1950sClassic Cars
27

1957 Chevy Black Widow


1957 Chevy Black Widow. For 1957 there were four standard engine options for this old car, a 235.5 cu in (3,859 cc) inline 6-cylinder producing 140 hp (104 kW), a 265 cu in (4,340 cc) V8 “Turbo-Fire” producing 162 hp (121 kW), and two 283 cu in (4,640 cc) V8s: a “Turbo-Fire” twin-barrel carburetor producing 185 hp (138 kW) and a “Super “Turbo-Fire” four-barrel carburetor developing 220 hp (164 kW).

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  2. Great description of the engines, but you left out a few V8s. The “black widow” came with a solid lifter, fuel-injected 283 cu in that was rated at 283 hp, Regular 57s could also get an optional 250hp FI engine with hydraulic lifters, a 270hp V8 with solid lifters and dual 4-bbl carbs, and a 245hp 2-4s engine with hydraulic lifters. Can’t imagine why you would lead with a photo of this unique car and omit the high-performance end of the optional 283s for the 1957 model year.

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    1. If I remember correctly , the solid lifter cam was often refered to a the Duntov “30 , 30”

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      1. The Duntov cam was the solid lifter cam used on hi-po 283 cid V8s. The 30-30 cam was used on hi-po 327s and was called 30-30 because the valve clearance settings were .030 intake and .030 exhaust.

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  3. the black widow was a factory built race car,might of been the first copo,this car is very rare,and tops the list for collectors,Im thinking theres less then 100 of them ,no back seat,6 lugs wheels,Fuel Injection,4 sp trans posi track the engine was the 283 with FI cam,and horse pwr,was 225 to 255 after they jetted the injectors all black and white ,no heater,no radio,rubber mat flooring ,daul exh shorten,and they were made out of the 150 model,but lighten a lil,no spare or tools,no roll up widows in the back,and alot of fakes out there,so beaware,my two cents

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    2. The rear end would have floting axles like a 1 ton truck if it was real. Id rather have a copie so i could beat on it. Hard.

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  10. In high school, I had a black ’57 Bel Air 2-Door post with a 270hp 2-4BBL 283. 3-speed Hurst shifter. Wish I still had that baby.

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  12. I don’t know about the 265 cid, I think that disappeared after 1956. In the 283 small block, you could also get dual quads (270 h.p.) and fuel injection (283 h.p.), First ever one h.p. per cubic inch.

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  14. In the 40 1957 NASCAR Grand National series, Buck Baker had 10 wins in the #87 fuel injected ’57 Black Widow to win the championship. After ’57 NASCAR allowed only 4bbl carburetors.

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  15. A good buddy of mine had the 210 with a punched out 283 to a 301 and a 30 30 cam it was a screamer, much faster than the usual 57 !

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  16. This looks like a copy of the first 57 coming off the line in California. It sold on Barrett Jackson for over two million because it only had one owner. It had 46,
    000 miles on it with the original tires and all the paperwork in it. Plus it only had one headlight so out and the old one was included. It was garage kept all its life. Never was repainted. had a six cylinder in it with a three speed on the column shift. Had all the maintenance records included with it.

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  17. The 30-30 cam was used in the 327 F.I. engine. The 097/098 cam was used in the 283 F. I. engine. It was a solid lifter cam and the valves were set at 12-18. This cam is also known as the 12-18 cam. I have used this cam in SBC engines. Another good cam is the 350 HP 327 hi-lift hydraulic cam. I have used several of these cams. The only drawback to the 30-30 cam is that you get sideways slop motion at the lifter due to the valve settings. Plus you have to adjust the valve clearance more often. This cam sounds bad but I have never used one of them.

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  18. i had a1957 210 235 3 on the tree.fast car it had posi rear how is that possable i was 3rd owner maybe it was once a race car dont realy know but she was a fast car for a 6

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