1957 Chevy Bel Air - Super Chevy Magazine

Chuck Anderson is known around Albuquerque, New Mexico, as "Otto." That makes sense because he's into "autos" in a big way. Otto is a car builder in his hometown and built this beautiful '57 himself, in his own way. He did a restoration on the car for a customer and let the owner know that, if he ever wanted to sell, he should give Otto a call. Anderson used to have a '57 210 post that ran a dual-quad 409 which he sold to finance a family (a familiar story to car guys). Obviously, the car did come up for sale, and Otto snapped it up.

Out came the 283 and the three-speed column; in went a Lingenfelter 383ci cranking out about 520 ponies. It was hooked up to a 700-R4 to make it a cool driver. While contemplating a beefier rearend choice, Anderson came upon an '86 Vette IRS for reasonable bucks at a swap meet. Out went the 10-bolt rear and leaf springs; in went the Vette's IRS. The new rear made the stock frontend obsolete, so it was replaced with a full set of polished Heidt's components. Out of nowhere came this guy who told Otto he had a complete '59 Corvette Rochester Fuel Injection with cable drive distributor. He couldn't pass on that, so it replaced the Lingenfelter EFI Super Ram. That was sort of "good news, bad news" as the Rochester was completely cool but way too small for the 383. Out came the stroker, to be replaced with a "built 327" that was just right for a '57.

The gold candy flames took Otto about four months to get right. Once he saw how cool those were, he decided the dash should match. After that, it was the headliner, visors, arm rests, and package tray. Seems logical, right? Full-length sidepipes are great looking on a '57, but in this case they also helped clear the IRS. Some rocker modifications were necessary, but we'll forgive that. Otto gets to at least a dozen rod runs a year, and the Bel Air has turned in the very low 14s at close to 100 mph at the local dragstrip, which is at 5,000 feet elevation.

Otto Anderson is serious about cars, flames, and making them all match his personality. Who else would we want to see with a Tri-Five this beautiful?

TECH SPECS	Owner	Chuck "Otto" Anderson, Albuquerque, NM
	Vehicle	'57 Chevy Bel Air two-door hardtop
	Engine	327ci, Trickflow Twisted Wedge aluminum heads, a
		COMP Cams hydraulic cam, Manley H-beam rods,
		Keith Black flat-top pistons, Total Seal rings, a '59
		Corvette Rochester F.I., blueprinted and balanced,
		Hooker headers.
	Transmission	700-R4, TCI 3,400-stall-speed lockup converter, Art
		Carr Phase II Shift Kit, with Griffith cooler and E/Z
		linkage
	Rearend	'86 Corvette IRS, 3.23:1 positraction.
	Suspension
	Front	Heidt's 2" dropped spindles, '94 Gran Prix quick-ratio
		rack-and-pinion steering, Pro Coilover shocks, Heidt's
		Billet Hi-Tech brakes, Heidt's sway bar
	Rear	Bilstein Shocks, stock Corvette spring and sway bar
	Wheels	American Torq-Thrust IIs, front 7" with 3 1/2"
		backspace, rear 10" with 5" backspace
	Tires	Falken, 205/45ZR16 front, 295/40ZR17 rear
	Body	nosed, partially decked, rockers cleared for side pipes
	Color	Black with House of Kolors Candy Gold, Orange, Red,
		Purple flames, Light Blue outlines pinstripes
	Painter	Owner
	Interior	Stock seats covered in black/maroon with gold
		piping, flames on visors, armrests, and package tray
		by Clyde Baldanado and Black Duck T’s (flames), ididt
		column, stock gauges in polished aluminum, cluster,
		Billet Specialties Eagle steering wheel, Danchuk
		factory wiring harness, Custom Autosound USA-6
		stereo with CD