This Pristine 1953 Chevy Bel Air Restomod Is Powered by a Twin-Supercharged LS V8
Yes, those are suicide doors.
Utah-based Weaver Customs specializes in taking classic American cars and working its magic in engineering and fabrication to make them bona fide restomods. Its latest creation is this gorgeous 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air nicknamed “Vortex” with so many modifications, we’re not sure where to begin.
Under the hood is always a good place to start. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that an LS V8 was chosen to power this thing, specifically a 6.2-liter LSX376-B15. This crate engine straight from Chevy Performance makes 473 horsepower and 444 pound-feet of torque, but the one we see here is topped off with a very unconventional twin-supercharger setup. It’s technically one unit which the owner calls “siamese superchargers.”
They’re twin Magnuson 122 superchargers in one piece. This is a vintage oddity that was discontinued long ago and the owner estimates that there are only about four of these left in the world. We’d say this is a pretty good use for one of them.
Here’s the engine doing some revving and whistling.
The power goes through a TH350 automatic transmission into a Ford 9-inch rear end. Power and torque figures are a mystery, but we’re guessing it’s a healthy upgrade over the stock numbers for this engine.
It’s not hard to see that a lot of fabrication work was done on this body. It’s been chopped, channeled, and widened to give it a menacing presence and it rides on an Art Morrison chassis. It even has a rear diffuser giving this American classic a touch of supercar flair. Perhaps the coolest part of the body is the custom suicide doors.
Weaver Customs has a beauty on its hands with this custom Bel Air and, by the sounds of it, it'll be up for sale at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale next year.
