“Darkness” – Kevin Hart’s ’66 Chevelle
Kevin Hart is a man of many talents – standup comedy, entertaining movies, the ubiquitous credit card commercials. Those ventures have afforded him the ability to build a multi-million-dollar collection of cars, from exotics to American muscle cars.
Many, but not all, of his American rides are bathed in dark paint and are named accordingly. For example, his ’87 Grand National – “The Dark Knight;” the ’70 Charger – “Hellraiser;” a ’69 Camaro – “Bad News;” a ’69 Road Runner (last year’s Muscle Machine of the Year) known as “Michael Myers.” You get the picture.
His newest ride – this custom ’66 Chevelle – follows the trend. It’s named “Darkness.”
Starting with an original ’66 Chevelle SS 396 in decent condition, Hart turned to the talented crew at Timeless Kustoms in Camarillo, California, to work their magic on the PPG Jet Black car. Body modifications included shaving the drip moldings and shaving and pinching the front and rear bumpers. Emblems, window trim, door handles, the grille, and even the windshield wipers are painted black. The bumpers, too.
A custom air dam keeps the front end low and gives it a menacing look. Subtle red highlights include thin stripes on the black wheels, massive brake calipers, and the custom “Darkness” emblem on the grille. The firewall and inner fender wells were also custom fabricated.
The body rides on an Art Morrison chassis featuring a C6 Corvette front suspension and a triangulated four-bar rear suspension locating a 9-inch rearend with 3.50 gears. Brembo ZR1 carbon ceramic disc brakes are on all four corners behind 19×10- and 19×13-inch Forgeline wheels wrapped in Michelin rubber.
Power comes from a supercharged 454c.i. LS9 powerplant that produces 750 horsepower. The engine and transmission have been smoothed and painted Viper Red, while the custom valve covers and one-off headers are the work of Timeless Kustoms. The exhaust flows through Magnaflow 3-inch stainless pipes. The Chevrolet 4L80E automatic transmission is manipulated by a B&M shifter.
The interior – black, of course, with red highlights – features the leather upholstery work of Gabe’s Custom Interiors of San Bernardino, California. Timeless Kustoms built the custom dash that houses AutoMeter gauges and navigation, while a custom wheel is fitted to the Flaming River tilt column. Vintage Air keeps the car cool and custom wiring by Timeless Kustoms keeps everything connected.
Kevin Hart no doubt enjoys the fruits of his success, and we can only imagine how much full he’ll have cruising the coast or a twisty SoCal canyon road behind the wheel of this wicked custom Chevelle.
Photos by Steven Bunker
