Arguably one of the coolest wagons ever built, the 1955 Nomad is a extremely valuable car. This was the highest trim package you could get on a wagon and they were very special. They can still be found today and are still being restored – but the price tag to buy a finished one is usually over $100,000. There are some differences between a Nomad and 210 Handyman wagon that sets them apart – read below.
In fact, only 8,530 Nomads produced in 1955. In 1956 only 8,103 were made and even less in 1957 at 6,534.
The Corvette Nomad was a 1954 proto-type that debuted at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City for General Motors Motorama. It has been called the WALDORF ever since. It was such a huge success that some of the unique features were applied to a Chevrolet Belair two-door station wagon and it was put into production as a Nomad in 1955.
All of the bodies were made at the Cleveland plant and shipped to the Flint, Baltimore, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Janesville, Tarrytown, Atlanta, Kansas City, Oakland, Willow Run, and Norwood plants to be assembled. Some of the unique features of the Nomad are the chrome tailgate bars, the ribbed roof and of course, the slanted “B” pillars.
Other unique features of the Nomad include the headlight eye brows, fender and door spears, large rear wheel wells, waffle pattern interior design, and other interior trim pieces.
To visually see the differences between a Nomad and a 210 Handyman wagon, click here.
There are people that focus on preserving these Nomads as well, such as the Chevrolet Nomad Club that hosts an annual Nomad Convention ever year! We hope to make it there one day to see all the amazing Nomad’s on display. Maybe we will have our own ’55 Nomad one day too!
