hello everyone, my current project is a 49 fleetline de luxe and i am looking forward to choppin the top, ive looked all round the web and in books but been hard pressed to find anything that is very detailed i have been to 50chevy.com alot and seen alot of nice cars and some very good tech info and have not found quite what im looking for im not exactly sure where to cut the car and what way i should lay the roof back down, ive got a pretty good idea but i just want to make sure it's what i need to do before i go and cut out a bunch of metal, any help would be much appreciated.. thanks guys
Do a search here on the hamb chop, last fall we chopped stickylifters fleetline, I think it's even a 49. Basically he cut from the a pillar all the way to the bottom of the decklid and slid the WHOLE thing down. That way you avoid messing with the rear window. Plus you get really cool lines from the rear quarters. It's a bunch of work.
Me and MarkX did a chop on a 52 fleetline a while back and then the hamb chop did it again. I think markx had a few pics up of how we did it but the thread is from about nov. 04 or so. We cut below the decklid and moved everythiing forward and then tacked the pillars together where they needed to go. Then we got the back half all braced and just started to fill in the gaps. It took alot of time and creativity but the lines are unreal. its early so im not in the mood to look for the old threads...
From here you can find some pics how I chopped mine. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v335/blown348/project50/?action=logout
Also check out Tex Smith's "How to Chop Tops". It has a section on fastbacks. Everything I've read says that this body style is the hardest to chop, in terms of getting it to go back together. The best advice I've heard is to keep the rear window intact, as a unit, and to get your windshield done first, and make the metal fit the glass. Good luck--I'm hoping to do mine this summer. Post some pics as you do it and don't forget the HAMB if you run into problems! Tucker
Welcome to the HAMB, The above mentioned Fleetline chop was the best I've see, and what I planned for mine. Things change, I have a '32 Ford Vicky now and I'll be parting with the '50 Fleetline remains. I've got the full roof and windsheild posts, MINT floorpan from the B piller back and trunk lid. Keep that in mind if you misscut something. Should fit on top of a fill size pickup bed. Good luck with your project......and post photos of the work.
Got any pics of your project? Check out the threads on sticky lifters 50 fleetline chop. You can get more of an idea of where the car was chopped. Original Post http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...325&&showall=1 Live Updates http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...976&&showall=1 PArt 2 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...015&&showall=1 Tech Post http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...310&&showall=1 MArkX Fleetline http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...235&&showall=1 Like said, Tex Smith's book "How to Chop Tops" has lot of good info. As time allows I hope to update the site with more info and eventually the chop on my 50 fleetline.
i would definitly do the chop like "50 Chevy" shows it looks bad ass! those curves on a fleetline are perfect how they are stock just needs to be closer to the ground. thats how im going to do my fleetline
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