Want a Waldorf Nomad?
As many of you know, Superior Glass Works offers a replica
of the 1954 Chevrolet Motorama “Corvette Nomad” or “Waldorf Nomad”. The original car from which our inspiration
came was a one-off Chevrolet prototype Corvette, built into a sleek, 2-door
station wagon. The preponderance of
evidence and research supports that only one was made, it never ran, and it was
destroyed by GM in 1955.
Prior to our Superior 54 Sport Wagon being brought to
market, several individuals over the years have attempted to recreate this
unique car. The typical approach was to
start with a steel ’55 Chevy Nomad, graft a ’53-’55 Corvette nose to it, and
rework the rear quarters. Aside from
building one from scratch, this is the only realistic way to put one of these
together. I am aware of 7 Corvette
Nomads built in this manner. Two of
these examples have hit the news in just the last week which prompted me to
point out some differences between these builds and the more accurate version
we offer.
This black replica is NOT a Superior Glass Works car. It just sold at Barrett-Jackson (http://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1955-CHEVROLET-NOMAD-AUTORAMA-CUSTOM-WAGON-178643)
for a staggering $220,000. This car was
built in Washington about 15 years ago and they also built a second
one, painted blue and white, last known to live in California.
The orange replica – also not a Superior Glass Works car –
is featured in the January 2015 issue of Chevrolet Nomad Association’s magazine
The Nomad Post. It is currently on display at the Horton
Auto Museum in Fort Worth, TX. The
stated history of the car is interesting (see the photo), but I have a hard
time calling it the only production Corvette Nomad ever made. It, like the black car and the other known
replicas out there, is clearly built from a steel ‘55 Nomad.
It would be nice to see some photos of this car as it was built in ’55,
so maybe someone has some to share and fill in the blanks on the history of
this car.
What’s different from the original prototype?
1.
Windshield/windows – The prototype use a custom
windshield with a steep angle like a Corvette and shorter side windows. These examples use an upright Nomad
windshield and seem to also have stock-height side windows. (See the photo of our gray Superior 54 next to a ’55 Nomad.)
2.
B-Pillar – The prototype’s b-pillar is fatter and
more steeply raked forward vs. the Nomad.
3.
Tailgate – The prototype had a function tailgate
with an innovative roll-down window. The
black car doesn’t appear to have a functional tailgate, and the orange car uses
the lift up Nomad window.
4.
Tailgate trim – The original trim covered the
seam on either side of the tailgate and wrapped under the roll pan. This orange one uses the stock Nomad tailgate
trim. The black car did this pretty well,
although the gate doesn’t work.
5.
Front fender opening – The orange car kept the
shape of a ’55 Nomad wheel opening. The
black car correctly reshaped this like the Corvette prototype. (Again, compare
to the side-by-side photo.)
6.
Rear sliding window – The black car has a fixed
side window where the original prototype had a slider similar to the production
Nomads.
7.
Dashboard – Both cars have a ’55 Nomad dash
where the prototype used a widened ’54 Corvette dash.
So what?? Neither is claiming to be the original prototype
car and both of these examples are great looking, very unique cars. But, if you
want your own Waldorf Nomad, and you want it historically accurate to the
original Motorama show car, the Superior 54 Sport Wagon we offer is the way to
go. We used all available historical
documents to offer a body that looks as close to the original as possible. The differences pointed out above do not
exist in our version. (There is one deviation
that we made in that we eliminated the vent window in the door.) The most impactful styling feature, in my
opinion, is the rake of the windshield.
The laid-back profile we replicated from the original, coupled with the
‘chopped’ side windows, yields a low, sleek, and well-proportioned sports
car.
Our body package starts at $60,000, where a Deluxe Rolling
Package with C5 Corvette independent suspension is priced at $99,500. Compared to the cost of building one
(incorrectly) from a steel Nomad or buying an older build at auction, our
Superior 54 Sports Wagon is the more compelling option.
More details on our website at: http://www.superiorglassworks.com/category-s/2070.htm
