No matter what brand of automobile you prefer, cool will always be cool. This has and will always be the case with a car guy. In the back of his mind, it doesn’t matter whether he prefers Chevy, Ford or Mopar hot rods, cool is cool, and hot rods are cool. While the folks at Chevrolet never realized the lasting power of the “coolness” they incorporated into the early Bel Air people movers, hot-rodders have been exploiting the style since the car’s inception.

Even in factory form, the ’54 Bel Air exudes cool.

Take for instance J.C. Beattie, Jr, of ATI Performance Products. When he decided to build a hot rod that could be used as not only a test vehicle for various ATI products, but one that could also make a statement when arriving at… well… any automotive function, he decided on this ’54 Bel Air.

The factory frame of the Bel Air was adequate when the car was new, but now, not so much. J.C. is having the guys at Advanced Automotive Concepts slide a new Art Morrison GT Sport chassis with braced 9-inch rearend with 35-spline axles, and a Moser 3.50-geared center section. Strange double-adjustable shocks will eliminate the bounce at all for corners. Finally, a set of 13-inch Wilwood binders are mounted on all four corners, and large-by-huge wheels and tires will provide plenty of traction.

The exterior of the car will retain the lifetime of patina that is has acquired, and that includes all chrome and trim. Like we said, cool is cool, and why try to change that? The colors and seasoned appearance of the interior suits J.C. just fine, so just a simple refinish, updating, and cleaning as needed is all that will happen. One upgrade inside does involve the use of Classic Instruments and Red Steelie V8 gauges.

When it comes to motivating this little shoebox, modernization is the word of the day. Chevrolet’s new LT4 engine has hit the hot rod world with a vengeance, and this ride is no exception. The wet sump version going under the Bel Air is delivering 650 horsepower, and 650 lb./ft. of torque. A Wegner Motorsports accessory-drive kit is being used to locate A/C and alternator away from frame rails, as well as support the power steering, An 8L90E transmission will be the baseline transmission to start the project with and will use a billet cover ATI torque converter.

The ECU, TCU, wiring, and pedal kit all OEM GM. OE Chevrolet exhaust manifolds, and most of a stock ZL1 Camaro exhaust in conjunction with a Borla Camaro SS kit and mufflers. Will be assembled. Finally, the transmission crossmember will be designed to accommodate everything from a Powerglide all the way through the new 10R90 transmission. When your business it transmissions, you need to test products, and this is the perfect avenue for testing.

If you want to keep up with this build, you can check in at ATI Performance, and learn how the car comes together, and you can find cool hot rod parts for your ride as well.