Let’s Try This Again! 1956 Chevrolet Nomad

One year ago, my colleague Mike Stephens covered this 1956 Chevrolet Nomad. It was an eBay bid situation with a BIN price of $40,000. I’m not certain what the outcome of the bidding process was, but here it is up for sale again, and things have changed. Now, residing in Kirbyville, Missouri, this iconic two-door station wagon is listed here on Facebook Marketplace for $25,000, OBO. Hmmm…OK, let’s take a second look and give a shout-out to Terry for forwarding this tip!

I suppose I was a teenager when I first encountered a Nomad. It was a beautiful 1957 edition, and it belonged to a mechanic who worked at the local in-town Chevrolet dealership. (Strangely, several years later, I ended up employed at that same dealership, and one of the body shop painters owned a ’55 Pontiac Safari – the Nomad’s similar cousin.) Anyway, I had a thing for Nomads and at one point even built a model kit of one. As we know, the Nomad moniker lived on beyond its glory years of 1955-1957, but it’s those three years and approximately 22K copies that are the ones most identified with, and valued, by the Nomad name. What drew me to this 1956 Nomad is its amazingly original condition. It hasn’t been modified, restored, or hacked up into some sort of shade tree hot rod. Nope, it’s just 70 years of slow degradation. It is complete, right down to the stylish, gold-finished “NOMAD” tailgate badge that often seems to go missing. The body appears to be straight, but I wonder about underside integrity.

Well, speaking of that, the floors appear to have seen better days, and that can be indicative of additional, more serious problems. The upholstery looks like it lost a battle with weasels, and the glovebox and radio are gone. While these are minor considerations, it’s the structural integrity that still has me most concerned. It would be nice to get a glimpse of the wayback and see what’s going on there.

It is often believed that all Nomads were powered by Chevrolet’s new small-block V8, but that’s not the case, as our subject features a 140 gross HP 235 CI in-line six married to a Powerglide two-speed automatic transmission. I will admit this is the first Nomad I have encountered so equipped. The seller states, “runs and drives.”

I’d suggest this is still a great find due to its originality and completeness, but it will take a lot of time, effort, and $$$ to get it just right. As for the substantial price drop, it sounds like reality kicked in. And I suppose the new ask of $25,000 is subject to debate. That OBO part of it might be the key to making a sale, wouldn’t you agree?