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1962 Chevy Bel Air With LS9 and Bubble Top Is About As Good As it (Custom) Gets

After recently driving the (in)famous winged Plymouth Superbird, Shawn Davis from the AutotopiaLA channel on YouTube follows up with another dream ride. It’s a custom one this time around, and something that manages to almost leave him speechless.
1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA 34 photos
Photo: AutotopiaLA/YouTube
1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe with Bubble Top and supercharged LS9 on AutotopiaLA
Seriously, if you’re an avid follower of his custom car exploits (modded vehicles from muscle to imports, an exotic here and there – so what’s not to like?), one knows very well that Davis isn’t in the habit of driving in eerie silence. He either has a goofy comment to make about the ride or at least an exclamation of amazement from time to time.

This time around, when it’s time for the “fun part” (aka the driving session, which kicks off at the 4:35 mark) he remarks that it’s one of those cars that seems perfectly capable of handling itself in any given situation. The reply is that it has seen its share of autocross... which is odd as it’s a ‘62 Bel Air custom work of art, remember?!

After which he says the sound isn’t overly aggressive (for what it packs under the hood) … and then silence. No comments, no witty remarks, no exclamation marks... just Shawn enjoying himself with the Bubble Top and its cool Tremec six-speed manual transmission. We didn’t see that one coming. Although his remarks in the description about this being “the ultimate in what is possible with custom cars in my opinion” should have given us a hint.

So, the presentation part (from 1:25) is more than crucial to establish this ride’s potential. It’s been a part of the Kent Matranga collection ever since it won the 2015 Barrett Jackson Cup. This cool Charcoal (the paintjob is allegedly lifted off a stock Honda of all!) Bel Air Sport Coupe was built by Andy Leach from Cal Automotive Creations (with a little help for the crimson interior) and looks stunning both from a distance and from a close range.

The devil is in the details, as they say, but let’s just leave the owner to explain all the cool little features. We need to focus on the monster under the hood for a moment, which comes squeaky clean from the 2:15 mark to present itself as a dry-sump, supercharged LS9 crate motor with around 650hp on tap.

More than enough to make an impression, just like the interior (seen from 3:20), which according to Davis is full of “jewelry” and stuff. The folks over at Recovery Room Interiors did a great job, and so we advance to the Easter Egg part. Yep, there’s such a thing with this one, as the trunk opening sequence is really something to behold... and nothing that would ever cross my mind, so do check it out at the 4:19 mark.

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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
Aurel Niculescu profile photo

Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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