Why didn’t Chevy sell more than 23,000 Nomads throughout their three-year run in the mid-1950s? It was part of the top-of-the-line Bel Air series, so there were plenty of creature comforts. They sold plenty of other station wagons across the 150, 210, and Bel Air portfolios, including the Bel Air 4-door wagon. So perhaps it boiled down to it having just two doors on this Sport Wagon. Who knows. This 1957 edition is in beautiful condition having been recently secured from 20 years of storage as part of an estate sale. It’s not perfect, but it’s far nicer than this other ’57 Nomad we ran across this week. Located in Orange, California, this Chevy even has factory air conditioning and is available here on eBay where $45,555 hasn’t gotten the job in terms of the seller’s reserve.
Of the Tri-Five Nomads, the ’57 version is the rarest at 6,000+ copies. From the cowl forward, it carried a Bel Air front clip. But from there back, it was its own special design that was inspired by a Corvette show car and applied to the new Pontiac Safari, which was also built in 1955-57 but at two-thirds the numbers. This Nomad has seen little action in the past two decades and the seller managed to secure it from an estate that didn’t have much history to share. There is no rust on the car anywhere with no mention of the paint being original. With a little “touch-up” it could be quite the looker.
The V8 under the hood is “correct” (does that mean it was replaced?), but we don’t know if it’s a 265 cubic inch motor or the 283 which was new that year. The seller provides a variety of photos, but they don’t show the wagon in the best light or even in its entirety. It’s a well-equipped Chevy with power steering and rare A/C which is going to need attention. The black and silver interior is also “correct”, so again has that been redone in original materials?
We don’t know if things like fluids and tires have been changed after being in storage for many years. But the seller did bring up the California registration to current and no back fees are due. The odometer reflects 37,000 miles, but that could easily be on its second time around. The car is said to “run, drive and stop” without an adjective to say how well. So perhaps some TLC is in the next owner’s future. It still surprises me that the Nomad was not a bigger seller back in the 1950s.
Leave a Reply to Dave Wood Cancel reply