Sometimes in life, no matter how bad you want something to work, you just have to realize it ain't happening. For instance, lamb chops and tuna fish, barbecue sauce and mustard, and other various odd combos will never go hand in hand. It's just like having a fifth wheel tag along on a date, which will never work, because someone's always gettin' left out. Same story, different chapter when it comes to three's company-or is it? When Chris Pilos moved in on building his '57, he found that three was, in fact, the magic number.
When Chris headed to the junkyard to look for parts for a customer, he ran into a pleasant surprise. While scavenging through the yard, he stumbled on what was left of a '57 Chevy. The car was looking pretty shabby and Chris knew it. But he insisted that he make this car his own. Once the car was in position, all that was missing was a crew.
Chris enlisted the help of good friend Bill Jones and son Stephen. Bill and Chris started off by doing some reconstruction up front in the engine compartment to make room for the 1,450hp 502 Chevy big-block. The '70 Chevy 454 bored was 0.090 over, then a whole heap of parts were added, including GM Performance aluminum heads, Manley connecting rods, TRW forged pistons, a Crane roller camshaft, a Holley intake manifold, a BDS 16-line fuel injection, and a Holley 420 megablower. The beast under the hood breaths through Hooker 2 1/2-inch headers and Spintec 3 1/2-inch oval X-pipe. Bill handcrafted all the metal in the engine compartment.
The duo then concentrated on the underside of the body; Chris wanted the undercarriage to look just as stunning as the body. They welded hand-fabbed metal pieces under the body to give the underside a smooth, sleek look. The four-link Art Morrison racing chassis outfitted with an Air Ride Technologies airbag system, Wilwood brakes, and Boyd Coddington wheels were ready to be installed. The three placed the body on the chassis, then went separate ways. Father and son finished off the bodywork around the car while Bill got crackin' on wiring the car's electric doors, trunk pops, remote start, power windows-the list goes on. When all was said and done, Chris sprayed the car in a PPG custom mix of Torch Red.
After the chassis and body were complete, next came an all-original interior. Chris and Bill designed and built custom door panels, floor and kick panels, and had a custom one-piece leather headliner made. Lyons Upholstery was called in to cover the one-off interior in genuine tan leather. Dakota Digital gauges and an ididit steering column top off the '57's inside.