Comments on: Nomad Alternative: Rare 1956 Pontiac Safari

By: John Morrissey

John Morrissey — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 02:40:37 +0000

I saw one about 10 years back at a car show in Halifax, Ma. For some strange reason it gathered little attention. It was a deep red and creme Valor, no idea if those were stock colors. Never seen another a since.

By: Big C

Big C — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 20:34:57 +0000

In reply to Jack Quantrill.

At first glance, I thought all the airbags inflated.

By: JustPassinThru

JustPassinThru — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 18:35:05 +0000

In reply to Arfeeto.

I had to look on Bing Images to be sure…yes, correct. The non-Nomad Poncho wagons used the Bel Air rear quarters, with an adapted taillight assembly to plug into the Chevy fin housing.

You’d think, since they DID spend the money to make a wagon with Pontiac rear quarters…they’d have used it in the non-sport wagons as well.

By: Frank Sumatra

Frank Sumatra — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 18:09:54 +0000

Photoshop the pole barn out and you would have a nice print for an old car calendar.

By: BIMMERBILL

BIMMERBILL — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 18:03:36 +0000

I had two ’55s Nomads and a ’57 Safari 2 door. In ’57 Pontiac had a four door Safari which was nothing but their 4 door station wagon badged Safari with some puny chrome strips on the tail gate, no special roof, nothing carried over from the 2 door. I do miss the Nomads and I luckily I get to see one of them occasionally.
Bill

By: John

John — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 17:59:18 +0000

In reply to Flguy.

Yes indeed and a proper restoration not a hotrod abomination. I don’t get the immediate “LS SWAP” and paint schemes that make you sea sick.
The originality is the allure of these cars.

By: John

John — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 17:55:08 +0000

In reply to Jerry Bramlett.

One thing to remember with anything pre 70s. The body panels should NOT align perfect. If they do there’s LOTS of body work done. The fit and finish in the 50s wasn’t that good and the panels were not made perfectly.
So anytime someone is selling an older “original” car with “perfect gaps and straight panels” … It is no way all original.

By: Greg Gustafson

Greg Gustafson — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 17:44:15 +0000

In reply to Jack Quantrill.

And not a minute too soon, I might add.

By: Taconix

Taconix — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 17:06:33 +0000

In reply to Doug M.

Nomad and Safari share the same roof.

By: Doug M

Doug M — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 16:25:56 +0000

One would think that the safari and Nomad would have shared common things like floor pans. Noooo.

Was peripherally involved in a safari resto, oh, 15 years ago. All unique panels on the Poncho, new floor pan had to be fabricated, Chev stuff wouldn’t work.

By: Arfeeto

Arfeeto — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 16:08:25 +0000

In reply to geezerglide 85.

Indeed, that special tooling was a “thing” with GM back and the day. Buick did it with its Skylark and Cadillac with its Eldorado. (Perhaps Ford and Chrysler did, too, but I was always focused on GM products). Apparently, bean counters in the 1950s wielded considerably less influence on the design engineers than the have ever since.

By: Jack Quantrill

Jack Quantrill — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 15:40:22 +0000

At least someone put in a windshield sun deflector to “ protect” the interior!

By: Yblocker

Yblocker — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 15:03:29 +0000

Never cared much for the front end of the 55-56 Pontiac, I prefer the 57 version, but I do like that crescent speedometer. Too bad this car got this point, it’s gonna take a lot of time and money to bring it back

By: Flguy

Flguy — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 14:40:12 +0000

I wonder how many of the 302 wagons left actually were equipped with factory AC.
I surely hope that someone takes on this project and restores this beautiful Pontiac.

By: geezerglide 85

geezerglide 85 — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 14:40:03 +0000

I think this one will be saved, there aren’t that many left to pick from. I always liked the Safari more than the Nomad. I even remember when I was a kid in the 60’s reading Hot Rod magazine, in the small ads in the back guys were looking to buy Safaris. There was no internet back then, so it was hard to search for a car beyond your local area. What always amazed me was that Pontiac tooled up to make these special rear quarters just for the Safari. All of their other wagons just used Chevy bodies.

By: Jerry Bramlett

Jerry Bramlett — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 13:54:43 +0000

This is just sad. While I hope this Safari will be saved, I think it will probably become a parts car for its few factory a.c. dash pieces.

Many of the exterior trim pieces are missing. The body looks beat-up with poor panel alignment. The interior is trashed and gutted too. The rusty rockers look almost un-fixable by a hobbyist. I’m surprised the bidding has gone over $1,000.