Project Black Widow 2.0

     Hot Rod Jim’s 1957 Chevy 2 Door Sedan started its life as a 210 2 doors sedan with a straight 6. Little did it know it was going to get the upgrade of a lifetime and become a road going demon starting with a new chassis, one of Jim's C4 Chassis will be at the root to become one of the most comfortable Pro Touring today. The Little 6 would get replaced with a Corvette LS1, Viper Specked T56 6 Speed Manual Transmission, and Interior from a 04 Pontiac GTO. See the complete list for all the upgrades.

Update July 27, 2008
       This past week we took the Black Widow to the American Racing Technologies and got some WHP and WTQ numbers before we went to the drag strip. Cody and the guys got us hooked up and pulled 353.59 wheel horse power and 334.57 wheel torque.  After our run we made our way to the drag strip.  During this trip we also logged over 138 miles and averaged 24 MPG including the dyno pulls and a few tuning passes on the street that morning all on the same tank of gas.
       When we got to the drag strip we really wanted to make sure we were doing everything in our power to break that rear end. So with only 1 gallon of gas left in the tank we opted for 5 gallons of 110 octane unleaded for a little extra punch. After 13 total passes and a successful 13.3 second run we only broke one bolt that is normally replaced on all of our customer’s chassis. Now the one bolt was holding the half shaft U joint. The half shaft spun around and broke the bat wing as well as the lower strut mount on the diff case. We were able to weld it up and have her back on the ground in a day. We pulled the gears out and they were tight and solid. The bolts we use on our customers cars are new grade 10.9 alloy and the stock GM bolts are much softer. You can see in the last photo the stock bolt sitting next to the replacement we use..
       Look forward to the first part of next month when we go and get some handling numbers at the local Autocross.

Update June 25, 2008
       The Black Widow is starting to look like a car. With the entire exterior locked down and the car now street legal we plan on putting some serious miles on the car. We are going to wait on finishing up the interior so we can catch up on our orders.  We’re going to start going to the track and make a few passes and see if we can break the little dana 36 behind this gun boat and its 400 HP LS1. We will also be taking it to the local autocross and start getting some performance handling numbers.  Anyone want to stop by and take it for a drive?

Update May 5, 2008
       Progress has been made.  The front end is on, and locked in. The cam is in, along with the other goodies. Intake has been modified for the Cable throttle body and is installed along with everything except the alternator. We’re waiting for the rack cooler to rout the lines for that one and some other finish out goodies.  With this update I’ve also updated the tech sheet up top with all the more accurate info for the Black Widow. We've also built a custom dual cone cold air intake to ensure fresh air and solid power into our fire breathing beast. You might also notice the custom grill we’re building to help complement the “black widow theme. The GTO Seats have had some touch ups on the front. The rear seats are being modified for a little more shoulder room and a custom center console. Some photos of the 4000 watt stereo and it’s 1000 watt sub.

Stay tuned

Update April 14, 2008
       The chassis is now complete with the exception of the back half of the exhaust and the front brake lines.  The body has been bolted down, the doors installed and the gas tank mounted.  We’re waiting on the new Custom Specked cam from Thunder Racing before we put the motor back together and get the front end installed. We’ve sent out for the custom cut glass for the left and right door windows once we removed the vent windows. The GTO Seats have been sent out to have the GTO Logos removed from the center and have the driver’s side patched where an unnamed individual (Jim) burned a small hole with the welding torch.  The bumpers and other small chrome parts have been sent out for air brushing.  Check back soon for more.

The saga continues
       We now have the Body back from paint and we have also built one of our new V4 chassis for our Black Widow 57. Now the assembly can get under way. Check back for more