Vehicle Description
Gateway Classic Cars of Dallas is proud to offer a show ready 1957
Chevrolet Bel Air, this one is special, and can can be described
best by the owner, so below we have included the personal
description from the owner who built it. On my way to Dallas in
1999, I noticed what looked to be a nice '57 sitting in front of
Cotton's facility. I decided to stop on my return trip to Austin
and check it out. What I found was an unrestored and unmolested '57
that Cotton had acquired from a local and wanted to turn it for a
profit. What impressed me about the car was the fact that it had a
very "straight" body and showed no evidence of having ever been in
a collision. The existing drivetrain consisted of a "warmed over"
327 small block, Muncie M-21 four-speed and a vintage '57
positraction rear end. With an eye toward future restoration, I
knew that this was the car for me. Cotton and I agreed on what I
now know was a very fair price and "Peggy Sue" was, after 42 years
finally mine. I had a good time driving the car, as it was, around
Austin for a couple of years but in 2000 I was emotionally and
financially prepared to begin the restoration process. The first
order of business would be the engine, the heart of "Peggy Sue,"
and something I wanted done just right. I selected an excellent
local performance shop to build the engine and no expense was
spared in the process. What I wanted to create was a power-plant
reminiscent of the '50s and early '60s, but with much more power.
Most of you know what I'm talking about. A machine that, though
very drivable on the street, vibrates and shakes and tells you that
you better stay with it at all times or it may get away from you.
Today's performance cars are marvels of engineering. They put out
smooth, brute horsepower but they leave you with the feeling that
you're just along for the ride. Nothing can compare to the chatter
of solid lifters, the rumble and shake of a long duration cam, and
the deep throated sound of a Holly double pumper. The first order
of business was to remove the 327 and find a block that would be
suitable for what I wanted to create in an engine for the car. We
located a seasoned 350 CID, four-bolt main, block that, based on
the casting number, was determined to be a truck block manufactured
between 1969 and 1975. The advantage of this block is that it is an
extremely thick-walled casting which offers the obvious advantages
of better cooling and the potential for significant overbore if one
is so inclined. The first step in preparing the block was to place
it in an oven at 700 degrees for 12 hours to draw out all the oil
that had saturated the pores of the cast iron. It was then align
bored, had the decks machined and the cylinders bored to the piston
manufacture's specs. All of the components of the reciprocating
unit were all static balanced using a gram scale. And what a
reciprocating unit!! We used a Scat 4340 forged steel crank.
Rotating on this crank are Eagle 4340 H-beam rods. Regarding the
rods, the late, great famous builder of Chevy engines, Smokey
Yunick, always recommended that the longest connecting rod possible
be used in any particular engine application I order to decrease
the rod angle, thereby reducing the load on the piston skirts.
Consequently, we went with a six-inch rod. Topping things off is a
set of JE forged aluminum "Ultra Light" pistons. The block was
bored to the specs provided by JE, resulting in a displacement of
362 cubic inches. Edelbrock Performer RPM aluminum heads were added
to enhance performance and reduce weight as was an Edelbrock Victor
Jr. intake. I initially tried an Edelbrock 750 DVM carb but it just
couldn't meet the demands of the engine. A Holly 750 CFM "double
pumper" solved that problem. The valve train consists of a Duntov"
(Crane grind) 30/30 solid lifter camshaft, Crane aluminum roller
rocker arms and Competition Cams pushrods. The spark is provided by
and MSD ignition system and exhaust gasses are extracted by
Sanderson headers. One of the best moves I made was getting rid of
the Muncie M-21 four speed transmission that was in the car when I
bought it, and installing a Tremec TKO 5-speed overdrive. This is a
super tranny, originally developed for the super high performance
"Saleen" Mustang.... Ford can be good? It's an extremely strong
transmission, shifts smoothly with a short throw and the 5th
(overdrive) gear makes highway cruising a pleasure and saves gas.
"Peggy Sue's" rear end (oops!) is somewhat of a departure from the
rest of the drivetrain. It's an original '57 posi unit, but has
been beefed up with Strange Engineering gears (ring and pinion) and
bearings. The weak link is the axles. Unfortunately, you can't
upgrade the old '57 differential housing with modern performance
axles. Williams traction bars are used to keep the axle under
control during acceleration. To achieve the stance I wanted, the
car was lowered two inches all around. This was accomplished by
installing dropped front spindles and using lowering blocks in the
rear. In the process, power front disc brakes were also installed.
The Billet Specialties 17-inch "Ventec" wheels put the finishing
touch on the look I wanted. Performance Suspension Technology (PST)
components, i.e., bushings, front and rear sway bars, etc., were
used to round out the restoration/upgrade of the suspension system.
In late 2002 I was finally ready (and financially able) to begin a
total restoration of "Peggy Sue's" lovely body and chassis.
However, my wife Jan and I had made the decision to retire and
return from Austin to what had always been home, the Dallas area.
The final restoration would have to be put on hold a little while
longer. Not long after we relocated to Plano, I made the right move
and joined the Dallas Area Classic Chevy's (DACC) club. I found it
to be a brotherhood of classic Chevy enthusiasts that was on the
rise, with great people that were fun to be around. Fortuitously,
my membership in the DACC introduced me to the folks who would
bring about the transformation of "Peggy Sue" into the beautiful
girl she is today. The second club meeting I attended was held at
Richard Stokes' Stoked Out Specialties in Rockwall, Texas. At the
meeting I learned that Stoked Out was a new sponsor of the club,
but more importantly, I was able to meet and talk with Rich and his
wife Julie and view their outstanding facility. I made the decision
then that Stoked Out was the one to create the "Peggy Sue" we
wanted. Rich picked up the car at my home in July 2004 and the
process began. My intent was to produce a car that had the look and
feel of a vintage '57 but with significantly enhanced performance
and mechanical features. Stoked Out was more than equal to the
task. They first removed the body from the chassis and sanded all
sheet metal to bare metal. All rust and other imperfections were
then eliminated and the entire body restored to its original
condition. This was done, with great attention to detail, by Shop
Superintendent Roger Lynsky. The frame was sand blasted and powder
coated and everything on the underside of the car now looks better
than new. When "Peggy Sue" came off the assembly line in St. Louis,
Missouri, she was painted India ivory over matador red. Although I
really like the two-tone paint scheme (everything today is a solid
color-dull) I don't care for "matador red," as it has too orange a
hue. At the 2005 Autorama, I spotted a beautiful '55 Bel Air
hardtop that was India ivory over vermillion red. I loved that red
and decided to copy it. The paint artistry of Roger and others at
Stoked Out gave me exactly what I wanted. Their outstandin...for
more information please contact the seller.
