LS7-Powered 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible

This 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air was the recipient of a high-level custom build in 2016 by Tony's Kustoms of Lenoir City, Tennessee. The car rides on a full Art Morrison GT Sport chassis equipped with a coil-over suspension, rack & pinion steering, and power disc brakes. The body is finished in red over a custom red and gray leather interior and a power-operated red soft top. The car is powered by a wet sump 7.0L LS7 V8, paired with a 4L75E and 9" rear, riding on Budnik wheels. Additional features include a polished stainless-steel dual exhaust, a modern audio system with Bluetooth, and air conditioning. Located in Morgan Hill, California, this Bel Air is now offered by the selling dealer on a clean California title. 

Finished in bright red, the body was taken down to bare metal and worked straight before applying the two-stage basecoat/clearcoat finish. All the original styling elements are retained, including the tail fin trim panels, gold grille, and gold Chevrolet scripts with "V" emblems, while factory style "Fuel Injection" badges were added on the fenders. Dual functional antennas are mounted on the top of the quarter panels. A red canvas top with a plastic rear window was installed by Steve Holcomb at Pro Auto Custom Interiors and includes a red leather boot cover.

The car rides on Budnik Muroc IV SKO machine faced wheels with polished lip and accents. The front wheels measure 17” and 18" in the rear with newer Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires.  The braking consists of a polished, power-assisted Baer master cylinder and Wilwood discs on all four corners, with 6-piston calipers up front and 4-piston calipers in the rear.  The suspension utilizes tubular control arms in the front, while the rear uses a triangulated 4-link system, coil-overs, and heavy-duty sway bars are equipped front and rear. The steering has been upgraded with a power rack-and-pinion unit.

The custom interior was fabricated and installed by Steve Holcomb and features bucket seats upholstered in red leather with gray inserts and french stitching. Custom door panels were made to match, fitted with polished hardware for the door handles and vent window cranks, and speakers for the stereo. The center console is upholstered in red leather and houses the shifter for the automatic transmission and dual cup holders and a storage compartment that hides the switches for the power windows, E-brake handle, dual power antennas, and Bluetooth stereo. The dash is finished in red to match the exterior, while the red carpeting is protected with black floor mats. Additional features include air conditioning and a fully upholstered trunk with a battery kill switch and a hard-wired trickle charger.

The factory steering wheel was replaced with a Billet Specialties 30725 polished wheel with a red padded rim and mounted to a polished billet tilt steering column.  The instrumentation is made up of gauges from Classic Industries and includes a central gauge with a 140-mph speedometer, an 8k-rpm tachometer, and voltage and oil pressure.  Supplementary gauges for coolant temperature and fuel level are found on each side.  The full-width aluminum dash trim panel with Bel Air accent script houses an analog clock on the passenger side near the glove compartment.  The five-digit odometer reads 1.5k miles, which is the mileage accumulation since the build was completed. 

A crate 7.0-liter LS7 V8 was installed in place of the factory engine with a wet-sump oiling system and a horsepower rating of 505.  The fuel system was upgraded with a Rick’s 24-gallon stainless-steel tank with an internal fuel pump, while cooling was improved with a custom aluminum radiator and core support.  Power is sent to the rear wheels via a 4L75-E four-speed automatic transmission with a Ford 9” rear end with 3:70 gears. The engine bay features a smoothed firewall with custom-made inner fenders, and all finished to match the body. Additional equipment includes polished long tube headers, billet hood hinges, and a custom-fabricated air intake tube.

During the restoration, the chassis and all suspension components were powder-coated in metallic gray, while the underside of the body was finished in red. The custom Art Morrison chassis features integrated supports for the polished dual exhaust. Additional photos are available in the gallery.

AUTOHUNTER ADMIN UPDATE 12/17/20 4:30PM MST: A video of the car has been added to the listing.