Storage Unit Find: 1956 Chevrolet Nomad
Shooting brakes are among the most fascinating body styles. Combining the impracticality of a coupe with the utility of a station wagon seems like a contradiction, but the Chevrolet Nomad is a great example of how this strange body style can work best. This 1956 Nomad looks to be fresh out of storage and comes with many new and refurbished parts needed to update this 50’s cruiser for today’s highways. Find it here on Facebook Marketplace for $29,500 offered without an engine or transmission.
The’56 Nomad is counted among the coveted Tri-Five cars of Chevy’s 1950’s lineup and can command big bucks in good condition. This example looks to be straight out of storage where it was likely placed mid-restoration. Prior to being stored, 4-wheel disk brakes were installed and the sale includes an uninstalled power steering kit to help modernize this Nomad. The body is straight and the two-tone paint is attractive if blemished in places.
The interior trim is out of the car and has all been freshly chromed. Once installed, the inside should be a nice place to spend time– upholstery and dash all look to be intact and nice. No word on whether any of that is original or not, but with a missing powertrain and modernized steering and brakes, this Nomad wasn’t a contender for originality.
Speaking of the powertrain, this Nomad is a blank canvas with plenty of space for creativity. The list price is approximately $5k below Hagerty’s “fair” rating, which gives the buyer the hope of getting this old Chevy running and looking good without necessarily losing money. That all depends on what eventually finds its way under the hood. What would you do if this Nomad made its way to your garage? An electric restomod, small block chevy, or finding a 283 cu. in. V8… anything is possible!
Auctions Ending Soon
2006 Ford Mustang Saleen S281 SCBid Now3 hours$16,000
2002 Subaru Impreza WRXBid Now3 days$333
1975 Chevrolet Corvette ConvertibleBid Now3 days$3,000
1964 Ford F-100 Camper CustomBid Now3 days$2,000
2006 Jeep Wrangler SportBid Now5 days$10,500
Comments
Anyone who converts this to an “electric” needs to be put in a reassignment program.
I agree 100%
Nice car.
God bless America
The seller likely put the car in storage to conduct the sale. Based on the garage and other cars visible in most of the pictures I’d be hesitant to have a bunch of random strangers that saw the car online coming to my house scoping out my belongings. Renting a storage unit for a month or two, especially if there are move in specials isn’t a bad idea.
Steve R
The FM listing has been posted for a year, so that storage unit rental is probably starting to add up!
Good point Steve. Some of us have “spare parts” sitting around that are worth serious cash. It’s best to limit the number of people who know what you have and where it is. I’ve heard stories about people who let a prospective car buyer into their building and a few days later there was a break in and some expensive parts disappeared.
My experience is somewhere between 95 and 99% of car people are not crooks, but all it takes is one in the wrong place and you have a problem. Make sure all cars and parts that are expensive are insured just in case.
My neighbor had one just like this in the same colors with Cragar mags. It was near perfect. I was in High School and walked past it parked in his driveway many days of the week.One day a hand lettered for sale sigh appeared in one of the side windows. $2500. I had about $1300 to my named saved up. I spent a lot of time trying to come up with the rest. That sign stayed there over a year. No one bought the car. I knew he wasn’t trying too hard. The car remained, I don’t think I ever saw it in motion. I know it ran because one day it would be facing one way and a week later I noticed it was facing the other way. It was always clean and shiny. I found other things to be interested in like girls and guitars and started paying less attention. I figured he had decided to keep it. It was there for a couple more years and then one day I saw that it was gone.It took a few more trips past his house for me to understand that it wasn’t coming back.
I wonder if this is the same car? California to Idaho? Not inconceivable but nah, I just remembered how many surviving 55-57 Chevys there are.
The answer is: Most of them
Paolo, you should have bought the car, unlike the girls, it would have increased in value over the years! lol.
As an electric. That’s viable. In 15 or 20 years you may only be able to purchase gasoline in a pharmacy, like it was 130 years ago. Its performance would be much better than a SBC too.
I just looked at the ad on FB. That must not be the best place to sell anything, as it was listed a year ago.
Electric?? I prefer a small block but a big block or even an LS would okay. Always thought this color combination looked best on a Nomad. Just out of school I worked at gas station with a guy that was in the automotive field in college that had a 56 Nomad with this color combination is probably why.
And the front bumper is bent up, as they all were after one lift with the GM supplied bumper jack. One of the value engineered drawbacks to 50’s GM cars (along with the cardboard door panels and package shelf).
283?? The correct engine would be a 265. 283 was not released until 1957.
…but, a nicely built 327 would be great/ Yet, those engines are getting hard to find. A crate 350 would slide in quite easily. For these vehicles, I wouldn’t need a monster power plant, just a cool one that has a little giddy-up. Nomad’s fetch a hefty price when complete. This one just might go for the asking price, even though the seller has had it for sale for over a year.
Okay BF. My replies are not showing up. I’ve addressed this issue before. I don’t believe it is my ISP. This is getting frustrating. Delete me from the mailing list, please.