November of 07, finally getting the body on it side to finish up and get some paint on it. And this is what it looked like till two days after Christmas. I had to cut the roof skin back off and install another roof after I had problems with my last one. And finally today after three weeks of working my a** off at night after work.
Yes the front end is a 41. Bought it off a gentleman(Jeff ) who deals in 39 Fords in Illinois who had a 41 he was selling at the street rod nats in Kzoo. Must have come off of an old drag car at one point. It is a glass front end and I picked it up for less then the price of a good rh steel one. As for rounding the corners, I am not a body man and I would f-it up worse then the first chop I did on this car.
So that's where the frt end went. He hauled it for quite awhile and was probably tired of loading and unloading it. LOL.
Well I can actually say that I was not much of a photographer back then. The top was chopped back in 97 or 98. Have some on a VHS tape but not much on the computer. Thanks for the interest. Car is being painted next week.
Thats ok, I was most interested in how you dealt with the rear window/trunk area , I am debating wether to chop the 47 4 door I just picked up, how much did you chop it? Also it looks like you used some rec tubing for the rockers?
Back window was cut out completely and laid back in on the new angle. Having been by first chop job. This turned into a huge mess. A slant back car is not a good choice for a first time chop. Back when I did it I wanted a sun roof in the car also and that turned out to be even a bigger mistake. Ended up finding a different roof to replace the hack job I did back then. New roof was cut along the drip rails and at the top of the trunk lid then cut the junk roof up about 2" and removed. Windows have a 3" chop but the new roof was not split and stretched so the head room gained about a 1" or so back. I am a structural fabricator and have built Mustangs from the ground up. This was a hole different job and I admire the work of those who can do it properly.
Looks like a good save with the new top skin! The worst is over with thats for sure, I have a few chops under my belt and would like to cut this one as well, but then I think of the extra time it will add to makin it roadworthy, but on the other hand it really needs new glass anyways.....So I gather you did all the rear cutting above the decklid? I remember there being a few pics in custom rodder(I think) about 10 yrs ago of one that Dick Dean did, where he just lowered the rear of the body with the roof and either eliminated the tailpan or sectioned the bottom of the trunklid, but I havent been able to find the magazine with the pics, and lemme tell you not too many guys seem to have chopped a 41-48 4 door thats for sure! Steve
Yes, all the cutting was done above the deck lid. I am not a body man so I left the deck lid alone. I remember seeing a 4 door that had a drastic chop to it that was white and blue in the Streetrodder mag years ago and they made it into a two door and I believe a swing style trunk lid. I hated it but everyone has an opion.
This one is definately stayin a 4 door, gonna be the family driver, and besides 4 doors are cool chopped,alot more work than a 2 door, did you need donor door tops or were you able to recycle the cut out pieces and use them to stretch the dor tops? Also how much did you lower it vertically?
Make sure you post some pics when it gets painted! Did you just use some rec tubing to make your rockers with? I would be interested to know what you did?
We used 4x2x.074 tube steel and slit the back side to get the angle we needed. The front needed cut and modified to slide up into the original front section. This was not an exact match, and the running boards did not touch the bottom or the tube (1/4" +/- difference). But looking at the 3 part set from the repop shop I am happy I went this way. After installing one of there trunk floors and being therally pissed, that was the last metal part I bought for this car. The firewall is not a Bitchen product. We cut the original out and made a new one with a recess for big block I was originally putting in here.
Thanks for the close-ups! I really like the way you did that with the tubing ,I am sure it really gives some extra strenght to the body as well, thats the only bad area of my floor so I think I will "steel" your idea if you dont mind!! How close are ya to paint??
Picked up the car last night from the body shop. Kids in a candy store have no idea what excitement really is. Now it's back to putting it together for the LAST time. And repainting all the areas that have overspay on them.
Looking good man!! I wish mine was 1/10th as far along as you are! I have been meaning to ask you how you dealt with the rear door,top hinge alignment when you chopped it...It looks like you cut it below the hinge area if i am correct? Did this cause any alignment issues between the upper and lower hinges? I would assume you had to angle in abit for the top being a little narrower at the top, or did you do a second cut above the hinge...still debating wether to chop mine during the initial build or drive it for a year or 2 before I chop it...
Well lets see if I can get this one thread caught back up in a nut shell. The car may have looked good in the pictures but the body man F## me good. Car sat untouched for about 2 years before I could get motivated and sand the paint down so we could re-shoot it. Once we started doing that we realized the doors did not fit and the body work started to flake off. Car has been virtually sanded back down to metal, front end pulled back off(fiberglass was bonded to body in the wrong spot) rear fenders cut loose and aligned correctly and a bunch of other fun. Fast forward to April 2012. Steel fender have been patched, body work is done, and final sanding is underway. Pictures of update. You may not like my console but I like my comfort. And for those of you who have seen Koolkemps build. This is my favorite QUOTE "This one is definately stayin a 4 door, gonna be the family driver, and besides 4 doors are cool chopped,alot more work than a 2 door"
Haha forgot about sayin that lol! I am glad to see you are back at it though! And chopped 4 doors are still damn cool . Are you staying with the same color?
No Steve, this is a fellow HAMB members car and the color inspiration. Color is Mineral Gray. Can someone show me a picture of what the headliner bracket above the windshield looks like. (Before it get cut up)
I like the grey,classy color! I will take a pic of my headliner bracket today...as to if I remember to post it here for you well thats another story lol !
Wow I am jealous You must be getting pumped up!! Here's a couple of pics of the front headliner support...I might have one on a piece of roof here, let me know if you need it...
Thanks Steve. One of the Ford Barners posted a pic also. I will run a hook from my bracket to the bow like they did in later cars. Yea I'm pumped. Started to remove all the over spay from the frame last night. The previous bodyman did not see a reason to tape off my painted frame so I have primer and blue paint all over the front horns. Had to put the wheels on it last night just to see.
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