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20k Genuine Miles: 1956 Chevrolet Nomad

With a genuine and documented 20,000 miles on the odometer, this 1956 Chevrolet Nomad has the looks that would knock your socks off. The current owner has made some minor changes to the car to improve handling and comfort, but returning it to its completely stock and original state is something that the next owner could literally achieve in a single weekend. This absolutely beautiful Nomad is located in Sarasota, Florida, and is listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has now reached $31,100 in a No Reserve auction. And let me tell you, the bidding has been pretty lively up to this point.

The color combination on the Nomad is one of the things that make the car truly stunning. Matador Red and Dune Beige is one of the better combinations to grace the flanks of a Chevrolet, and the paint on this car looks close to flawless. Obviously, the wheels that are fitted to the car aren’t original, and while the owner does say that he has the original hubcaps, he makes no mention of the original wheels. Still, sourcing replacements should not be a problem if the next owner wished to return the car to original. The exterior trim and chrome look about as close to perfect as you are likely to find, and the same is true of the glass. My favorite exterior feature on the Nomad is the vertical trim strips on the tailgate. They really make the rear of the car look great. The owner does supply a single photo of the Nomad’s underside, and it looks quite clean and solid. There shouldn’t be any rust issues to address with this classic any time soon.

The positives with the Nomad continue when you open the car’s hood. This is a numbers-matching car, and what you find is the 265ci Power Pack V8, which produces 180hp. The transmission is a Powerglide, while you can also see the compressor for the vintage air conditioning unit. The owner says that if you look around the car you can still find some of the original factory grease pencil markings in various places, which is really cool. There are a few non-original items visible, including a brake booster, and a rather beefy looking aftermarket ignition coil pack. That’s an item that I’m in two minds about. I don’t go much on the look of it, because it simply looks completely out of place. But if it has a positive impact on the performance and reliability of the Nomad, I might just learn to live with it. The owner states that he has had the entire drive-train thoroughly checked and that the 265 purrs like a kitten. He also says that the Powerglide shifts smoothly and that he would have no hesitation in driving the car clean across the country.

When it comes to original survivors of this sort of age, one of the greatest indicators of careful ownership is the interior trim condition, and here the Nomad definitely doesn’t let us down. The original Red and Ivory trim looks virtually new, and it is just another stunning aspect of the car. The owner states that the upholstery is clean and soft, and it does appear to be free of any rips, tears, or stains. The headliner and door trims are in great condition, and even the trim in the cargo area has escaped the marks and scuffs that can tend to plague station wagons as the years roll on. The owner has fitted a vintage-look aftermarket stereo to the vehicle, with speakers mounted in custom kick panels. However, the dash hasn’t been cut to fit the stereo, and the original radio is included with the car. Similarly, the original kick panels are also included, so returning the interior to 100% original would be a pretty easy task. One nice feature is the under-dash Frost-Temp air conditioning unit. This looks absolutely perfect for this car, and would certainly make life quite pleasant on those hot Summers days.

I said at the beginning of this article that bidding has been lively, and a great indicator is that when I started to write, bidding was sitting at $28,100. By the time I got to this point, it had already jumped to $31,100. It seems as though there are plenty of people who would really like this car. I really don’t blame them, because there is no denying the fact that it is a beautiful car. So, do we have any readers who are willing to toss their hat into the ring on this spotless classic?

Comments

  1. Avatar jim

    appears nice, but…

    is the pic distorted or is the drivers rocker panel mis aligned from a poor fitting lower quarter panel replacement?

    anyone in the sarastota area can verify the panels are aligned correctly from the factory?

    Like 2
    • Avatar Billybob shister

      Hey Jim… aren’t you in Sarasota?

      Like 0
  2. Avatar canadainmarkseh

    What I saw in the rocker picture was what looks like paint that didn’t get far enough around to completely cover the small remnants of bondo I don’t think it’s original paint. Isn’t Florida a rust belt in its own right. I don’t mind that there’s been rust repair or a repaint but disclosure might be nice. It looks to shiny for 60 year old original paint too. I’m guessing that this is base coat clear coat modern paint. Which is also fine but say it if it’s true. JMO.

    Like 4
    • Avatar Dylanceastman@gmail.com

      Wax from a buff and wax. Or a wet sand. Drip marks. If you had any clue what you were talking about you would realize those are factory original drain holes in the rockers.

      Like 1
      • Avatar canadainmarkseh

        f………..y I wasn’t talking about drain holes. I work off an I phone screen everything is small and hard to see hot shot.

        Like 4
    • Avatar Dylanceastman@gmail.com

      What I saw was wet sand or wax compound drip and original rocker drain holes.

      Like 1
      • Avatar canadainmarkseh

        No I stand by my first post that rocker did not get painted all the way round to the bottom and it still looks like small remains of body fill along the paint line. This is a pretty common area to miss with the paint gun and easily corrected. What ever it is it is I’m not buying it and really doesn’t matter to me. The car is still a nice example.

        Like 1
    • Avatar Barry

      Where did it say original paint?

      Like 1
    • Avatar Barry

      Small remanents of bondo? Looks like dried compound from a fresh wax job and original rockers… someone is peanut butter and jealous!

      Like 1
  3. Avatar Socaljoe

    My favorite of the Tri five Chevys. Hard to believe original image but if there is clear documentation then anything is possible. I agree the paint at least in the pictures looks to be a respirator,

    Like 1
  4. Avatar stillrunners

    Nice enough Nomad…..do we need the BS to drive the price up ?

