Full Blown Psycho

FEATURE

InTheGarageMedia.com

Steve and Margot English’s Badass Bel Air

BY Fuelish Media

Images by THE AUTHOR

L

ike many of us, Steve English of Vail, Arizona, has been a car guy since he was very young (8 years old in Steve’s case). When he grew out of playing with Hot Wheels, he made the leap into buying a 1978 Firebird Formula in 1981. A year later he joined the U.S. Air Force, first stationed in Jackson, Arkansas, and then overseas. That car followed him for both trips and when Steve got back home in 1988, he made more plans for the Firebird. He decided on selling it off to buy a 1985 Monte Carlo SS that he held onto until 2015. By this time, Steve had retired from the service and had owned that Monte Carlo for over two decades. He decided it was time for something new, and luckily his partner in crime, his wife, Margot, was thrilled to be along for the ride.

“My wife and I discussed the different types of vehicles we could purchase,” Steve says. “We lost out on a solid 1964 Chevy II Nova gasser that was in New Jersey, but the timing didn’t quite work out. That one slipped right through our fingers, but maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.” Steve continued his search and remembered seeing a 1957 Bel Air gasser for sale in Utah during his last round of Online car hunting. “I looked, but it was nowhere to be found on the Web,” he adds. “A few months had passed, then one day, lo and behold, there it was again—the ’57 I had seen before. Now the car was in California, just outside of L.A. I could tell from the pictures in the listing that the new owner had changed a few things, mainly new wheels and tires. For the most part, the Bel Air was still the same.”

Steve didn’t want to miss out on another car he really wanted, so he hooked up the trailer, packed up a few things, and jumped in the truck with Margot and they were on their way to SoCal. “We were both excited and anxious to see the car, but because of our late start, we stayed the night in Blythe, California. After eating breakfast at the hotel the next morning, I noticed that my wife had a death grip on her purse. I laughed and said, ‘Try not to make it look like you have thousands of dollars in your bag.’ We both had a giggle, but we knew we still had some negotiation room left on the ’57 even though we had agreed on a price.”

Interior of a 1957 Chevy featuring red leather bucket seats, a black dash with chrome accents, a Hurst floor shifter, and a large supercharger visible through the windshield.

Close-up of a classic 1957 Chevrolet dashboard featuring a central 120-mph speedometer, temperature and fuel gauges, and vintage-style chrome control knobs and switches.

Four Auto Meter Sport-Comp auxiliary gauges mounted under a black dashboard, displaying real-time data for boost, oil pressure, water temperature, and battery voltage.

Interior view focusing on red leather racing seats equipped with black G-Force five-point safety harnesses and a polished chrome multi-point roll cage for driver protection.

The moment of truth had arrived. Steve and Margot had finally made it to the Bel Air. “As soon as I parked, Margot got out of the truck and said, ‘I absolutely love it!’” Well, all hopes of negotiation went out the window, but we were both good with that. We liked what we saw, so we paid the owner, loaded up the car, and started to make our way back to Arizona.”

The two arrived home to find all of Steve’s neighborhood beer-drinking buddies waiting for them. The crew quickly proceeded to unload Steve’s new hot rod off the trailer. Plenty of celebratory beers were popped and plans were discussed regarding the car’s bright future.

High-angle shot of a polished engine bay featuring a large BDS supercharger, dual carburetors, braided lines, and an aluminum radiator in a clean, show-quality installation.

With that, the ball started rolling right away. Steve’s friend, Ron Greulich, was itching to order parts and help make changes. From the new 9-inch rearend to the front, Ron was there for almost the entire build. “The car came with a tunnel-rammed 383ci stroker, but I wanted more,” Steve says. “It was because of Ron that I had a blown 408ci engine built to replace it. In May 2019, he was there when my buddies Randy Manning and Jordan Helget came to help me drop the shiny new engine between the framerails. Unfortunately, Ron was unable to be at my house a month later for the start-up because of his illness. Ron [died] on September 1, 2019. There was still plenty more to do at that point, but he will always be a big part of this car.”

Close-up of a Hurst aluminum T-handle shifter with a red integrated button, mounted on a chrome lever with a black rubber boot and polished trim on black carpeting.

Detailed side view of a polished BDS air scoop and dual-quad carburetor setup protruding through a custom cutout in the silver hood of a high-performance drag car.

