The 1955-57 Chevrolet Bel Air Nomad “sport wagon” was not a commercial success. Fewer than 23,000 of them were built in three years. And it wasn’t that 2-door station wagons weren’t popular – Chevy sold a whole lot more of the Handyman wagon in the 150 and 210 series. So, the Chevy marketing gurus were probably left scratching their heads. This 1956 edition is said to be a solid barn find, but it’s missing both an engine and transmission, so it’s been relegated to a roller/project. From Oconomowoc, Wisconsin (say that three times fast), this vintage Chevy is available here on eBay where $8,099 is the current bid.
Based on a Corvette concept car, the Nomad was an extension of Chevy’s finest model, the Bel Air. It shared that car’s level of trim for the duration of the original run. The Nomad shared its front clip with the rest of the Chevrolets, but from there back the design and sheet metal were all their own. However, to spread the production costs, Pontiac got its version of the same wagon called the Safari. Sales numbers for that entry were even smaller than the Chevy, so they both disappeared with the 1958 redesigns (though the names would resurface later on “regular” 4-door wagons).
Not much is known about the seller’s ’56 Nomad. We assume it once housed a 265 cubic inch V8 under the hood along with a Powerglide automatic. But both have since vanished, so if you wanted to go the restomod route, maybe a nice 350 with a TH-400 tranny can be sourced somewhere. Considering that only about 8,000 Nomads were produced in 1956, this should be a rare Chevy as it once had factory air conditioning, not a widely seen option in those days.
For what it’s worth, this wagon spent most of its life in Texas and is said to have minimal corrosion as a result. Due to limited photos, it’s hard to tell what’s missing and what isn’t, but we know the back seat is MIA and the rear section of the car appears to be full of parts. Due to having other projects and some recently lost storage space, the seller has been prompted to let this vehicle go to a new home for its next stage in life.
My father in law had one of these he was a TV repairman didn’t know him back then but my wife showed me pictures awesome car
In my youth it was a luxury, looking back on it now, to know a close neighbor who restored Chevrolets from the 1950s. Today, Mr. Thompson would have undoubtedly been referred to as ‘The Chevy Whisperer”. His time though was long before the “whisperer” phrase entered the popular culture.
My regret is that I didn’t poke my nose into his restoration business enough but the man exuded the air of someone who valued his privacy. Even our town’s dedicated motorheads that had 30 weight oil running in their veins left Mr. Thompson to his own devices.
The man worked at Penndel Auto Parts which was in the town adjacent to the little burg where we lived. If you needed something for your car or truck you’d go see Mr. Thompson at the shop. He was semi-retired or all the way retired. I never figured it out. I knew that he liked being close to his cars and to the parts that went in them. There was seemingly nothing about cars that the man didn’t know.
Mr. Thompson’s daughter got married in the late-’60s. Both his daughter and new son-in-law got restored, two-toned, pastel-colored mid-’50s Chevrolet Bel Airs as a wedding gift. Stunning cars. I’d see them parked in the huge driveway (you’d need one of those if you were this fellow) when they’d stopped to visit mother and father. Chevrolet Nomads came and went at Mr. Thompson’s home over a 15 year period while I was still living at home. I took the sight and wonder of it all somewhat for granted all that time. When Mr. Thompson passed away in late-1989 he took a wealth of knowledge and know-how with him. He was a good man.
Re: Sales figures; IIRC the55-57 Nomads just may have been the most expensive model in Chevy’s whole passenger car lineup which would certainly have placed them in a rather small niche. If you have a finite pile of moolah and you gave to choose between a Bel Air convertible or a “station wagon”, even e real fancy one, the ragtop is going to end up on top for 90 % of lookers.
Sad, sad, sad.
You wanna see sad, have a look at the ’55 Nomad on ebay for $115k built using a 2005 Pontiac. Right down to the dashboard. Absolutely horrifying…
The coolest 56 nomad ever is the Exorcist ,need to be tribute car.
Had a dark blue 56 Nomad and sold it to my friend 40 years ago and he still has it today.,it was a 265 auto.
My favorite year and tri 5 body style. I guess I should have bought one ions back. Specimens like this were cheep but I could not perform the work myself. After getting ripped off by big time body and fender I vowed never to engage in such silliness again. Now this would be an easy do over. I love the color combo. I have enough projects to finish that I like. 56 Nomads are way cool. hopefully hack master ls won’t get it but whoever buys it can do as one pleases. I actually hope I hang around long enough for the electric technology to advance so that things like this can be tastefully done to look period correct but be able to go more than 76 miles for a conversion and cost of less than 150k to do.