I have been thinking about a possible model of the 1957 Chevrolet "Black Widow" cars that were built by Chevrolet especially for NASCAR racing. 7 were built if my info is correct. 6 went to SEDCO which was a semi-secret group that prepared them for NASCAR racing and the seventh one was shipped to Harlan, IA where Dale Swanson turned it into the IMCA championship for 1957. Johnny Beauchamp drove one of them to second place in the next to last Daytona race held on the beach. He spent most of the rest of his time winning that IMCA championship. 40 races entered, 34 wins. Nobody else even came close.
This is the "Black Widow" he drove to 2nd place at Daytona in 1957.
johnnyb2 by
Nathan Pitts, on Flickr
Don't think it is the same car he won the IMCA championship with that same year. 6 cars were shipped by Chevrolet to Nalley Chevrolet in Atlanta where they were prepared for NASCAR. They could not get the cars to run right so they called Dale Swanson from Harlan, IA to come and get them to work. Beauchamp went with him and ending up driving this car. Swanson got them to run good with 2 4bbl carbs. The 7th car had been shipped to Harlan and Swanson and Beauchamp went back there after Daytona. Have not found a pic of the IMCA car yet, that I am sure of.
Been pondering a model of the "Black Widow" car but don't know of a 57 Chev 2 dr post sedan to use. Can't use a hardtop as the roof is lower. The 57 "gasser" might work, not sure. Any thoughts and ideas on a possible project using a 57 2 dr sedan I would be interested in hearing.
MB