1957 Chevy Bel Air with a Diesel V8
American Legends Hot Rods spent seven years building this 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. The unique car called “Hellair” achieved 30+ Best of Show awards and two Maguire awards. It will be auctioned at Mecum in Glendale, Arizona.
Inside the engine bay is a swapped 6.6 L Duramax (LMM) turbodiesel V8 built by Hausmann’s Diesel Performance. The motor features Diamond pistons, billet valvetrain, PPE exhaust manifolds, and Fleece Performance 68 mm turbocharger. Diesel is fed by a FASS 225 lift pump, Stroker CP3 pump, and a set of 45% over injectors.
Poor Boys Diesel tuned the motor and made 634 hp (466 kW) and 1098 lb-ft (1488 Nm) of torque. Behind the Duramax is a South Bend Stage 3 clutch and ZF6 six-speed manual transmission. From there power is transferred to a custom rear end with Eaton Truetrac differential, 3.00 ratio, and 35-spline axles.
Hellair rides on a Roadster Shop REVO chassis featuring AFCO adjustable coilovers, steering rack, and parallel 4-bar rear suspension. Behind the Schott Fuel wheels (19×8, 20×12) are Wilwood six-piston front brakes and four-piston rear brakes.
The removed the classic emblems, door handles, hood rockets, and fender louvers for a cleaner appearance. Hogie Shine’s covered the smooth body in Cadillac Black Diamond paint accented by tucked chrome bumpers and polished stainless steel trim. Up front they added a set of Dapper Lightning LED headlights and in back are Dakota Digital LED taillights.
On the inside you find custom leather bucket seats surround by Crimson Red upholstery and 3d-printed door panels. They added power windows, Billet Specialties steering wheels, Vintage Air AC system, and custom Dakota Digital titanium gauges with “Hellair” logo.
Source: Mecum and 1957 HellAir FB page
