If you want to impress little kids, car show spectators, and other non-automotive types, paint your car hot pink and lavish it with "gee whiz" gimmicks like gothic murals, suicide doors, a big blower, and gold-plated curb feelers. But, if you want the admiration and respect of true car enthusiasts and craftsmen, it's tough to go wrong with two time-tested theories: less is more, and black never goes out of style.

Greg Parsley did a great job adhering to both guidelines on his '63 Bel Air. As owner of Retro Rods in Lynnwood, Washington, it would've been easy for him to go off the deep end to showcase his shop's abilities, but several factors kept him in check. First is the fact that he actually likes the lowly two-door sedan body style; if he'd wanted an Impala hardtop, he would've bought one. Beyond that, perhaps because of it, Greg decided to play to the car's strengths--clean style, simplicity, and the hot-rod flavor inherent in sedans.

Simplicity is not always as simple as it seems, though. The Bel Air's clean style is helped out by a smooth firewall and inner fenders--subtle-appearing mods that require a lot of effort (relocating the wiper motor and building a custom wiper arm, for example). Even more impressive, and challenging, are the B-pillars, which are leaned 3-inches forward to match the C-pillar angle. Betcha didn't notice those, did ya? Nine out of ten people probably never will, but sometimes it's those unspoken elements that say the most.

Other minor alterations, such as deleted wing windows, bear-claw latches, a relocated fuel filler, and an Impala trunk lid and taillights, make the Bel Air all the more refined and stylish. Then there's the paint. We don't have to tell you how much effort it takes to make black look this good. Retro Rods crew members, James Kollman and Greg Martin, deserve credit for helping Greg get the Chevy's long lines so straight; there's nary a wrinkle, ripple, or dimple to be found in the PPG finish.

Thanks to a frame-off reconstruction process, the Bel Air's beauty is much more than skin deep. The powdercoated and detailed frame wears McGaughy's drop spindles, 11-inch disc brakes, and Air Ride Technologies air springs, with hidden plumbing and wiring throughout. Billet Specialties Octane rollers, sized at 17x7 and 18x8 inches and shod with Goodyear rubber, tie the underside to the outside in fine style.

Lift the hood and you'll find that the small-block mill is as tidy as everything else, thanks to a K&N air cleaner, RB's valve covers, a polished intake, aluminum pulleys, and plenty of paint detail. It runs as good as it looks, too, thanks to Ross pistons, a Crane Cams cam, a Demon coil, an Accel ignition, and RB's headers connected to Flowmaster mufflers. A simple, reliable, TCI-built 350 backs it up.

It's more of the same theme inside, where the dash is smoothed (all controls are hidden) and fitted with Dakota Digital instruments, an ididit column, and a Billet Specialties wheel. Hoglund's Top Shop gets credit for the vinyl and fabric upholstery, which covers stock seats and custom door panels with Al's armrests. The Kenwood CD changer and other audio goodies are stowed away in the trunk.

Two years in the making, Greg's Chevy has been earning the respect and admiration of Pacific Northwest enthusiasts ever since it hit the streets in 2003. It even earned a PPG Paint Pick at the 2003 Goodguys gathering in Puyallup--not too shabby for a black car. You can call it mild if you want, but we think there's something trick about turning a plain-Jane two-door sedan into a cruiser that looks like a million bucks.