History
History of the Organization
The Chevrolet Nomad Association (CNA), is a friendly, family-oriented group dedicated to the preservation, restoration and enjoyment of the 1955, 1956 and 1957 Chevrolet Nomad station wagon. It was founded in 1989 after the disbandment of the National Nomad Club, which had been in existence since 1970.
History of the Nomad – WALDORF 1954
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.
Creation of the Nomad
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.
1955
There were 8,386 Nomads produced in 1955. Special features unique to the 1955 Nomad are the headlight eye brows, fender and door spears, large rear wheel wells, waffle pattern interior design, and other interior trim pieces.
1956
There were 7,886 Nomads produced in 1956. A special feature of the 1956 Nomad is that the fuel/gas tank fill is behind the left tail light. It also has a quarter panel tear drop shaped rear wheel well opening and other special interior trim pieces.
1957
There were 6,103 Nomads produced in 1957. This was the first year for the iconic 283 cubic inch engine. Special features unique to the 1957 Nomad are the quarter panel crown moldings, quarter panel aluminum inserts, tear drop shaped rear wheel well openings. The 1957 Nomad, like the 1956 model, also has a hidden fuel/gas tank fill. This time Chevrolet hid it above the left tail light in the stainless steel molding.