The first-generation Nomad came to be only a year after it first smiled in front of the audience at the 1954 Motorama show, and unsurprisingly, it exhibited little to no differences from the original concept presented by GM.Nomad landed as a rather expensive model, coming with a $2,570 base price in the United States. The hefty price tag and the station wagon body style turned the Nomad into an unattractive purchase for American buyers.
As a result, the Nomad series was discontinued in 1958 when General Motors and Chevrolet decided to turn the car into a Bel Air version. The strategy made perfect sense anyway, especially as the Nomad came with Bel Air fender badging from its very first year on the market.
Finding a first-generation Nomad to restore isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do, especially as most projects either lack a significant number of parts or come with an insane amount of rust. Someone on eBay claims they have the right candidate for the job, especially as a restoration was originally started (but never finished) approximately four decades ago.
The car has been sitting ever since, as the Nomad was left in the garage where the restoration origin ally began. Pulled recently, the station wagon exhibits the typical problems you’d expect on a car this old, including wrecked floors and plenty of rust on the undersides. New floors will definitely be required, and so will other metal fixes – the photos aren’t necessarily relevant since they’re mostly close-up of certain car parts, so I advise you to go check out the Nomad in person.
An engine is still in the car, but we’re getting no information about it. Seller bodyace1970 says the owner actually drove the Nomad to the garage where it spent the 40-year-long sleep, but it’s unclear if it’s still starting today.
The first-generation Nomad (produced between 1955 and 1957 before the car became a part of the Bel Air lineup) was available with a choice of two engines. On the one hand, it was the 265 (4.3-liter) V8 offered as standard, but on the other hand, the car could also be ordered with an upgraded 283 (4.7-liter) V8 that was carried over to the 1958 series when the Bel Air adoption finally happened.
The only problem for this Nomad seems to be the selling price. Several people have already expressed their interest in giving the car a second chance, with the auction currently counting 15 bids, but the seller enabled a reserve, and it is yet to be unlocked.