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
Could not agree more Steve the prices do make the dealership in Celeste Texas look cheap and that is not easy to do. They have two 1969 Charges for sale one for $8,500 and the other for $12,000 not sure you can find one decent part between them never mind restoring even one.
”Buyer beware.”
As far as I am concerned, everything is overly priced these days.. Cars were made to drive, not as collector vehicles. Some maybe, yes. Others , there are so many out there, let people buy at a reasonable price and repair and drive. Repairs are very expensive these days too . I am glad I bought my old cars I love when I did a few years ago. Not perfect, but look good as a driver anyhow for a mere 5k,and drove them home. 10K and got a nice full custom show car at auction , granted older resto. but still nice car. WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GET RICH QUICK GREEDY PEOPLE.
Yean, not sure why this is happening here on BF lately. These overpriced EBay sellers keep getting featured here when there are so many other vehicles being submitted here for review every day that will garner just as much, if not more, interest, plus have the possibility of actually getting sold.
it’s cool but will be expensive to restore especially if you overpay for it.
At least it’s complete. A lot of the trim on this is unique to the Transcontinental.
‘Transcontinental’? Sounds more like a railroad than a car.
I bought a 57 Safari 2dr wagon in 1979 and I had to buy a 57 Transcontinental to go with it. I kept the 2dr and my brother got the 4dr. He passed away and the transcon sat in his backyard for years while we went through probate. By that time it had sunk into the ground ND had to literally dig it out to bring back to my garage. Eventually I sold it to a fellow Pontiac club member (Whom I told still has it). I’m so tempted to bid on this but I’m in California so not sure how bad it will be to ship it.
I bought a 57 Safari two door wagon in 1979 (which I still have) but to get it I had to buy the owner’s brother’s 57 Transcontinental to close the deal. I got the 2dr and my brother got the 4dr. He kept it until he passed in 1998, and the car sat and slowly sank into the yard while we dealt with probate. I literally dug and drug the car out of the ground and trailered it back to my house. I finally sold it to a fellow Pontiac club member years later due to too may cars. This one is the EXACT same color and features that his was. I’m SO tempted to bid on this…..we’ll see
sorry for the duplicate post, I just got so excited!
Hagerty says this model in #4 condition is worth $30,000, and since the car in my opinion is a #5 condition car I think the $15,500 is what he was basing it on. None the less the bidding has stalled so now it’s at $15,500 or best offer