The Nomad was introduced by Chevrolet in 1955 as a “sport wagon”. In its three years in production, less than 23,000 copies were sold, making it one of the least popular Chevies of the Tri-Five Era (when built). But why? It was stylish, based on the upscale Bel Air, at a time when stylish cars were “in.” And it came with a V8 engine as standard equipment, Chevy’s first in 37 years. We’ll theorize on that in a moment. In the meantime, the seller has a nice “restomod” 1956 Nomad, complete with a Corvette LS3 engine and lots of modern goodies. Located in Ft. Myers, Florida, this beauty is available here on craigslist for $85,000. Who but Mitchell G. would bring us such a tip!
A concept car provided inspiration for the 1955-57 Nomad. Chevy cooked up a display wagon based on the 1954 Corvette and then transferred the design to the full-size ‘55s. From the cowl back, the Nomad shared no sheet metal with “regular” 2-door (or 4-door) wagons. So, its appearance was sleek and attractive. And out of character for mid-1950s station wagons, which were seen as utilitarian vehicles. Also, with two doors, the Nomad was less practical for doing “wagon” stuff and the Bel Air level of trim drove up the price tag. So, these reasons may be why the Sport Wagon was gone after 1957.
The seller’s Nomad was one of 8,103 produced in 1956, the wagon’s sophomore year. But it’s nowhere near the automobile it was 69 years ago. Instead of a 265 cubic inch V8, a 6.2-liter LS3 Corvette engine resides under the hood, paired with something more modern than a 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. The brakes are no longer of the drum variety, replaced by discs with Wilwood calipers. The body looks solid as a drum, with attractive yellow and smoke grey paint.
Within the passenger compartment, custom leather upholstery should make for a comfortable ride. Vintage air conditioning has been added, and the instruments and radio are now all digital. The end result is this Chevy is probably a far better car than it was when new (by today’s standards). We’re told the odometer reads 2,100 miles, so would that be from the time the Nomad’s transformation into the 21st Century was completed?
This one sure ups the WOW! factor a bunch. Workmanship and design as good as it gets. The ’56s were great looking cars in the first place but this one elevated that factor even higher.
Beautiful car, well thought out and executed. It’s expensive for a reason.
Steve R
Worth it!!
I had a ‘57. But, I think the ‘56 was the best looking of the tri-fives.
Nice but not THAT $ nice in my opinion. I would fill those wheel wells with a bit more rubber, and I don’t mean the rubber band types. I like it!
One would think if you were spending the kind of money it took to do the interior they would have power windows not crank
All three years were fine looking automobiles and this ’56 is by far no exception but, I am a bit biased to the first year,1955 as I have owned mine for 40 years. My Nomad has aged better than myself and I feel perhaps its time to relinquish it to a another caretaker, who can enjoy it as much as I have .