Kirk Benson's '60 Bel Air - Can You Dig It?

As the supply of original iron continues to dwindle, more cars that were once considered beneath the dignity of hot rodders are now included in the lexicon of the acceptable. Four-door sedans, shunned for decades, are now being eagerly sought as street rod build material, and the advantages of comfort and practicality make these cars more usable, meaning more driveable. Remember that idea-driving your car?

When Kirk and Gael Benson first found their car, it was absolutely not for sale. The owner had some dreams of his own, but when it became apparent that the sale of the car would facilitate bringing his wife to the U.S. from Brazil, the car suddenly became expendable. (It is significantly important to have one's priorities straight, particularly in the matter of keeping a marriage intact.)

The Bensons entertained the admirable idea that the Bel Air build would be a family project and enlisted the help of Dave Kindig, proprietor of Kin Dig It Designs in Salt Lake City, Utah, to oversee the project. Of course, the initial concept was to build a daily driver, finished in street trim-nothing over the top. Where have we heard that before?

Dave first created some concept renderings that set the tone for the futuristic interpretation of the Bel Air. Instead of hiding the length of the four-door, Dave chose to draw on it as a feature of the styling concept: long and low, and rather mean as well. The somewhat staid exterior, while making a conservative and businesslike styling statement, cloaks the performance potential that is the result of the exceptionally stout motor. A tried-and-true performance success, the 383 stroker small-block provides in excess of 420 hp, more than enough to show taillights to a number of would-be competitors who might think of a four-door '60 Chevy as something that would provide no threat to street fighters that make their statement by looking the part. A 700-R4 transmission translates the power to the pavement through the Vette rearend.

The Chevy was in decidedly deplorable condition when it was acquired. The entire bottom 8 inches of the car had to be reconstructed, the frame repaired, and once the idea that the entire drivetrain from a C4 Vette was to be incorporated, the project grew from a family garage build to a much more sophisticated concept. The Bensons decided to make it a Kin Dig It build, and a star was born. As is so often the case, there came a point in the construction proceedings when someone, in this case Gael, had to make the call on what the finished product would be. Eschewing the virtues of the practical mid-budget driver, she declared that she wanted to be able to see her reflection in the underside of the car! We so love her for that! That may qualify her as the perfect wife.

The body was removed from the chassis and both underwent serious surgery to accommodate the sleek, low profile and the gutsy horsepower improvements. Fitting the body to the completely reconstructed chassis involved lengthening the chassis, channeling the body a full 8 inches, modifying the crossmember system, and fabricating a four-bar system, rear C-notch sections, and putting an elevated tunnel through the car to accommodate the Corvette driveline. The suspension is all C4 Corvette dampened by Air Ride Technologies ShockWaves 1000 shock absorbers. That long, low look is the result of a lot of planning, hacking, hewing, and complex fabrication. Aesthetic body mods include shaved mirrors, antenna, and trunk lock, and frenched exhaust outlets in the rear roll pan. While the bumpers were shaved, the door handles were all left intact, as to not deny that four-door heritage. Dave and his talented team did all of the fabrication of the chassis and the bodywork and paint. He said the hardest part of this project was trying to find parts for the car, since nothing is provided for this '60 four-door in the aftermarket. The trim, mostly damaged or missing, had to all be hand-hammered. With the exception of the hood spear and a couple of emblems, the trim is a result of Dave and the Kin Dig It crew's efforts.

The interior approaches a luxurious level that was probably never envisioned by the good folks at Chevrolet. Hey, even Caddies weren't this nice! The leather, aptly stitched by JS Custom Interiors of Salt Lake City, is a pearl white color in a restrained and tasteful pattern, complemented by white Mercedes carpets. The dash incorporates a hidden monitor, Dakota Digital gauges, and a hidden panel control for the stereo system. This is a real cruise-mobile-big and roomy with a cool sound system.

While the four-door car, like the station wagon, is enjoying a new wave of popularity, it took a lot of effort to acquire that particular extended look that changes this car from pedestrian to unique. A good design effort preceded the construction, and that, combined with the advanced skills of Kin Dig It Designs, is what made this project so successful.

That old "four-doors are never cool" myth, like so many other myths in the automotive world, seems to have been put to rest by this tough cruiser.