A low-angle head-on view of the 1957 Chevy gasser showing the moon tank, gold-colored grille, raised front suspension, and a massive blower intake dominating the hood line.

Another friend of Steve’s, Randy Torrence, also played a huge role in the Bel Air’s rebuild. Torrence is a painter and fabricator, so he started work by cutting a bigger hole in the hood to fit the 8-71 blower sticking out. He then molded the opening and painted it to match. “I then asked [Torrence] if he could paint the roof red with black metalflake,” Steve says. “All the paint and bodywork were done in [Torrence]’s home garage. The roof came out awesome, and in 2022 I requested that he repaint the body. It was at this point I named the car ‘Full-Blown Psycho.’ I had El Bugs in Phoenix paint the name on the back of the trunk in gold leaf to match the emblems on the car. In early 2025, [Torrence] repainted the roof with gold leaf to separate the red and black metalflake. He killed it again, and this is exactly how the Bel Air looks today. It’s a head-turner, for sure. This experience has taught me so much about cars and has allowed me to build lifelong friendships with like-minded hot rodders.”

Extreme close-up of the polished air scoop's interior, revealing a pink performance air filter and the intricate linkage of the Quick Fuel Technology carburetors below.

A detailed three-quarter view of the polished BDS supercharger assembly, highlighting the heavy-duty drive belt, mechanical throttle linkage, and chrome master cylinder.

TECH

Owner: Steve and Margot English
Vehicle: 1957 Chevy Bel Air

Engine

Type: Dart SBC
Displacement: 408 ci
Horsepower: 756
Torque: 670
Crankshaft: Eagle forged 4340
Rods: Eagle forged 4340 H-beam with 2000 series bolts
Pistons: JE forged with file-fit moly rings
Cylinder Heads: Advanced Performance Engineering polished aluminum with Comp Cams valves, springs, and rockers
Camshaft: Comp Cams 619 lift, 260/268 duration, LSA 113.0
Induction: The Blower Shop polished intake manifold, dual Quick Fuel 750-cfm carbs
Ignition: MSD pro billet distributor, 6AL box, and wires
Supercharger: BDS 871
Assembly: Big Al’s Toy Box (Gaylordsville, CT)
Exhaust: Hooker ceramic-coated headers, 3-inch exhaust with 14×4-inch MagnaFlow round mufflers
Cooling: Custom Griffin radiator
Dress Up: Polished Weiand water pump, chrome Powermaster alternator, polished aluminum BDS dual carb scoop air cleaner, Earl’s stainless braided fuel lines, Funny Car–style polished aluminum blower belt cage, Eddie Motorsports hood hinges

Drivetrain

Transmission: AutoGear Supercase M23 with Centerforce flywheel and dual-disc clutch by Lloyd’s Transmission and Drivetrain (Tucson, AZ)
Driveshaft: 3-inch DOM with 1350 Spicer U-joints
Rear Axle: John’s Industries Ford 9-inch housing narrowed 1 inch with 31-spline axles, Eaton Truetrac, and 4.11 gears

Chassis

Chassis: Stock GM frame
Front Suspension: Old-school straight axle setup by Speedway Motors
Rear Suspension: Leaf springs, Monroe air shocks
Brakes: GM front 11-inch brakes, rear drums, dual master cylinders, CPP proportioning valve, chrome brake booster

Wheels & Tires

Wheels: 15×4.5 Rocket Launcher front wheels and 15×8 Rocket Injector rear wheels
Tires: 165/SR15 Michelin XZX front, P275/60R15 M&H Racemaster rear

Interior

Upholstery: Red vinyl upholstery by Dave’s Custom Upholstery (Tucson)
Seats: 1967 Chevy Chevelle front seats, factory rear
Steering: Factory steering column, 15-inch three-spoke black steering wheel
Instrumentation: Factory with Mooneyes tach and Auto Meter boost, oil pressure, temp, and voltage gauges under the dash
Shifter: Hurst with line lock
Roll Bar: Six-point TIG-welded steel with chrome finish installed by Darcy at fast Time Fabrication

Exterior

Bodywork & Paint: BASF/R-M Diamont Dust Pearl metallic on body, Hot Rod Red on roof, and plenty of metalflake by Randy Torrence (Tucson)
Hood: Factory steel
Grille: Factory
Bumpers: Front built by Jordan Helget with tank mount to hold Speedway overflow tank polished by Don Jose (Tucson)

Back to issue