1955 Chevrolet Nomad: East Coaster Today
The 1955 and 1956 Chevy Nomads have been turning heads for more than 65 years.
The Nomad debuted in 1954 as a concept car in General Motors’ Motorama lineup of ‘dream cars’. The car was in fine company, following GM chief designer Harley Earl’s success with the Corvette Roadster and a concept Corvette fastback called Corvair.
The Nomad went on sale soon after, as a 1955 model, and was considered the halo station wagon of Chevrolet’s Tri-Five vehicles – that is, cars built during Chevy’s golden model years 1955, 1956 and 1957.
For production, the front bodywork from the Corvette which was used on the concept was replaced with the same front end styling as the Chevy Bel Air, including the front doors from a Bel Air Convertible. The two-door Nomad also featured a slanted B-pillar and nearly wraparound rear windows.
Don’t mess around with today’s meticulously restored East Coaster. The eye-searing Nomad’s stock 265 CID V8 is long gone and replaced with a 556-horsepower 6.2L GM V8.
It’s great to see such a fine example of one of our favourite station wagons cruising the streets of Halifax.
Summer is coming.
