1957 Chevy Belair trim

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air/150/210 Description

My intention was to find a rust free car that didn't need body, paint or interior work. After paying top dollar for this car from Arizona didn't take long before I decided the anemic 283 with out power steering & drum brakes or A/C was not too stimulating or fun to drive. At that point good fortune smiled & I stumbled upon a low miles LS 2 complete engine from an 09 2500 Silverado truck. So there it was 6.0 liter V/8 with all the modern technology & all I had to do was make it happen.Soon the 57 was torn down to the frame sending it out for sandblasting and painted. As well as the inner fender panels & hardware then proceeded the project with the intention of making it look like a factory job.The main goal was to have a drama free car that could be driven anywhere reliably. Since the engine had less that 2k miles I figured to leave it alone focusing spending on the essentials. My advise to anyone starting a project like this to do a lot of research & ask questions from reliable source's that have already done this saving time, money & frustration. I chose CPP enterprises for the engine mounts, power steering box, steering column, front disc brake conversion, rear shock cross frame & front sway bar. CPP makes a neat front slide mount kit that enables more latitude to place the engine exactly in the right position to clear a number of things. Patriot supplied the header, Holley happened to make the correct oil pan & front conversion brackets enabling use of the truck alternator & water pump After installing the engine a 465 LE & 2200 stall convertor built by 4C's trans service in Santa Fe springs CA one of the best in the business. Quick Performance supplied the Ford 3.50 9" rear end with 31 spline axles, rear disc brakes and caltracs traction bar kit. Next came the critical part of choosing a wiring harness since I decided to retain the VVT ( variable valve timing ) fuel injection, throttle by wire & rest of the electronics Painless wiring had exactly what I needed. I lucked out with them as they were very knowledgeable & always available to answer questions. The ECU & TCM ( trans control module ) were from a Camaro.16 gal. Fuel tank was a CPP specialty item housing the intake walbro fuel pump & sending unit. Another neat item was a combination fuel filter & pressure regulator preset to 58 # from a 06 Z06 Corvette allowing a single fuel line from the filter outlet to the fuel rails. Vintage air custom installation recently added completes the package. Mark Mc Phail performance in Costa Mesa supplied lot of the technical tuning assistance netting a respectable 340 RWHP & 365 # torque on Hennessey's dyno in Lake Forest CA.. The end results have been a smooth running quick fun car to drive. The car is now completed & time to move on with another project. I have a pile of receipts to go with it.What else does a retired life long mechanic & hopeless gear head have to do with his time. Agents or scam artists need not bother I know all the tricks. 949-378-1590 located in So. Cal.