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1957 Chevrolet - Custom Black Widow If you have heard of the legendary Black Widow 57 then odds are you know the story of Buck Baker and his pursuit of the Nascar championship. He entered the season with the 57 Chevrolet but Corvette powered Black Widow only to have the rules changed on him after 4 races when NASCAR banned fuel injected motors. Buck modified his 283 to run with a single 4 barrel carburetor and with the car went on to win 17 races and bring home with 1957 NASCAR championship. There were a few Black Widow cars made in the winter of 56 and 57 in Atlanta, Georgia. The cars were 100% Chevrolet but the motors came out of the 57 Corvette, the suspension out of Chevrolet trucks and although appearing like a stock 57 from the outside were redone throughout. This 57 Chevrolet was inspired by Buck and his Black Widow but brings it into the modern era. The goal was to build a Black Widow using the same Black and White 150 stock appearing 57 but completely updating it with a Corvette drive train and suspension. The build was completed in 2007 and was totally successful. What resulted was an extremely cool custom 57 with the same theme of the original Black Widow car. It even has the factory radio delete dash! The body of the car is in great condition and all rust free. It is painted in the Black and White Black widow combo and has a beautiful finish. The build was completely body off and the body was sand blasted, dipped and Rhino undercoated. Every nut, bolt and screw was replaced throughout. All of the factory style chrome/trim is there. American Racing wheels sit under all four corners and the tires have plenty of life left. The only hint that the car isnt stock is the custom wheels and a small fuel injected badge on the rear fenders. Other than that the car is a sleeper, of course until you see it run! The LS2 all aluminum Corvette fuel injected motor under the hood propels the car like a rocket ship and puts out 400+ horsepower. It has a complete computer controlled NOS system with CAT exhaust. The rail covers have been custom painted with sign style Black Widow lettering and very nice striping work. Megaflow mufflers are in place and deliver a nice sound. Cooling is not an issue with the all aluminum radiator/fan set up and being in Texas you can bet it has been put to the test. Paired with the motor is a Corvette LL700R transmission with 3.06 gears. Sticking with the Black Widow theme of 100% Chevrolet the rest of the drive train and suspension has been updated similarly. It has a Corvette rack and pinion steering system with variable power boost. The brakes are all Corvette disks with a Bosch Hydroboost system and all of the lines were completely updated with the build as well. Up front the suspension was changed out with a Corvette C4 independent aluminum A arm system with coil over shocks. In back is a polished Corvette C4 independent aluminum rear suspension with coil over shocks as well. The original gas tank was taken out and a 25 gallon stainless steel fuel cell installed with a high performance pump. The interior is done in Black and utilizes the original style upholstery. The dash is the rare radio and heater delete option which is what you would find in most racecars. The dash is painted in a Black and Silver combo which looks nice. The original gauge pod is in place but the gauges have been upgraded with more modern White faced gauges. The trunk has the original style floor mat and offers plenty of extra storage space. The battery was also relocated to the trunk to unclutter the engine compartment while still giving you easy access in case it needs to be changed out or jumped. This is an extremely fun car that needs nothing but a new owner to drive and enjoy it! If you would like to learn about the Black Widow history a quick google search for 1957 Chevrolet Black Widow will reveal a ton of information. There are websites and articles completely dedicated to the Black Widow cars and it is a neat story.
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