L.A. traffic is much like its weather: Unpredictable.
From adding 10 degrees to what the newscaster says to never believing the ETA given to you by your navigation, this is something SoCal residents simply have to live with. Just ask Miggz, he’ll tell you firsthand. His usual drive from San Diego to L.A. took well over three hours—a drive that should have been easily done in about half that time.
So as we sat in the parking lot waiting, we finally heard a 5.7 rumbling into the parking lot. With his top up, and sweat dripping down his head Miggz replies, laughing, “I still need to add the A/C to this thing!” When asked if he had second thoughts about driving his lowrider to the shoot (instead of towing it) he said, “No, I built it to drive it and I want to enjoy it; plus I have good insurance on it.”
Being that this is our fourth all-LS issue, an interesting fact to mention is that Miggz has installed an LS in at least one car in each of those past issues. His LS installs are known for being in some of the cleanest rides in San Diego so when he pulled up we were excited to see what he had created.
When it came time to upgrade his own vehicle, he opted for an LS motor, except he went with a third-generation LS and kept the stock serpentine kit off a Camaro—but had it all polished. A few little additions included having the ribs and covers painted dove gray, and then went on to add a high mount alternator, aluminum radiator, and Lokar dipsticks.
When it came to the rest of the build, Miggz wanted to go with a smoother look to it so he didn’t load it with accessories and deleted a lot of the emblems. “I did want a touch of accessories so I just kept the antennas, skirts, and spotlights. I’ve been thinking about adding a continental kit on it but I’m still undecided on that.” Moving to the interior, Miggz added a Dakota Digital dash. The reason he went with Dakota was because it eliminates all the guesswork you have to do when you have stock gauges and an LS motor. The Dakota gauges give him an accurate reading of his temperature, voltage, oil pressure, and everything else. The steering wheel is a reproduction of the original 1957 steering wheel on a CPP chrome tilt steering column. The difference on the steering wheel is that it’s 15 inches wide instead of the original 18 inches for that sleeker look.
To finish off the interior, Miggz went with an original-pattern Ciadella interior kit. He decided to go with the vinyl instead of the cloths because they were made for a convertible and are easier up-keep. Everything was made to look sleek on the car but when it came to adding the headlights, Miggs went a little crazy and installed 7-inch LED beam headlights for motorcycles.
In all, this exceptional build was well worth the wait, and we can see why he didn’t mind taking the long trek up to L.A. This lowrider was built to drive, built to last, and built to impress, and because of that we tip our hats to a job well done!
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible
Owner
Miggz
City/State
San Diego, CA
Club
Majestics
Engine
Generation 3 LS motor with an overdrive transmission, polished Camaro serpentine kit, CPP brake booster, Lokar dipsticks, K&N air filter, Speedway high mount alternator, aluminum radiator, and Optima battery.
Body/Paint
Davey’s Auto Body shot the dove gray paint on the 1957 rag
Interior
Dakota Digital gauges, CPP tilt steering column, and a vinyl Ciadella interior kit
Sound
Bluetooth Pioneer deck with Pioneer speakers and amps
Wheels/Tires
100-spoke with N.O.S. Zenith 3-ear knockoffs and skinny whitewalls
The post 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible – The LS Plug appeared first on Lowrider.