1957 Chevy 150 Two-Door Sedan - Black Widow

To give the appearance of a “wider” grille opening every other vertical bar on the insert was removed. After the bodywork was handled, the PPG black and Ford Custard (a subdued white) paint was applied by Sondles and Joe Shinliver of Woody’s. The exterior is devoid of such things as mirrors, emblems, and the like but there’s still plenty of brightwork that was handled by Sherm’s Custom Plating of Sacramento, California. Danchuk supplied items such as the door handles and other trim pieces.

Inside there were plenty of sheetmetal mods to the dash. In 1957, Chevy went away from the double-dash “hump” that the ’55-56 had. However, at Woody’s they thought it would be cool to bring it back. Not only was the hump added but so was the Corvette “grab bar” (“oh sh*t bar”, or “panic bar,” or any number of other exclamations many a hot order has expressed while riding in those early Vettes.) Both of the humps were leaned forward into the cabin ever so slightly (3/4 inch) while the remainder of the dash was smoothed over; note the absence of a glovebox or radio or any dash-mounted switches. The traditional, but modified, dash pods are filled with Classic Instruments gauges with the “SEDCO” acronym on the 220-mph speedo along with the “Black Widow” logo that also appears on the 10,000-rpm tach. Heninger of Woody’s crafted the Sherm’s chromed pedals, pedal levers, and the shift handle and then sanded them to give a “machined” look. Bud Kocher of Specialty Automotive handled the wiring chores throughout, basing the project on a kit from American Autowire. The steering column is a ’57 that was “warmed over” by Flaming River of Berea, Ohio, that attaches to a cut-down (15-inch) Dennis Crooks Quality Restorations (Poway, California) steering wheel with a custom horn button that features the Chevrolet logo and “One Fifty” script.

Since the Black Widows were basic 150 Utility sedans they never had a rear bench seat or moveable rear quarter windows, hence no bench seat, no window cranks. Woody’s Heninger did much of the dash work and the rear seat area that also has a modern-day NASCAR feel to it. Note the wheel tubs and the use of DynaDeck from DynaMat on the flooring. DynaDeck makes an excellent floor covering as it serves to fight off heat and sound through it’s built in thermal and acoustic properties. Where carpeting is used it comes from Auto Custom Carpets (Anniston, Alabama) in a black Daytona weave. The combination of cloth and vinyl in black and silver cobblestone is used to cover the ’57 four-door sedan bench seat that’s used along with custom door panels upholstered by Baldwin of Woody’s Custom Upholstery. The seatbelts are vintage aircraft while the steel rollbar (painted in a black satin finish) comes from Hilltop Performance in Harrison, Ohio.