Someone took a 1962 Bel Air bubble top, one of the prettiest rooflines GM ever drew, and put 1,015 horsepower under it. It’s now for sale at RK Motors Charlotte.
The car, offered under stock number 138287, shows 849 miles on its odometer. It’s a ground-up Pro Touring build, which in this case means very little under the skin is still 1962. A dyno sheet included with the car shows the engine producing 1,015 horsepower and 875 lb-ft of torque.
At the heart of the build is a 632-cubic-inch Dart Big M iron-block V8. The engine uses a Callies Magnum crankshaft, JE pistons and a Jesel roller valvetrain, topped by polished Pro-Filer aluminum heads and an AED 1,250-cfm carburetor. Power goes through a Tremec TKO600 five-speed manual transmission to a Moser 12-bolt rear end with 3.37 gears and a limited-slip differential.
The Bel Air rides on a one-off perimeter chassis built by Ken Thompson, a former Holman & Moody employee who also fabricated the car’s headers. The setup borrows from NASCAR, with race-inspired front and rear suspension, a NASCAR-style steering box and side-exit boom-tube exhaust. Double-adjustable QA1 coilovers, heavy-duty sway bars and Wilwood disc brakes at all four corners round out the hardware.
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Muscle Car Accessories of Taylorsville, North Carolina, handled the body and paint, finishing the car in black and Toyota Speedway Blue. The bumpers were tucked and reshaped, the cowl was filled and the rear trim was shaved. A custom steel hood adds a working 4-inch cowl-induction scoop. Chrome work was done by Paul’s Chrome Plating of Evans City, Pennsylvania, and the car sits on polished Budnik wheels, 18 inches up front and 20 inches in back.
The cabin was redone in black leather by Ray Hester of Lexington, North Carolina. It holds four modified SCAT Procar bucket seats, Simpson harnesses and a six-point roll cage. The body was channeled over a flat floor so the car sits lower on its frame. AutoMeter gauges and a Hurst shifter share the cabin with power windows and modern air conditioning, which is the whole Pro Touring pitch in one dashboard.
Build photos and the dyno sheet accompany the sale. It has a show history, but nobody bolts in a five-speed manual and Simpson harnesses for a car that only rides a trailer. Would you drive a carbureted, 1,015-hp big-block on the street, or does a car like this live on its dyno sheet?
Images Via: Hemmings Auctions
See The Car Here
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