Chevrolet introduced the 2-door Nomad “Sport Wagon” in 1955. For reasons unclear today, the Nomad was a slow seller while the rest of the “Tri-Five” Chevies were a big hit with consumers. After light sales through 1957, the Nomad, as a special series, was discontinued, though the name lived on for a few years longer. The seller has a 1956 fairly rough edition that needs a full restoration. They can fetch big bucks today in top shape. Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this project is available here on craigslist for $12,500. As always, Barn Finder T.J. comes through with the tips!
Based on a 1954 concept car, the Nomad had a separate body from other 2-door wagons (the cowl back). To justify the tooling costs, Pontiac offered a similar wagon called the Safari. It was trimmed like a Star Chief, while the Nomad was part of the Bel Air family. Nomad sales barely topped 22,000 units in 1955-57, yet Chevrolet overall sold 4.5 million automobiles. The Safari only managed to find 9,000 buyers. One theory for the low sales may lie in the use of two doors, as the Nomad was fancy, and the other Chevy 2-door wagons were quite pedestrian in terms of creature comforts.
The seller’s 1956 Nomad was once quite the looker, finished in two-tone black-yellow paint. From the column shift-pattern, it had/has a 2-speed Powerglide automatic. A 283 cubic inch V8 (out of the car) is part of the package, but I don’t believe that motor was available before 1957, so this vehicle is likely not numbers-matching. We’re told the underpinnings of this Chevy are solid, which makes the restoration more plausible. Some, but not all, of the chrome bits are still around.
Also for sale by the seller is a 1966 Chevy Impala SS with a 283. Photos of it are provided, and the seller is looking to score $15,500 for that ride. No mention is made of any pricing allowances available if you take both of the classics out of the seller’s hands.
Oh, man. I bought a ‘57 Nomad in ‘67, for $500. Sold in 2 years later for $750. Thought I made out like a bandit! What fools these mortals be.
well, don’t feel too bad. There’s at least half dozen cars I had once, that I wish I had now.
In the 90’s I crushed several on my rig. They were the dark years
They sold slow because, while nice to look at, with two doors they weren’t much of a wagon that families would want. The slanted rear quarters made it even less spacious than the basic two-door wagons that Chevy offered. Handsome? You bet. Useful? Barely.
TOO much$$$ for either of the cars
The 56’s have always been my favorites, but I have never owned one. According to Hagerty, the value of a #3 is $49,000. At $12,500, that would give you $37,000 to get it to a #3 condition. I wonder if that is possible. The ad does say OBO, but at $5,000, that would give you $44,000 to work with. My feeling is that whatever you do, you might as well think about keeping it for a while. A good investment for it might be a 265 with 2×4’s. Not OEM, but more fun.
A 57 Nomad just sold last summer that an older fellow simply ran out of time. It was listed through a auction company I follow. The body was solid and prepared off the frame in primer and installed on a freshly powder coated chassis that was rebuilt and rolling. Motor fresh on a stand. PG trans fresh in a bag. Seats were recovered in correct 57 material in bags. Bumpers replated and all trim ready to install. In any project blown apart you never know if it was all there. This one did. The garage environment where it was pictured looked like a hospital. The winning bid was a whopping $4200. I thought about throwing a bid at the last minute. My interest would be reserved for parting it out. Reality set in. I didn’t want to run out of time myself. Not too long ago a 57 Nomad project big money. Time is past tense now. Good luck getting $15K for this 56
The Exorcist is the coolest 56 Nomad ever…if anybody knows where it is please post..
if it was a V-8 car think it would have had a 265 the 283 didn’t come out till 57 and good luck finding a 2 speed the had the R all the way at the bottom LOL both cars seen a little pricey for what kind of shape there in :)
Where is the driver’s door?
My question is being a New Mexico car why is it so rusty?