For a skilled painter, every inch of a vehicle's sheet metal is blank canvas. Adding vivid color, depth, and gloss is an extremely painstaking process, but the results speak for themselves. This 1957 Chevy built by Kelly & Son Crazy Painters in California is a perfect example of how much a great paint job can transform a vehicle. However, a closer look will reveal that there's also a lot of intricate metalwork, electronics, and a potent 600-horsepower supercharged V8 under the hood. AutotopiaLA interviewed Mitch Kelly of Crazy Painters about all the details of this '57 Chevy.
Mitch's '57 Chevy Project
"The car is all aftermarket, every bit of it," said Mitch. This '57 Chevy started out as little more than a shell, and he and his crew restored it with original-style reproduction body panels, making numerous modifications along the way.
The top was chopped 1.5 inches for a more aggressive look, and a custom all-metal front bumper was fabricated, including a sleek spoiler made from part of another '57 Chevy bumper. A subtle flare was added to the rocker panels and quarter panels, mimicking a '55 Chevy's body lines. The roof edge was even extended to hide the trim at the top of the windows, and the windows automatically roll down when opening the doors, just like a modern luxury car.
As for the paint, the car was repainted in a black base and sanded to perfection. Then eight additional layers were added from bottom to top, spaced out every four inches. Mitch slowly blended in small amounts of black and raspberry shades to achieve a smooth fade. It was all finished in a urethane candy clearcoat. "If I screw that up, the whole paintjob is ruined and I've got to start over. That's the risk with this particular paintjob," Mitch remarked.
The '57 Chevy rides on paint-matched Budnik wheels with Toyo 265/35R18 front and 325/30R20 rear tires. The spinner knock-off caps are cosmetic, revealing a set of lug nuts beneath.
Under the hood, there's a Page Performance LSX376-B15 crate engine topped with a supercharger from Boost District. With only 8psi of boost and a tune from FI Tech, the V8 makes 559 horsepower to the rear wheels. Since this engine is built to handle 15psi of boost, it could easily produce much more power with a pulley swap and re-tune. Power is sent through a Tremec 6-speed manual transmission to a Currie 9-inch rear end with 3.77 gears.
From the powertrain to the metalwork to the insane paintjob, this '57 Chevy is a real head-turner. Watch the full video below from AutotopiaLA to see it in action:
Looking for 1955-57 Chevy Parts?
Whether you're restoring a Tri Five Chevy to its factory condition, working on a light resto-mod build, or doing a no-holds-barred extreme show car like Crazy Painters' '57, we'd be glad to help you find the parts you're looking for. Our 1955-57 Chevy catalog offers thousands of parts for these vehicles, which you can also find on our website. Click the button below to get a free full-color Tri Five Chevy restoration parts catalog!
