Chevrolet and Pontiac both fielded “sport wagons” from 1955 to 1957. The monikers were Bel Air Nomad and Star Chief Custom Safari. They had two doors and used a custom body from the cowl back. Pontiac was the only one to offer a 4-door Safari in 1957 that they called the Transcontinental, and it only found 1,894 buyers. The seller’s example, complete with ample patina, was a driver a year ago and now awaits a restoration. Located in Scottsville, Kentucky, this would-be survivor is available here on eBay. A single bid of $4,999 has been cast, with the reserve being unmet.
The concept of the sport wagon didn’t catch on with Chevy finding only 23,000 buyers in three years and Pontiac just over a third of that. So, the concept was dropped with the 1958 redesigns, though the names would stick around on more ordinary wagons. The Transcontinental is an odd duck as it has four doors and was made for only one model year but continued using the Star Chief’s higher trim level. The TC actually outsold the 2-door Safari, which only found 1,296 buyers in 1957 before the boom was lowered.
We’re told this rare find is a survivor because everything seems to be original. It spent much of its life in Texas before finding its way to Kentucky a couple of years ago. The seller used it to haul his family around for a while, but it’s been sitting for about a year now (we assume that has not impacted its running condition, which was good before). The ’57 Safari used a 347 cubic inch “Strato-Streak” V8 which produced 227 or 317 horsepower depending on carburetor vs. fuel injection.
Wherever there is patina, you always run the risk of finding rust, which may or may not be an issue here. The two-tone paint seems to have been applied in 1957, and the interior is well-worn but maybe still workable for the near term. We wonder if the Pontiac Transcontinental will ever have the same resale value as a 2-door Nomad, which can run sky-high. The seller may be able to deliver the vehicle for an extra charge.
This is the same dealer/wrecking yard that has the rebodied Superbird featured on this site a few weeks ago, it’s now listed with a BIN price of $175,000. They’ve also recently had a few other cars featured here such as a Type II VW bus and a 914 Porsche. Everything is overpriced to the point that it makes the dealership in Celeste Texas look cheap. Even though this wagon is listed for auction with an opening bid of $4,999 with a reserve, it’s also listed on eBay with a BIN price of $15,500.
Steve R