The Other Nomad: Pair of 1950s Pontiac Safari Wagons

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The 1955-57 Chevrolet Bel Air Nomad is considered iconic in many circles. It was packaged as a 2-door Sport Wagon with its own unique body panels from the windshield back. But Pontiac had one of these wagons, too, the Star Chief Safari, which often gets lost in the shuffle with the Nomad. Located in Fontana, California, the seller has a pair of these Pontiac wagons, thought to be 1955 and 1956 models. They both need cosmetic attention and will be sold here on Facebook Marketplace as a package deal. The price for both is $32,500.

Chevy’s Nomad was by no means a sales bonanza at just 22,000 units sold in three years. That was not enough to continue the Sport Wagon concept past 1957. The Pontiac Safari experienced even more sales woes, selling around 9,000 copies in three years. Both nameplates would see a future, but used with ordinary 4-door wagons going forward. The Nomad and Safari weren’t carbon copies, as the former rode on a 115-inch wheelbase while the latter sat on 122 inches. Both cars had a V8 engine, 265 cubic inches for the Nomad, while the Pontiac sported 287 in 1955.

We don’t know from the seller’s listing if these are non-running rust buckets or functional projects. If their numbers match, that’s an unknown as well. The seller doesn’t even mention the year, but given the front bumper and grille on one, it’s a ‘55. And the exterior trim on the other suggests it’s a ’56 per a Barn Finds reader.

What do we know for sure? The seller says the price is negotiable, and if neither of them runs, I would think there would be a lot of downward pressure. The same is true if the floorboards are rusted out. Ambitious buyers might opt to restore both of them, while someone less brave may assess which is the better of the two and use the second to help make the other viable again.

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Comments

  1. Troy UrichMember

    The red Safari is a ’56. It has hooded tail lights, horizontal lines on the lower quarter trim behind the rear wheels and the side trim is completely different.

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