Between 1955 and 1957, General Motors offered two “sport wagons”. Best remembered is the Chevrolet Bel Air Nomad with the custom body from the cowl back. But Pontiac also offered a similar wagon, the Star Chief Safari. Neither posted big sales numbers, and the concept was gone by 1958. The seller has a sweet ’57 Safari that looks to have been restored, but this is not stated. A single-owner vehicle for more than 30 years, the Pontiac is in Lewiston, Idaho, and is available here on eBay, where the current bid is $30,100, the reserve is unmet, and the Buy It Now price is $47,000.
Both the Safari and Nomad were inspired by a 1953 concept car that was based on the Chevy Corvette. The vehicles had a completely different body from the steering wheel back and a higher level of trim than the Chevy Handyman. Perhaps buyers thought 2-door wagons were mostly utilitarian compared to the fancy nature of the Nomad and Safari. So, after 22,000 Nomads and 9,000 Safaris were produced, the concept was dropped (although both names would be applied to 4-door wagons).
The seller’s ’57 Safari is offered on consignment, so details about its history are sadly few. We’re told the odometer reading is just 17,650 miles, which could speak to a babied and cherished survivor. Or a restoration was done at some point, and that information wasn’t shared with the consignor. The two-tone paint and interior are nearly flawless (one little bump in the tailgate is about it). The 347 cubic inch “Strato-Streak” V8 has the Tri-Power setup, delivering extra horsepower.
This wagon likely has the 4-speed “Strato-Flight” Hydra-Matic transmission, and we assume the car drives as good as it looks. Fewer than 1,300 copies of the Safari were produced in 1957, making it the rarest among both the Safaris and Nomads built. We’re told the buyer will receive a collection of receipts and some memorabilia, whatever that may entail. The seller has a video of the Pontiac, but you’ll have to reach out for a link to it.
The seller says “with only 17,650 miles on the odometer,” which means nothing, really. Unless you can back up a mileage claim on a 69 year old car with documentation of some sort, as far as I am concerned, it’s “actual mileage unknown.”
Agree 100%. I got into a nasty discussion in another group by someone selling a 57 Chevy with what they claimed was 10,000 original miles. I didn’t dispute their claim but simply asked if there was any documentation. After all, it wasn’t chump change that they were asking. They were very upset I would even ask. Guess we are supposed to take their word for it.