1954 Chevy Bel Air: Retro Designs’ Modernized 640 Hottie

1954 Chevy Bel Air
June 4, 2022  
|  2 Comments
Categories: Lifestyle

Like what you see? We do, too! That’s a 1954 Chevy Bel Air perfectly restored by North Carolina’s Retro Designs’ Daniel Valjevac, complete with the finned coupe’s quintessentially fifties-era Americana aesthetic. They preserve history’s most iconic cars, bringing them “roaring back to life” with modern engineering and subtle but skillfully designed styling touches.1954 Chevy Bel Air right side profile.

Left side profile of a retro 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air.

Source: The Block, Chevrolet. Photography by Lucas Priamo.

Valjevac, Retro Designs General Manager, explains:

“Over the Bel-Air’s twenty-five-year production run, the Chevy model had several different iterations. Retro Designs wanted to reimagine a coupe from the first generation, so our production team focused on finding and restoring this 1954 model. The Chevy Bel-Air presented an interesting challenge. We wanted to preserve the integrity of the original design and not lean into anything outlandish. Our goal was a sharp, crisp restoration of the car while subtly reengineering almost every facet of the automobile to make a hot rod suitable for today.”

Meanwhile, we’re just over here wondering what sort of badass technical vehicle you could make outta this thing. Maybe equip it with a chromed-out Hotchkiss machine gun on the passenger door?

 

1954 Chevy Bel Air: 640 Horses

A powerful LT4 640-horsepower engine under the unique body shape instantly gives this Retro Designs Chevrolet Bel Air hot rod status with a custom cold air intake alongside an ATI 9.17 lower pulley and balancer. Further performance is provided by a Billet Specialties front-drive system and Ultimate headers.

Valjevac engineered the finned Bel Air car to sit on a Custom Scott’s Hot Rods chassis with a special Ride Tech Air Ride Suspension for well-mannered driving.

1954 Chevy Bel Air Nameplate.

Check out the Bel Air Nameplate. Give Retro Designs a follow on Instagram and Facebook.

Close up of the Bel Air brand decal.

Bel Air Nameplate / Source: The Block, Chevrolet. Photography by Lucas Priamo.

Featuring a restoration that took thousands of hours at their brand-new 28,000 square-foot Harrisburg shop, Retro Designs channeled the rear of the 1954 classic car exterior almost imperceptibly for a sharper silhouette. In addition, The Chevrolet Bel Air incorporates an 8L90 transmission with a silky smooth Lokar shifter.

For comfortable stopping, the Retro Designs Bel-Air features stout Wilwood 4-wheel disc brakes on a set of Boze custom billet wheels with specially fabricated wheel tubs. The front of the car sits on Michelin 245/35/20 Sport Cup tires, while the company included wider 345/30/20 Michelin Pilot Sport Cups on the rear for improved traction.

Retro Designs

Close up of one of the wheels.

Source: The Block, Chevrolet. Photography by Lucas Priamo.

To provide ground clearance for the low-profile ride, Retro Designs fabricated a specially made oval ss exhaust. The 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air includes a new TANKS fuel system and features an American Autowire harness for supporting all electrical systems. Period correct Dakota Digital gauges and entertainment provided via a Rockford Fosgate controlled by a 400-watt 4-channel AMP make sure every part of the Chevrolet Bel Air remains classically inspired.Retro Designs

The Chevy's engine

The Chevrolet Bel Air custom features a cool horizon blue two-tone paint job via Axalta. In addition, Retro Designs employed multiple artisans to restore and upgrade the cabin interior, made possible through hundreds of hours of restoration work.

The 1954 Chevy Bel Air car is priced at the allowance-challenging but reasonable amount of $350,000.

For more information on Retro Designs, please visit www.retrodesignsnc.com or call 704-721-0835.

More Pictures of The Retro Designs Chevy

Photos by Lucas Priano for various publications about Retro Designs’ Bel Air restoration project.

The driver side interior of the Retro Designs Chevy.

The passenger side interior of the Retro Designs Chevy.

Left side.

Close-up of the Bel Air nameplate and white trim.

Right side.

Close-up of the Bel Air nameplate and white trim.

More Pictures of the Classic 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air Old Car

Photos by Lucas Priano for Chevrolet’s blog, The Block

Classic 1954 Chevy Bel Air from AJ Meadows for the Power Tour.

Front of the classic Chevy Bel Air

The unique body style of the Chevrolet Bel Air is iconic.

 

Close up of the classic Chevrolet Bel Air's rusted trunk.

Even rust-covered, it’s still a sight to behold.

Extreme close up of the classic 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air hood ornament.

Here, you have a clear view of the Chevrolet crest.

So what do ya think? Obviously, it can’t be a gun truck, but would this make a good (and classy) technical vehicle for the discerning warlord? 

 

1954 Chevy Bel Air: Additional Reading! 

Red dot sights for sale
Find your next RDS or LPVO – and do it with our link, eh? 

⚠️Some hyperlinks in this article may contain affiliate links. If you use them to make a purchase, we will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Breach-Bang-Clear Staff

Breach-Bang-Clear Staff

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2 Comments

  1. Ken Pereira

    Wow! What an awesome and amazing car!

    Reply
  2. Mike G

    Man that’s one fine ride! Beautiful job!
    Favorite years have always been 51-54
    That paint job is unreal!!!

    Reply

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