This 1957 Chevrolet Nomad Is a Custom Trickster, Stock Body Hides Extreme Mods

If you think that belief is wrong, just look at the many 1950s cars that turn heads around and pockets inside out even today, seven decades or so after they were originally produced. Without being classics in the purest (some would say European) sense, cars that were quite common back then repeatedly sell for small fortunes at specialized auctions held across America, keeping the bar high for the likes of the Bel Air, Skylark, or Thunderbird.

The Nomad is part of that list too. Produced by Chevrolet from 1955 as a station wagon (thus not the most spectacular of car body types), the nameplate was technically discontinued in the early 1970s. Yet here it is, still being mentioned by car lovers on account of some prime examples dressed to impress.

The 1957 Nomad we have here is one of those prime examples. Born in the final year of the mighty Tri-Five era, it somehow survived to a time closer to our day, when an unnamed shop saved it and decided to give it another life.

The wagon, as it presents itself now, is the result of a rotisserie restoration that strived to keep the bodywork as original as possible. In fact, if you were a 1950s American citizen transported into the future, you'd never guess this normal-looking Nomad has been heavily modified underneath.

It all started with the chassis, with the original one swapped for an Art Morrison GT Sport piece. Everything that goes onto it is new as well: the suspension system is of the independent coilover variety on all four wheels, and braking hardware wears the Wilwood logo.

The chassis is supported off the ground by very wide Foose wheels. If you look closely enough, you'll notice the ones at the rear are the only new elements on the car that required some changes to the bodywork: the rear wheel wells had to be tubed.

The Nomad shines as new because it got triple-chrome-plated brightwork all around, as well as new glass from front to end.

Once you open the doors, a new breed of Nomad welcomes you. Instead of the original bits, the customizers installed the seats of a 2009 Mustang, modern multimedia (complete with backup camera), and navigation. The original dash controls are still there, but they are used to change the settings of the Vintage Air system.

Perhaps the most extreme transformation of the Noman comes in the engine department. We don't know what engine this Nomad originally had on, but in its current incarnation the wheels spin under the power provided by a 383ci.

It's not any 383ci, as this one has been modified by Keith Craft Racing, a name that even if hasn't been around for a while now, will forever remain in the history books of American carmaking.

The powerplant runs a Mass-Flo EFI and it is controlled by means of a four-speed automatic transmission. The hardware is there because it needs to carefully let through the massive troop of 519 hp the engine is capable of developing.

We brought up the 1957 Chevrolet Nomad in this apparently stock (but in reality very modified) form, because we just found out it is going under the hammer. It won't do that very soon, as the hammer won't fall on it before October, but it definitely is something worth looking for in the fall.

Auction house Barrett-Jackson will try to get rid of this Nomad during the event it will host in October in Scottsdale, Arizona. There is no reserve on the ride, which means that there is no limit on how much people can bid for it, in either direction.

We're told the Nomad is the result of four years of hard work from its undisclosed makers, with the final touch on the car being put back in 2013. We don't know what the wagon has been up to since, but we do know it didn't travel all that much, and must have been kept more as a museum piece.

That's because the odometer in the dashboard reads only 1,200 miles (1,931 km), which means it traveled an average of 109 miles (175 km) in each of the 11 years that have passed since its completion.

Although there's a lot of time left until October, and chances are you'll forget all about this Nomad until then, we'll keep an eye out for it and report back once we learn for how much it eventually manages to sell. On average, valuation company Hagerty places the value of such a car in stock form at over $85,000.