1960 Chevrolet Bel Air in Ft Worth, Texas

Vehicle Description

If you want a cruiser that looks like a show-winning magazine cover car that's totally sorted and ready to cruise, this 1960 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-door is ready to rock. Comprehensively upgraded from a bare-bones commuter car, it's now a fantastic resto-mod packing a thundering 427 that's ready to take some names.

Finished earlier in 2017, the build only has 7 (yes, seven) miles on it, so it's extremely fresh. Starting with a clean, original car was the key to getting such spectacular results and it really shows. Hailing from someplace friendly to vintage sheetmetal, it needed no major surgery to get back into shape. It was stripped bare, a few bumps and bruises were repaired, then it was covered in a few coats of brilliant Viper Red, which is bright enough to cause eyeball damage. It got a frame-on restoration (you can see just how clean it really is in the chassis photos, so it didn't need to come apart), and they did go the extra mile to get those long quarter panels straight and smooth and to ensure that all the wonderful details of the 1960 Chevrolet design were crisp and sharp. The wrap-around windshield is in excellent condition, and the sleek roof line makes it look fast just standing still. The Bel Air didn't have as much brightwork as the Impala, but don't worry, there's still plenty of bright trim, including delicate stainless outlining the tailfins and handsome chrome bumpers that tuck in tight to the bodywork. The crossed-flag emblems are a reminder that this car is packing some horsepower and those flattened "gullwing" style fins out back are definitely jet-age cool. There aren't many cars that can compete with this one on sheer eyeball appeal.

The interior is as well-finished as the bodywork, and just as extroverted. The original seats were reupholstered in bright red ultraleather, and the entire point of the build was to keep an OEM flavor while stepping it up a notch. Everything looks fairly stock at a glance, but when you look closely, there are a lot of features that make this an awesome road trip machine. The gauges in the dash are modern Auto Meter units that look like they were born there, there's a tilt steering column with a billet wheel, and the design certainly looks like it belongs in a vintage Chevy. Vintage Air heat and A/C was added using small vents under the dash that don't distract from the design. Speaking of the dash, it was nicely restored to stock specs, there are new carpets on the floor, and the original AM radio is still in the dash once you hear this sucker run, you won't wonder why. Open the massive trunk and you'll find more custom work that is just beautifully done to OEM levels.

The original six-cylinder engine was dumped in favor of a rebuilt 427 cubic inch V8 with a whole bunch of upgrades. Lots of billet aluminum and chrome gives it a high-tech look, with Chevrolet valve covers and a matching open-element air cleaner. With a mild cam, it makes enough horsepower to be entertaining but at the same time, it was designed to be a superior long-distance cruiser, so it's still pretty tame. A 4-barrel carburetor on a polished intake makes plenty of power and is easy to tune, and the new accessory drive system uses a serpentine belt for reliability. Power steering, Wilwood front disc brakes, a sturdy TH350 3-speed automatic transmission, and that lowered suspension all help make this Chevy feel decades younger. 20-inch chrome wheels give it a slick, modern vibe and are fitted with 255/40/20 front and giant 315/35/20 rear performance radials that fill those big wheel wells.

Nicely finished and totally sorted, this very slick Bel Air more than delivers on the promises made by its outrageous look. Call today!