    Like 6
  5. Avatar TimM

    In my opinion the nomad was the most beautiful of the tri 5 Chevys!! This one looks clean enough but cars do rust in the salt water states of the south especially where the humidity is high!! If you’ve ever been in Florida in August you would know how high the humidity can get!! Look it over good if your spending your money on this one!! Looks may be deceiving!!!

    Like 4
  6. Avatar leiniedude Member

    Stunning car! Happy to see it is not another 1957. I gotta be wrong, but I thought these had Nomad emblems somewhere on the sides of the car as well as on the tail gate.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Joe Haska

    I often think, I go over board on picking cars apart, that is until I read “The Barn Find Experts”. When I saw this car ,all I could think of was, is there a snowballs chance in Phoniex Az. ,that I could own this car. Now ,I realize what a POS it is, I guess I will save my money and find a nicer one. Thanks to all you experts who can see things in photos, I can’t even imagine.

    Like 5
    • Avatar 56chevyguy

      A bunch of couch quarterbacks don’t have two dimes to rope together… living in their mothers basement.

      Like 8
  8. Avatar 38ChevyCoupeGuy

    Misfitted panels,not enough paint around the corner? It’s apparent these guys doing all the criticizing have never seen anything that rolled off the assembly line from those days, probably before,and I can testify years after. They didn’t roll out the door with 3mm panel gaps from top to bottom,front to back. This is advertised as original,not originally built on an hour spot of TV magic,now it’s worth millions kind of car.

    Like 11
    • Avatar Barry

      I was simply pointing out seller did not claim it to be original paint?

      Like 0
  9. Avatar Jack Quantrill

    ‘55’s, a little boxy, ‘57’s, a little flashy, ‘56 ‘s, just right!

    Like 9
  10. Avatar Johnmloghry

    Oh why get all heated up about opinions. One person likes one doesn’t that’s life. I like this car, I don’t think they’re worth the kind of money people will pay for them, but that’s how the market goes. I’ll just keep loving my 64 Buick Riviera which will probably never bring the money a Nomad will, especially one in this condition.
    God bless America

    Like 10
  11. Avatar bigdoc

    Beautiful car. Drive any 60+ year old car 20,000 miles and things change. How many of us look the same when we were young, muscles start to droop etc.

    Like 4
    • Avatar Richard Ochoa

      A hell of a LOT more than muscles bigdoc!!!!

      Like 8
  12. Avatar IkeyHeyman

    As far as documentation of mileage, seller says there are 19,000 actual miles “documented on the clean Florida title.” Okay, fine. Carfax says: “Florida is one of the hotbeds for odometer fraud.” Am I unduly suspicious about this car only averaging 300-some miles a year?

    Like 4
    • Avatar Barry

      Florida is very picky and has a high standard before they will list “Actual miles” on a title so it sounds to me like a bunch of guys in here are mad they don’t have 35k to spend and or jealous of the sellers potential payday. Either way I would love to see what’s in your guys garage????

      Like 1
      • Avatar IkeyHeyman

        I don’t think anybody’s mad or jealous, Barry. A little skepticism is not a bad thing, especially these days when you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting another low mileage classic car coming onto the market. I hope for the new owner that this is all it’s supposed to be, because with 5 days remaining in the auction, the price will only go higher.

        Like 2
  13. Avatar Andyp

    Not seeing the documented miles on the title claim and “no reserve” on eBay doesn’t mean much

    Like 2
  14. Avatar Mountainwoodie

    All the baloney aside, this is a nice car. period. The Sherlock Holmes in us needs to take a break. We’re all just looking at pictures and its hard to say that a picture always represents the object accurately.

    That said, I would be bidding if I could ….

    Like 6
  15. Avatar Dave

    It’s like looking at a unicorn. I love it.

    Like 2
  16. Avatar 38ChevyCoupeGuy

    Well said Ikey, even though I sorta like the cat my daughter has.lol
    “Sarcasm inserted above” The sarcasm of course being about her cat

    Like 0
  17. Avatar Stevieg

    This is a really nice car! Do I believe the story about the miles? Nope! It is a 63 year old car that was designed for family use, daily driver use. Somewhere along the way it probably was used as a daily driver family car. So what!
    That being said, it is a gorgeous example. It more than likely has been painted. Probably 120,000 miles. Maybe 220,000. But it has been loved & now it is well preserved, possibly always well preserved (or now restored).
    It is currently at $36,000. Well worth that no matter what the miles or status of paint originality. I am 14 years younger than this car, have travelled less miles under my own power (walking or running/jogging) and I don’t look nearly as good lol. I think it is a bargain, even if it does have faults.

    Like 1
  18. Avatar TheGasHole

    Just came for the “that’s not original miles” comments.

    Like 1
  19. Avatar Sunshine

    Damn! I drove by this location on Clark Rd while in Sarasota on Monday! Happy to see a dual brake Master Cylinder!

    Like 1
  20. Avatar socaljoe

    The crest on the right quarter panel is upside down.

    Like 1
  21. Avatar Andrew Treloar

    Neat!! Price now well over $40k!

    Like 0
  22. Avatar Del

    Yes. Knocked my socks off 😁

    Like 0
  23. Avatar leiniedude Member

    Ended: Aug 25, 2019 , 8:00PM
    Winning bid:US $48,600.00
    [ 73 bids ]

    Like 1

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