There are classics, there are desirables, and then there are automotive icons. Only a very, very elite few vehicles have made it to iconic status. The Jeep, the 1965 Ford Mustang, the 1932 Ford hot rod, and the 1957 Chevrolet are within that group, and out of those named, it was the ’57 Chevy that every adult who tried to bring me into the world of cars properly insisted should be my goal. Yes, that failed spectacularly, but I get the appeal…very, very few cars can pull off what the 1957 Chevrolet line does. For a 1950s design, it’s actually kind of restrained, yet you still get the fins and the Dagmar bullets in the bumper if you wanted them. You’re before the musclecar era, but a fuel-injected small-block Chevrolet, a concept that was still considered forward-thinking in the 1980s, must’ve seemed like some Buck Rogers kit when it appeared. And let’s nor forget all of the history that the 150, 210 and Bel Air models combined made between now and then. They went from respectable daily drivers to dragstrip demons, to restoration goals and now…well..where do you go when you hit the top?

You embrace the wild, that’s what you do. This straight-axle stomper comes with power level stages: 1,023 horsepower for the driver tune on four pounds of boost, 1,400 horsepower on kill while slurping down 102 octane fuel, and levels above and below that. Want details? Here’s the rundown:

Ron Sporl Inc. Big M 598 C.I.D. Big Block Blower Short Block

(bottom end can endure up to 4000 Horsepower, Pro Mod Car Specs)

• Big M Dart Heads
• BDS 871 Blower
• Superchiller Intercooler
• Billet Cap option
• Race Tech custom made Pistons for this application
• Specialty Internal Friction Coatings provided by Military Contractor, Coloco. If you are looking down the barrel of a Tank or Battle Ship Gun, same thing, NASCAR uses them as well for their needs
• Coat Bearings, Piston Skirts, and DLC Wrist Pins
• Blower Shop Intake Manifold
• ARP Main Studs
• Lateral Gas Port Pistons
• Custom Valve Guides
• Competition Cams Retro Fit Camshaft /full Travel
• Spring Cups
• Dual Valve Guides
• Spring Cups
• Dual Valve Springs w/Retainers and Keepers
• Valve Spring Shim Kit
• ARP Pro Rocker Studs
• Olson Oil Pan & Pick up Kit 
• Melling Race Oil Pump
• ARP Oil Pump Stud Kit
• ARP Harmonic Balancer Bolt Kit
• ARP Valve Cover Bolt Kit
• Olson Valve Covers
• Olson Breathers
• Composite distributor Gears
  
• ARP Stainless Steel Distributor Gear and Stud Kit
• MSD Ignition w/Boost Control
• Speedway Ceramic Coated Headers
• Custom Built Fuel Cell

Transmission: 

• TH400 Automatic w/3500 Stall Converter, Pro-Built
• Full Automatic Valve Body and Torque Converter
• Shifter Console w/Assembly and Switches

                                                                                                                  Rear Differential :

• Ford 9” Narrowed 
• Spool with 3:50 Gears for street and highway logic, 31-Spline And Strange Heavy-Duty Axles Shafts

                                                                                              Suspension, Undercarriage and Brakes

• Speedway Straight Axle Kit
• Willwood 4-Wheel Disc Brakes
• GM 525 Steering Box
• Competition Engineering Ladder Bars
• Mini Tubbed
• Wheelie Bars
• ET Gasser Wheels, Front and Rear 
• Mickey Thompson Thompson Street/Drag/Race, Nitrogen filled Rear Tires

Other stuff : 

• Custom Tilt Front End (all Steel)
• Pro Comp Gauge Cluster including outside the car
• Upholstered Roll Bar 
• Fresh Interior redo with Nova bucket Seats
• Moon Pedals
• Moon Chrome Fire Extinguisher 
• Simpson Racing Lap Belts 
• Dyna Mat Insulation throughout
• 3 Train Horns System (in case there just is not enough of a noisy statement you need to make). 

If you went straight for the kill and bought the car without so much as a fight over the price, you’re looking at $42,500. Cheaper than a Hellcat, with twice the grunt and sex appeal, plus the classic good looks nobody in their right mind can deny. Nothing against the Dodge, but you can’t argue with a legend, can you?

eBay Link: 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air two-door