According to Merriam-Webster, a Yeoman is: an attendant or officer in a royal or noble household; a person attending or assisting another; a retainer – yeoman of the guard; a naval petty officer who performs clerical duties. Apparently, Mirriam, or Webster, forgot to include a one-year-only, bottom-of-the-line 1958 Chevrolet station wagon. Though this is a fifties vintage, two-door Chevrolet station wagon, this citizen of Fenton, Missouri is not a Nomad. Still, being a two-door wagon definitely enhances its collectibility and this example’s improvements will certainly up its attractiveness.
The year 1958 was a big one for Chevrolet as its designs changed dramatically from where they had been in 1957. The old trim levels – Bel Air, Two-Ten, and One-Fifty were largely gone, replaced by the new, range-topping Impala, followed by the Bel Air, Biscayne, and Delray. Station wagons received their own nomenclature with the Nomad, Brookwood, and Yeoman. The Nomad lost its distinctive greenhouse and grew an extra pair of doors (though it still maintained its seven vertical, tailgate-mounted stainless strips). The Brookwood provided six or nine-passenger seating via four-door ingress/egress. The bottom-of-the-line attendant, known as the Yeoman was strictly a six-seater but offered both two and four-door configurations. Two-door Yeomans equaled 8.8% of the total ’58 station wagon output or 16,590 copies. For 1959, the Yeoman would be replaced by a two-door Brookwood and the Kingswood (nine-passenger) and Parkwood (six-passenger) would occupy the slots beneath the returning top-drawer Nomad.
Where the Yeoman was available with a six-cylinder engine, along with V8s including a 283 and new for ’58, 348 CI “W-head” engines, our subject has a later 350 CI V8 married to a three-on-the-tree three-speed manual gearbox. The engine is clean looking and said to “sound great” but it appears to be a rather stock version of Chevy’s most ubiquitous powerplant. Included in the sale are another three-speed transmission, with overdrive, as well as a four-speed manual with linkage.
As far as this car’s exterior lines go, it won’t be mistaken for a Nomad but it really is a balanced and attractive package. The seller describes it by stating, “Body is very solid with a very nice paint job. All new weatherstripping and glass. Excellent chrome and stainless trim. The vinyl script on the rear quarter glass has been removed. There are some minor dents on the roof from boxes that fell from an overhead shelf“. I must admit, this is one sound-looking wagon – no demerits to issue! The wheels, which I think are the perfect touch, are said to be genuine ETs from the sixties and seem right at home considering this car’s old-school hot rod vibe. The seller mentions that he has some surplus stainless side moldings included in the sale.
The inside matches the character of the outside – it’s very blue and very cheery. The fabric upholstery is not the original style but it certainly works in this instance and it’s as clean as a whistle. Best of all, that goodness extends to the wayback area too – an important part of a station wagon that is often overlooked. The seller mentions that all of the gauges (speedo, fuel, and temp) work but not the clock – no surprise there. And speaking of the clock, that far-right location isn’t particularly helpful from the driver’s vantage point. The only item that detracts from the interior’s restoration is the aftermarket radio – it just looks seriously out of place.
As I have opined before, old station wagons are a hot commodity right now – two-door body styles in particular. Done up like this ’58 Yeoman, it’s easy to see why. You’ll find this beauty here on eBay where it’s available for a current bid of $14,575 with the reserve not yet met. Yes, it’s not a Nomad and I don’t think that matters one bit, how about you?
That’s one fine wagon. Always liked the ’58s and this is a beautiful example.
First time I ever heard of/saw one was in Salyer,California,
where a guy who owned a towing company hauled about 100
to his property near there.
I picked up a ’68 Cortina,& took a bunch of film pictures
that I still have around here somewhere.There were a lot of really
cool cars & trucks that needed major restoration.
Make an excellent companion for a ’58 Studebaker Scotsman wagon.
Mags on a vintage wagon, nice, like Mary Canfield( Ralph Monroe of Green Acres) in an evening dress. What puzzles me is where are all these vintage wagons coming from? Generally, wagons led a rough life, few survived and even less were saved. It’s why a wagon was even considered in the first place, it could do it all. A wagon by definition, was catch all, do all vehicle, and easily replaced. 2 door wagons were not popular, as grandma needed a back door just for herself. She made a wicked pot roast though. Nice find.
