Chevy’s Nomad Sports Wagon evolved from a ’53 Corvette prototype.
Draggin’ Wagons Story and photos by John Gunnell
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“ raggin’ wagons” is a term coined to describe the modified station wagons that tore down dragstrips in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Wagons were popular as the basis for drag racing machines because of their weight distribution characteristics. With the right combination of a wagon body and a chassis set up for going fast in the quarter mile, a race car builder could create a real winner. This story is not about station wagons that ran the quarter mile; it’s about high-performance station wagons that competed in the “Stoplight Grand Prix” of the streets of North America or raced down the super highways built in the postwar era. Some of these wagons were mighty good looking, muscular underneath and pretty rare as well. The evolution of the station wagon between the first Ford Model A wagon in the late-‘20s and ‘50s and ‘60s “sport wagons” was a striking reflection of the postwar urge to own fine vehicles and suburban homes. Early “depot hacks” were boxy utility vehicles, but by the ‘30s, a richly varnished “woodie” wagon was an icon of stately suburban living. Immediately after World War II, car buyers--especially young, middleclass married couples who were raising families and purchasing suburban homes–-turned to the station wagon as an all-purpose vehicle that could serve their every need. Production of station wagons rose rapidly from the early 1950s on, even doubling every three years up to 1957. The sale of these cars–-by now made entirely of metal (but sometimes using simulated wood trim)--was stimulated by North Americas’ new suburban lifestyle. By the late-‘50s, the station wagon had evolved to a model selling nearly a million cars a year.
Model Year Total Wagon Production Market Penetration % 1951 174,500 3.3 (*) 1952 168,500 3.9 1953 303,000 4.9 1954 310,000 6.5 (*) 1955 580,000 8.2 1956 707,200 11.3 1957 843,500 13.6(*) 1958 647,000 15.2 1959 937,000 16.9 1960 923,700 15.4 1961 866,800 16.0 1962 924,900 13.8 1963 963,500 13.1 1964 936,969 11.9 1965 968,771 11.0 1966 912,433 10.6 1967 760,094 9.9 1968 860,596 10.3 1969 869,684 10.2
(*) Note doubling in 3-year intervals up to 1957.
fore long, the steel crate-on-wheels became a “sport wagon” identified by catchy model names like Nomad, Safari, Caballero, Country Squire and Fiesta. There was also a proliferation of station wagons. Ford-–the acknowledged “wagonmaster”--offered two wagons in 1949. They were identical except for the choice of an inline six-cylinder engine or a flathead V8 with 100 hp. By 1959, Ford had a lineup of 12 wagons including plain, mid-range and fancy styles with two- or four-doors. You could still get a six, but many wagons had the biggest V8s.
The station wagon went through revolutionary changes in the ’50s, after the wood-bodied depot hack was replaced by the all-steel carry-all. Be- There was an impression that a station wagon, due to its utilitarian 32 MUSCLE CAR PLUS MAGAZINE FEB/MAR 2021
