Black Widow Bel Air

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air/150/210 Description

Chevrolet's purpose-built race car, known as the "Black Widow" is as iconic as it is rare. As for production numbers, there aren't any as the car never came off the production line and no known credible numbers exist. The first competitive appearance of the black and white fuel-injected 150 two-door sedan was at NASCAR's Speedweeks in Daytona in 1957. This example was commissioned by famed collector George Poteet and is fully featured on the cover and in the September 2012 issue of Street Roder. Dennis Crooks Quality Restorations handled the steering wheel and Flaming RIver modified the stock '57 column. The bench seat came from a 4 door sedan and was re-covered in black and silver cobblestone while carpeting comes from ACC in Daytona weave. It was all stitched into place by Matt Baldwin of Woody's Custom Upholstery. The door panels are custom while the seat belts are Vintage Aircraft. The back seat has been eliminated in true race car fashion, but the fit and finish by Woody's is second to none. Classic instruments handled the custom face 10,000-rpm stock and implanted the Black Widow logo on the gauge face. A Dane Heninger-fabricated (Woody's) handle shifts the Tremec TKO-600 5 speed that is combined with McLeod's Racing Dual-Disc clutch. The limited-edition aluminum 427 was screwed together by Bischoof Engine Service. Ignition is a PerTronix Flame Thrower system and custom headers by Woody's own Matt Baldwin. The custom twin-snorkel intake begins at the radiator core support and runs back to the fabricated intake. A Be Cool aluminum radiator and mechanical fan handle the cooling chores. The twin 450-cfm Holleys rest on the custom staggered cross-ram intake made by BES, while the custom air intake was fabricated by Woody's. The side exhaust never looked so good as it does now. This exhaust was custom fabricated by Woody's. The legendary Black Widow identifier is the six-lug hub and wheel. These are not steelies but rather aluminum from the machinery of Clay Cook, measuring 18x8 front and 18x10 rear.
The Art Morrison Enterprises Tri-Five chassis comes with a Strange Engineering 9 inch rearend fitted with 3.70 gears and a limited-slip differential, 31 spline axles, Strange Engineering Coil Over shocks, Wilwood 12- 1/2 inch rotors and calipers, and a sway bar. The front suspension is based on an AME IFS with Strange Engineering coilover shocks, and matching Wilwood rotors and calipers.
This is truly the ultimate build and will be enjoyed by the new owner and all others who drool over it for years to come!
VIN # B57J257838