Barrett-Jackson brings us this beautiful example of an up-and-coming rodding trend, a pro-tour, '57 Chevy Bel Air with a polished motor and complete, Corvette drivetrain.

This super-clean, Bel Air custom has over $218k invested in parts, excluding the costs of the car itself. The project itself took three years to finish, but with an old shoebox Chevy that's this close to pro-touring perfection, not a single man hour building the rod was wasted.

Under the cherry-red hood of this '57 shoebox sits an all-polished, LS6 motor connected to a complete, C5 'Vette drivetrain. The chassis is a custom tubed frame, and it goes without saying that the Bel Air has undergone a complete transformation. The car's custom interior is all-leather, and Billet Specialties custom wheels adorn the lead sled.

The custom, '57 Chevy is currently up for bid on lot 689.1 of the Barrett-Jackson auto auction, for a price of $106,700. Substantial amounts of both time and money have been invested into the full-custom '57, but thankfully the car does come complete with photo documentation of the ground-up build, parts receipts that total-out to $218k and a build book. For all of the work and hard-earned dollars that have been invested into the Bel Air, the car is a turn-key ride that has been built to professional, showroom quality, and Barrett-Jackson is proud to offer the sled at a price that’s more than reasonable with all things considered.


* Read more about this car at Chevy Hardcore!

Bel Airs Go Pro-Tour, And This Trick '57 Is At The Apex!!!

Imagine building the ultimate Chevy shoebox. If you were to build a '50s Chevy, and if that Chevy was built to be the end of all other show-quality, street/performance Tri-Fives, what kind of a car would that be? An even better question is what kind of a "show-and-go" rod would become of the most premium-optioned, Chevy shoebox that one could've possibly ordered back in the '50s when they were still new?

Rob and Lesia Carter may hold the answer with their pro-touring, '57 Bel Air convertible. Paint was provided by Kool Kolors, while Woody Meyers was responsible for the Bel Air's bodywork. Metalwork and other assembly was done by ASR Restorations, while Steve Holcomb of Pro Auto took-over the all-red, trick interior of the convertible lead sled.

The Carters built their custom '57 convertible with the intention of building a pro-tour car that maintains classic, 1950s styling while using the best of what the Carters themselves describe as "2009 technology." With this the hot-rodding couple has definitely succeeded, as a custom chassis from Fat Man gives the Bel Air convertible just low enough of a stance, while still delivering the ride and handling characteristics of a late-model 'Vette.

The Fat Man chassis is set-up for an LS2 motor, and the LS mill that's under the hood of this '57 is chasing an automatic with a 9-inch, Moser rear and 3.70 posi differential. Wilwood provides the large disc brakes that stop the shoebox from the front and rear.

A balance between old-school class and new-school performance, Rob and Lesia Carter's '57 convertible brings "glass-quality," street rod building into a whole new frontier.

A BDS-Blown, '57 Chevy Post Lopes To Life!!!

Shoeboxes are always cool, but when you take a post sedan and turn it into a pro-street, things usually get--for lack of a better word--"active" between the local stoplights and intersections, inviting a drag race nearly everywhere it goes, not limiting its "street fighter" attitude to Pomona.


Lenny, who owns this '57 Chevy, two-door post sedan, makes power via a BDS supercharged 427 big block. The pro-street sedan uses BDS' 8-57 unit, sitting on top of the 427 motor tucked under the shoeboxes' channeled body.


Channeled over the frame, the '57 uses a Fat Man custom front suspension, along with a four-link rear and 9-inch third member. The wheels are from Boyd Coddington, though '57 Chev owner Lenny is responsible for all of the car's paint, bodywork and custom fabrication.


This video of Lenny's bitchin' '57 was recorded on May 30th of this year, but Lenny's car is still a recently-finished project.

A manufacturer of 671 and 871 superchargers out of Whittier, California, BDS manufactures these forced induction units specifically for GM's LS engine. What makes BDS' custom intake system significant above all others is that the intake manifold itself can run with either a carburetor or EFI, largely because of the carburetor adaptor that's included with the intake manifold's other necessary hardware. The system also includes a runner-style intake, O-ring and backfire valve. The entire assembly is engineered to work with both factory and aftermarket LS heads, and the blower kits are compatible with both the square and cathedral-type castings on the LS motor.


* Read more about this car at Chevy Hardcore!