1957 Chevrolet Nomad

Old stations wagons have never been so popular – looking at this rare ’57 Nomad you can see why we love them so much. Doesn’t it look great in dark teal and black roof?

Nomad was the name given to Chevrolet’s 2-door station wagon and was part of the Bel Air series and their ‘sporty’ looking wagon. So strictly speaking it is a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Nomad. It was the most expensive Chevrolet available (with the exception of the Corvette) and the rarest.

There was also a 4-door wagon available which was known as the Bel Air Townsman. More than 21,000 more of these were sold than the Nomad – that’s over 4 times many. This was much to do with people finding four doors more convenient and it was over $200 cheaper! Let’s face it, two doors weren’t as practical for family use but it sure looks good.

Often credited as the work of Harley Earl, the Nomad was actually the creation of Chevrolet studio head Clare MacKichan.

Inside the interior enjoys all the benefits of the Bel Air. A workhorse it may be, but you still traveled in style. Seven different color combinations were available. This particular Nomad uses blue vinyl with black and blue pattern cloth.

The Nomad would have been an expensive car for Chevrolet to build because it had so many body and trim parts that were unique to it.

Under the hood of this particular Nomad is a 283 cubic inch Super Turbo-Fire V8 with 4-barrel carburetor producing 220 horsepower. It was brand new for 1957. This is paired with a Powerglide automatic transmission – a combination that would have cost an additional $365 over the base price when the car was ordered new.

This engine has since been modified with aluminum intake, dual feed 4 barrel carb, Griffin aluminum radiator and twin electric fans.

Chevrolet sold 6,103 Nomads in the 1957 model year at a base price of $2757. That price would get you the six cylinder, 235 cubic inch version. Another $100 would get you the 265 cubic inch V8 and $134 got you the 283.

The Nomad was quite pricey at the time – even the Bel Air convertible cost around $250 less!

This ’57 Nomad is currently for sale on eBay. (follow the link for more photos)