Classic Nomads get the most attention of any vehicle on the Cars On Line website. Anytime you want to get 2,000 likes on a Facebook post just put up a photo of a 1955-57 Chevy Nomad. That is what our staff tells us here at the Cars On Line.com offices. Classic Nomads are hot on social media. Whether its because classic Nomads invoke fantasies of the California beach culture or because a two-door wagon was the hot thing back in the day, American car collectors love this iconic bowtie.
Today we have two such classic Nomads listed for sale on the Cars On Line website. The red 1955 Chevy Nomad Wagon from Texas is a nicely restored resto mod which remains very true to its school. Although it has an updated driveline and suspension, it still has an original look with whitewall tires and original looking interior by Ciadella out of Scottsdale. What a find for a collector. (Click here to read his ad and contact information.) It is the kind of car you could take on the Power Tour or show at a Goodguys event.
The motor is a 2004 LS1 from a Pontiac GTO. The Tremec 6-speed engages with an American Powertrain hydarulic clutch system, has HydraTech Power Brakes, AutoRad cooling and Vintage Air. The suspension uses tubular upper A-arms. Check with the seller to find out more about the suspension. It comes with a Sun Super Tach and the engine harness has PCI ECM by American Autowire.
1955 Chevy Nomad Wagon Wins Goodguys …
Another of our classic Nomads for this week comes from Washington state. The seller says the rotisserie restoration started seven years ago and was completed just last year. The car won 1st Place at Goodguys its first time out and has only been shown a few times. He confirms what the pictures show. The paint is “flawless top and bottom, powder coated frame.”
It has a new 350 Chevy small block with a mild cam, mated to a 4-speed Muncie transmission. If you ask nicely he may send photos of the chrome rear end and chrome A-arms. It comes with power steering, power disc brakes and a new interior. As you can imagine, it sounds and runs amazing. Interestingly, he says the glass is factory tinted. (You can see his ad on the Cars On Line website and find his contact information here.)
History Behind the Classic Nomads …
The concept car penned by Carl Renner of Harley Earl’s staff at GM was called the Nomad. It was a sporty 2-door station wagon with styling like a Chevy Bel Air hardtop. The tailgate in the rear allowed it to be used as a utility vehicle much like a pickup truck. And the styling cues such as the “dogleg” B-pillar design with roof slats and seven chrome strips on the tailgate distinguish the Nomad as a pure classic ’50s icon. Nomads were without doubt the most popular bowties of the Tri-Five era.
Special features unique to the 1955 Chevy Nomad are the headlight eye brows, fender and door spears, large rear wheel wells and waffle pattern interior design.
The 1955 Nomad was introduced as a mid-year model produced as part of the Chevrolet Bel Air model lineup. That is one of the reasons why the ’55 is so valuable today. Only 6,103 Nomad wagons were produced. When you consider that there were 168,313 ’55 Chevrolet hardtop Bel Airs produced that year the number of Nomads seems to pale in comparison. In 1955, Chevrolet produced over a million cars for the first time in their history.
The Chevy Nomad came onto the American scene at a time when cars were for fun as well as for transportation. It was in that post-war era that Americans began to hit the road to see America. Cars were the way America began to know itself. The journey became the reward.
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