “Charcoal gray pattern cloth with Ivory leather-grain vinyl trim.” and also says “The standard Nomad two-tone interior proves Chevrolet wagons are as good looking inside as they are outside!” Bel Air’s had great looking interiors for their day and this one is in very good original condition to be 68 years old. It needs a good cleaning, but I’m not seeing and rips or tears in the seats and it’s not faded. The back seat especially looks like it’s not had a lot of passengers sitting there and the cargo area is also in very good condition.
I wish there were better photographs of the instrument panel. The black steering wheel and gauge cluster looks good, but it appears the glove box door may be missing. It’s hard to tell the condition of the floor and there are no photos or mention of how solid the undercarriage and frame are. The odometer is listed at 70,000 and the seller claims “the brakes work great,” but it’s strange not to mention anything about the Nomad’s running status or show any photos of the engine. It probably left the factory with a 265-cubic inch V-8 paired with a Powerglide automatic transmission. This ’56 Nomad is currently on a trailer in Snohomish, Washington and is for sale here on eBay. As of this writing, the high bid of $20,100 hadn’t met the seller’s reserve. I’d like to know the story behind this old Nomad and what it was doing prior to going into hibernation 25 years ago. Original Nomads in this kind of dusty preserved condition don’t come along very often. Happy bidding!
I could be wrong, but I thought it was “dove” gray, not dawn gray and India Ivory, but I’ve sure been wrong before. Seems a lot of info is missing. I wish people would learn to tell all the story when they list a car for sale. It looks straight enough and it’s a rare enough color combination to attract attention.
Good luck
I thought the gray was primer when I first saw it! If that is actually paint, the 56 trim tag decoder website says it was called “Shadow Gray”.
And I agree — what a great car, yet an absolutely awful sale listing. Where are the engine pics, chassis pics, trim tag pic ??? And the “story” as you say.
If the original drivetrain is all there and the engine compartment looks like the rest of it, then I would probably be having some new domestic problems shortly after this auctions ends, if the car weren’t so far away from me here in NC ….
Correcting myself — I was looking at 55 color names.
56 was indeed “Dawn Gray”. Or it could be “Inca Silver”. Hard to tell as dull as the paint is. But would be so easily answered with a pic of the trim tag.
Good bones. GLWTS.
I wish it was closer I and about thousand of other guys would be interested in it.
Had a my own ’56 Nomad in high school. The local draft board served my number up even before graduation. In boot camp, my father took it upon himself to sell it. Saying I won’t need it anymore. He was certainly wrong! Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve! Still daydream about this car.
@ Fog
Oh, you had one of “those” fathers also? I went to school one day and when I came home my 1956 Cadillac Fleetwood was gone! Ahole didn’t even sell it, he junked it. Didn’t even give me a chance to work on it.
@Angel
I did that with animals kittens and cats. My father would take them faster than I could bring them home. I have 14 last head count here on my acreage. Guess I showed him.
I went to school one day and when I got home my older brothers sold my 62 SS convertible that I was working on. That was around 1976
How come there are no pictures showing up on this car ?
Looks like a great project the bottom of the tail gate on the Nomads rust out but very repairable
39 Pictures on e-bay add including front seat removed and hole in floor and engine pictures with one valve cover removed. Looks like plenty of car hear to restore. Lots of potential.
Dang the seller write up’s are just to bank on…..oh well it’s his first sell.
Was very interested and sent a message through Ebay asking for a return call to arrange having someone close by go and check it out for me as I bought another car in the area and might be able to have them both shipped together.
Never heard back so I guess disinterested seller. Oh well probably for the better don’t want to deal with that type of seller.
Sold with a high bid of $35,300.
Steve R