In the classic car hobby, you should never say that a restoration is impossible. But sometimes there are cars that even the most enthusiastic seller realizes are too far gone except for the most dedicated restorer. Such is the case for this 1955 Chevrolet Nomad found for sale here on eBay. The car is located in Germantown, Maryland with a current bid of $5,711! Keep reading to see if you think this car is too far gone for a restoration.
It’s not often you see a seller resigned to the fact that their car may be too far gone for a restoration. However, the owner of this car describes it as “an incredible donor car” and lists the remaining good items that are included in the sale. You can tell by the steering wheel, this was probably once a cool cruiser and may have some hot rod history. Too bad it fell into such disrepair.
There are definitely trim items that would be valuable if you wanted to do a restoration using non-reproduction parts. With the current bid over $5,000, I’m not sure if the car is worth that much as a donor though. I’ll have to admit I haven’t priced Shoebox Chevy trim, but I’d have a hard time paying $5,000+ for a parts car like this. As the old saying goes: Something is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. That seems very applicable here.
If you’re gonna park it on dirt for the long term, just junk it already since it’s gonna rot to worthlessness anyhow.
This is certainly a project for a monied optimist. I wish the buyer well.
Agree with your comments, maybe a few trim parts worth saving, but NOT 5 or 6 thousand dollars worth.
Remove a couple Zero’s from the price & it MIGHT be worth it for the few salvageable parts!!!!!
It’s too bad that this once beautiful 55 Nomad had to come to this state of neglect. .. what a crying shame. .. it will take someone with lots of ambition to make this one great again. .
Even in this state of decay, it still kooks good, such an excellent design.
looks, not kooks!,sorry about that.
This car is not even fit for the Crusher!!!!
(Was) a beautiful car! Three-pedal, two-door – A dime a dozen…
Proving time really does fly: Parked, and in the blink of an eye, you’ve got this on your hands. Good Luck new owner!
Recipe for Rust: Park in the dirt with some rotting leaves and cover in plastic tarp. Add heat,humidity,salt to taste…Let marinade for 20 years. Serve when ready.
Tires are halfway into the ground. Probably sat a good 25 years I bet. Probably has had a 100 offers on it too but kept saying “I’m gonna fix it up someday!” “You know what these go for nowadays!”
What a shame….
These have been collectible for over 40 years. It’s hard to imagine that there are still examples out there that have been left to sink into the earth.
It will take a metalwork master to bring this one back from the dead and it won’t be cheap. Fortunately, this car still has most of it’s hard to find trim if it can be saved. I’m not sure the market values are still high enough to support the 60 to 70K restore cost (minimum) it’s going to take to get it looking like Chevrolet’s top of the line diamond for 1955.
The headlight “eyebrows” and fender/door moldings are worth the 5k alone.
Maybe in some parallel universe. Not in this one though.
Uhhh! Excuse me, but Pesos start with a P, not a k !!!!!!!!
That’s too bad. The VIN tag has some value, complete replacement of all other parts associated with the body, frame etc.
VIN tag is gone!
look at the gap between the passenger side door and the body from the interior shot. car looks like it broke in half.
I hate myself for selling my ‘57 Nomad for $750, back in ‘67.
I hate myself even More for Selling my 50 Olds Convertible to a Wrecking yard for 50 Bucks because the engine was Bad! I Know, I’ll bend over & touch my toes………….Ooooooouch!!!
The front fender moldings on this car are worth $1500 each side, with that said, 5 or 6K doesn’t sound so unreasonable if you need them for your 55 Nomad.
Have patience guys…..if the Nomad is to far gone for you…..there’s a nice P38 Rangie beginning to rust right beside it….available in only 20 more years! ;-)
They now make so many sheetmetal parts for tri-five Chevies that make this a doable car. Perfect for the guy who can restore his own cars but can’t afford a $100,000 finished car. I’ve seen 55-57 Chevy convertibles built from just a cowl. So it does not scare me.
As for current value, a folding front coupe seat is worth about $1,000. The Nomad only rear seat is worth just as much. And as others have said, the eyebrow moldings are worth another $3k easy.
The frame maybe good as that was the steel strike I think and they imported China good steel to last that year !
It could be a no chrome rod 🤣
Just add dollars..
Break out the welder! Have some fun! Not like you are going to make matters worse.
I’d pass.
Back in the early 70’s I went to a car show in Colorado Springs, there was a custom, firewall to front bumper was a later model caddy, firewall to tail lights were 55(?) Nomad.
Very cool looking car, only saw it that one time, always wondered what happened to it
Yep….worth some money for the Nomad only stuff….cut top and weld onto a 2 door wagon….
This has been too far gone for a quarter of a century I reckon….amazing that someone would leave a Nomad to disintegrate like this. And it was left to disintegrate.
Some rat rodder will buy and then run as it is ! after getting it running ! I see bids are over 6k now !
One man’s garbage is another man’s potpourri!
“The Grinch”
If you were working on another Nomad and were missing a lot of the stuff that this one still has then it might be worth getting to finish your own. That glass and trim and rear hatch might be the make or break it things that turn your nomad into a 70K ride. 6+k wouldn’t be that big a hit in your over all budget if that was the case. But bringing this one back to life would be a hella lotta work. I don’t think they make floor panels for this model. You would have to adapt a 2 door floor to work and there is nothing there to make a pattern from to fab or mod your own. That poor car needs a hug and a miracle to bring it back to life.
Perfect “resto mod” candidate. If you are going to change everything anyway start with something that needs everything changed. Save the “good” ones for a real original restoration.
Garbage
I have personally seen much worse than this brought back from the dead, and on lesser vehicles. The missing VIN tag scares me though. Somebody likes it though as bidding is now over $6k.
Really sad to this happen to what once was a super classic. Someone…PLEASE help this.From comments, it is going to sell. But, without VIN tag, real problem titling. Time, money and a lot of devotion. Whew!
Ended: Jan 23, 2018 , 9:33PM
Winning bid:US $6,011.00
[ 36 bids ]
that’s outrageous. C what the one referenced in the pic by our admin brought.
Still~
for the .75 cents, price of a cinder block (+ 3 more – 1 each corner /or/ 4 a side) just imagine the ask/final AND the better start to the project…