The car is Classic Chevrolet Bel Air Project X, the most famous 1957 Chevy ever built – and rebuilt. Since its debut in Popular Hot Rodding (PHR) more than 40 years ago, Project X has served as a rolling, evolving test bed of high-performance parts and a bell weather of automotive culture trends. But while this perpetual project car has never absolutely been finished, it has undergone several complete rebuilds – transformations that have contemporized its performance and styling. General Motors and PHR collaborated during the past year to redesign, restore and re-power the iconic yellow shoebox, including the first of a limited number of Anniversary 427 crate engines.
Enhanced structure. The Corvette suspension provides Project X with vastly improved ride and handling characteristics – attributes that were enhanced with a strengthened front-end structure. Like so many of the details throughout the car, the body and paint work look simple enough at a glance, but represent untold hours of planning, execution and attention to detail. The body was removed from the frame during the restoration and completely reworked. At the front, the iconic bumper/grille was re-done with a custom, billet aluminum grille bar – outfitted with a “427” emblem – while the grille has a unique mesh pattern.
As with the exterior, Project X’s cabin was completely dismantled and rebuilt – with plenty of subtle details and tricks. The dashboard, for example, was custom-built with billet aluminum inserts that carry the same “X” logos as the exterior Bel Air trim panel. A full set of Custom Rod Gauges instruments – built specifically for Project X – fills the panel in front of the driver. The dashboard also houses factory air conditioning vents that serve as outlets for the aftermarket Vintage Air climate system.
Nestled in at the front of the frame rails is the all-new Anniversary 427 big-block crate engine from GM Performance Parts. It is a modern re-creation of the mythical, all-aluminum ZL-1 427 engine. It is underrated at 430 horsepower and 450 lb.-ft. of torque – like the production engine was in 1969. Only 427 of the special engines will be built. The Anniversary 427 has a 10:1 compression ratio, all-forged reciprocating parts, a roller camshaft, aluminum oval-port heads with 2.19/1.88-inch valves, HEI ignition and an 850-cfm four-barrel carburetor mounted atop an aluminum dual-plane intake manifold. All of the limited-edition engines come with natural-finish, “427 CHEVROLET”-script valve covers that are serialized, per their build in the 427-unit run. Also, every engine comes with a matching-number owner’s kit, adding to its exclusivity.
Source: Superchevy