Brings back some good memories.
In ‘72 one of the gas pump guys in our hometown Arco station bought a 1958 Nomad for a broke drunken gambler trying to get back home to LA. Dave took the rear passenger door handles off, painted it Maverick Grabber Blue with a black pebble style painted top, tinted the windows, laid the back seat down with an old mattress and put a red bulb in the interior overhead. That 348ci with Cherry Bombs sounded great but we had to use my VW to pick up our girlfriends as it was made clear by their dads their daughters were NOT going to be going ANYWHERE in HIS car.
Sold it 2 years later for a purple ‘67 GTO he was offered and bought cheap one night.
I love it. Great lines. Nice enough to find a 348 and maybe a 4 speed.
Tried bidding,evidently the reserve is a bit pricey. If it gad the 348 and a 4 speed or auto I would have bid higher
This Yeoman wagon is definitely on my bucket list and very near the top. I just like 2-door wagons and this one is very rare and super cool. If I could only get the stars to line up so that my money and the need for the car would coincide. I would own this car!
I actually owned two of these critters back in the early 60’s college days. One had an odd auto transmission with a GR (grade retard) That had a rear pump and we could start it by pushing it down a hill. An important option when you are a student.
Turboglide.
When I lived in Charlotte NC I discovered a junk yard in Grey Court SC that had acres of interesting sort of rebuildable cars. There was a ‘58 Brookwood panel express with serious issues in the tailgate area and rear fenders, and it killed me to have to walk away because of the costs. Another should’ve bought it anyway.
Incidentally, he had a one-year-only Pontiac Grand Prix convertible with a factory 4 speed. That was probably the prize of them all.
My folks owned one in ’65 when Dad
was working construction, while working at night to get his Illinois certification to become a police officer in our state. Ours was a 4-door version that was painted dark blue and light blue and that thing was
as basic as you got with a 235 straight 6 and a 3- on-the tree. And the only options it had were a radio
and a heater. The seats were vinyl
and rubber mats covered the floors.
My only memory of the car was Christmas Eve 1965 when we went to visit my aunt and uncle that lived 15
miles outside of town. Dad took a short cut my Uncle told him about that led him to this creeky old wooden
bridge spanning a small creek. When Dad pulled into that bridge, it let out an awful groan that really scared us.
He has us get out of the car and walk
back to the road and wait while he took the wagon across it. I can still
gear and see him starting out in 1st
gear and creeping along to the other
side. Then my Mom, kid sister and I
Walked across the bridge and met him on the other side. Mom was
pissed off at him for awhile for not
taking the blacktop which she thought would’ve been safer than the
short cut was. Dad would drive it a
few more months before trading it
for a ’59 Brookwood wagon in ’66. And if I could see well enough to drive, I would find a way to buy this car and use it for a delivery car to keep the miles off our K-5 sedan.
Next door neighbor had a new Brookwood back then… 4 door… it had a chrome metal rear speaker over the rear window… one day 6 adults rode in the seats,.. 4 of us preteens rode in the cargo area…
Looks like my friends ’58 DelRay windowed sedan delivery – two door but six window body cuts and a one piece lift up tailgate. Interesting in that it never had a rear seat but the rear side windows roll down.
Nice wagon !
A friend gave me his Yeoman if I could get it running and out of his driveway. It was 2-tone copper over cream, no rust or dents. It had a 283 and a 3 on the tree. It was a long way between gears with the column shift. It handled like a rhinoceros on roller skates and the noise level was like riding inside a 50 gallon drum. It wasn’t very comfortable or fun to drive. I didn’t keep it long and I sold it first thing in the morning the day the ad appeared in the newspaper. Yes, the San Francisco Chronicle classifieds. Obviously I had under priced it. The guy I sold it to gave it a decent cosmetic restoration.
58 Yeoman, such a beautiful car
This is nice. I’d be tempted to put in a 59 dash, that I miss so much. Ha.
Sure can learn a lot about history from these things, if you have lots of time to waste, rear end seems to point to “New Orleans”?
High bid of $19,975, did not meet reserve.
Steve R