Wagons in vintage Street scenes

Yeah I thought of him too, but this on looks like a Nomad with the wide Speer. Can’t see if it’s a 3 lighter or not. But also love the ‘60 convertible too!

 

It is around 16:54 on the video ... lots of old Corvettes .... whole video is worth watching.

 

North Hampton Massachusetts

 

Oxford Maine.

 

I watched the whole video. Pretty interesting. Wish they said more about the '54 Nomad as history states the only one was destroyed by GM in 1958 as mentioned. I like the #1 Cadillac. A friend of mine had '57 Nomad #3. He didn't even know it till I showed him. My '56 Nomad was a late production, #7566.

 

Hard to say how many Corvette Nomads were built .... link below says 5 with 3 still known to exist .... plus there were several private custom replicas made afterward.

Great Corvette site for those interested ....

1954 Corvette Nomad (corvettes.nl)

 

Without checking on it, I believe there were about 5 '54 Corvette inspired Concept Cars, but I always known just one to be the Nomad. Now, did history change? Possibly. I will research it as time allows. But I first joined the National Nomad Club (no longer in existence and I believe it more or less became the Chevy Nomad Club of today) in 1972 and that was the history known of the '54 Corvette Nomad at the time. Since then, here almost 50 years later, it's the first I've heard of anything different. But I will research it as mentioned and will let you all know what I find out. I do know that a small amount of replica cars have been made. May take a week or two, but I'll report back.

 

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I had also come across this 2015 replica article .... apparently the factory Nomads were built on a 1953 Chevrolet chassis with the corvette body molded in .... this particular replica used a 1955 Pontiac Safari Wagon as the base

1954 Chevrolet Corvette Nomad Replica: Dream Car for Sale (yahoo.com)

 

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I am cheating a bit because these are not actual vintage street scenes .... rather they are factory concept cars that did not go into production ... but hey ... they are wagons !!!!

The goldenrod yellow one looks possibly Thunderbird going by the emblem on the roof .... the other must be a Dodge or Plymouth

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Some of those Concept Cars out there were pretty ugly. That would be an interesting new thread to start, a collection of Concept Cars.

 

Glad to see that the owner admits it's a replica car.

The article is interesting as it mentions both historical possibilities on production.

Although common sense also points to just one, the purpose of the Motorama.

I'll be digging into it soon anyway.

 

I'm checking with some Nomad guys, but in the meantime, I found this below. It looks like there may have been 2 of them. The guy that wrote this looks like he did some thorough research:

https://www.facebook.com/249160688878/posts/10153841085408879/

Edit: The Facebook link, which I am not a member of, looks like it doesn't want to transfer, therefore I am copying and pasting it for those who may not be able to see it:

Waldorf Nomad - 1954 Corvette Nomad Station Wagon
January 20, 2016 ·

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WALDORF NOMAD AND HOW MANY WERE MADE? Photo from the Canadian National Exhibition. Possibly the last time the Corvette Nomad was displayed publically before it was destroyed by GM.

It now seems extremely unlikely that any version of the original ’54 Waldorf Nomad survives. I had always hoped to find some evidence that the car was hidden away in a warehouse or someone’s garage or maybe GM secretly tucked it away in one of their storage facilities and forgot about it. The fact that I believe there were at least two ’54 Nomads built gave me hope that one of them would one day turn up. I don’t know if both were shown to the public and there is no evidence that two Nomads were on display at the same time. But, it is my belief that the story told to me and others by Norm Brown whose first day of work at GM was on July 8, 1955 and whose first job was the destruction of the Corvette Nomad is a factual account of the destruction of one of the Nomads. However, it is also a fact that a ’54 Nomad was displayed later that year in Sept. at the Canadian National Exhibition. This is why I believe there were two cars. I interviewed Norm Brown and he was thoroughly believable. I now think it likely that he destroyed a backup car that may have never been displayed. It’s hard to be sure, but that’s my gut instinct so don’t hold me to it.
So what happened to the other car? A few weeks ago I got information courtesy of the GM archives on recently discovered documents concerning the demise of the Waldorf Nomad and the Corvette Corvair. They have asked me not to post the actual documents, but gave me the OK to share the information on the documents. There are four documents relating to the destruction order for the Corvette Nomad and the Corvette Corvair. The first document is addressed to the Experimental Shop and concerns only the Nomad, dated Sept. 21, 1955, Order No. 19110. The Completion Date is written in as 10-7-55. Under the heading "WORK TO BE ACCOMPLISHED," the following is typed in: "This Work Order is being issued to authorize the scrapping of the Corvette Nomad. The Sales Department is issuing a Purchase Order. We will issue a supplement to their Work Order as soon as the Purchase Order is available." “EST. COST" $100.00." Further down on the document under the heading "REASON" is typed "The Corvette Nomad has become obsolete for Sales and Show purposes." These documents were sent to a Mr. W. R. Mackenzie and were signed off as received by him in the "REQUESTED BY" line at the bottom of the document. It was requested by R. W. Thomas and his signature is there as well. Also at the bottom under the heading “ACTUAL” the name Speer is wtitten with the date 9/28 and off to the side 9/29.

Document 2 is dated 10-7-55 Order No. 19110 (MS #1). It has two Completion Date entries written in, 10-14-55 and above that 10-17-55. the Subject, Scrap Waldorf Corvair. the Est. Cost $200.00. Under "Work to be Accomplished," it is typed, "Supplementing Work Order 19110 dated September 21, 1955 to authorize and add the scrapping of the Waldorf Corvair and to increase the estimated cost from $100.00 to $200.00. The $200.00 (space- appears to be erased) estimated cost will cover the scrapping of the Corvette Nomad on Work Order 19110 and the scrapping of the Waldorf Corvair. The Sales Department is issuing a Purchase Order. We will issue a supplement to this Work Order as soon as the Purchase Order is available." The document is also signed off on at the bottom by the same two men and under the heading "Actual" has the signature Speer 10-11.

Document 3 is dated October 27, 1955. The Order No. 19110 is now followed by (MS #2). Under the heading "CHARGE TO" is typed "Sales Dept. P.O. D-3452." Under the heading "WORK TO BE ACCOMPLISHED" it is typed in "Supplementing Work Orders 19110 (MS#1) and 19110 dated October 7, 1955 and Sept. 21 1955 to add purchase order number. Purchase Order No. D-3452 has been issued to cover the costs of scrapping these two cars." This document was signed off on by Speer 10-28.

The Completion Date in the top right hand corner of this document is November 2, 1955. I think it is likely the Nomad and the Corvair were destroyed sometime around the end of Oct. and the 2nd of November, 1955. BOTH CARS WERE DESTROYED AND THE COST WAS A MERE $200! WHAT A SHAME!!

 

Garden City Rambler used car lot located at 26-28 St. Paul Crescent, St. Catharines, Ontario. 1968.


Courtesy of The Old Motor