...Yes the 58 Nomad is well done. I would not call it extremely rare , they are just not built by many cause the 58 Nomad was only available in a 4 door and lost the unique look that the 5-6-7's have . I have one but will not build it . What I see is that it has the Level Air script on the tail gate which if was a factory air suspension car then yes that option is very rare, but he may of just put air ride in it and put on the script...I don't know 4 sure. A mild custom is my style of doing things too like he did. I missed that Draggins Show in Saskatoon but I'm pretty sure this car was there. Do you recall or noticed that jar mounted on the rad support ? curious if that was for the factory vacuum ashtray or he did something else there ? Thanks 4 the Xcellent quality pics.
Wait.... What? It's not April 1st already, is it?
That is a fantastic looking wagon, but I didn't even make it through all of the pictures before I called bullshit on the Nomad badge. Then I get to your post and you actually reinforce the idea that it is a Nomad. Given your knowledge about this era of cars, I was surprised to say the least.
Okay, so let me have my say here, and then I will get to the important point that clears the confusion, because this
really had me in a dizzy.
Now, I am not an expert on the tri-fives and 789's by any means - my parents were children when these cars were built - but one thing that I have learned over the years is that the Nomad is unique for one very important reason. It's a two-door station wagon. That's what makes them unique and special. A four-door is just a Bel-Air. My pops has a 56 Bel-Air wagon, but he has always wanted a Nomad because it is a 2-door. So it's not just me. I have been to many car shows and have seen many Nomads, but never a 4-door.
So after an extensive argument with myself over how you could be correct in your statement, I had to open my eyes, read again (and again), and do a little research.
It turns out that Michael is indeed correct in his very specific statement that the "
58 Nomad was only available in a 4-door". As I found out, I was indeed correct in my statement about the tri-five Nomads - they really were only available as a 2-door. But in 1958 (for whatever crazy reason), GM moved the Nomad name to the top-of-the-line Bel-Air wagon above the Biscayne. This is something that I never knew.
I did not realize that the Nomad name was actually quite well-used by GM on several models for several years. Not nearly as much as SS mind you, but that's a different story. In 59 the Nomad name moved to the top of the Impala line (a four-door, six-passenger wagon). It was also interesting to note that there was a 2-door wagon (Brookwood) produced in 1959, which was the basis for the El-Camino, and both of these 2-door cars were dropped at the end of 1960. The Nomad badge went on hiatus at the end of 1961.
In 1968 the names Nomad and Nomad Custom were used on the bottom-of-the-line Chevelle 4-door wagon, until 1972, which was the last year of Nomad station wagons.
In 1976 the Nomad name reappeared briefly and rarely (except now as a sticker instead of a badge) on the Vega, although it was not considered a station wagon, just a wagon.
In the late 70's and early 80's the Nomad name reappeared as a trim package on the full-size Chevy Van which included swiveling captain seats up front, a bench in the middle, and a cargo area in the rear with no quarter windows, plaid seats, and a fancy (snicker) two-tone paint scheme with a gradient sticker. Another notable fact here is that not only did Chevrolet use the name Cara-Van (available in Nomad trim) long before Dodge, but there was also a front-wheel-drive minivan concept built in 1979 by Chevrolet that was called the Nomad II. Another fine example of coulda, woulda, shoulda, but didna from Chevrolet.
There are also several Nomad concept cars that span a course of more than fifty-five years, but I only want to make mention of the one, the
first, and the one that ties this whole story back to why we are here. In 1954 Harley Earl created the first Nomad concept - a two-door, six-passenger station-wagon based on the Chevrolet Corvette.
I apologize for doubting you Michael, but I also thank you for making me actually do some research before simply posting some flaming comment about your trousers combusting.
I learned a lot today! Not just about educating myself before opening my mouth (or keyboard), but also that the Nomad that I thought I knew is one of the rarest usages of a very common name, and that its use is much more common on a four-door station wagon than it ever was on a 2-door.
Mind blown.
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