this is a little late, I finally got the pics developed, and thought I'd post em here. The cab and front fenders are now At nick O'Teens shop for body and paint, and bought a brand new bed for the truck from a place in colorado called Last Refuge, who seem like cool people. I won't post all of the in progress pics, but here are a few before and after shots of the chop i did. i took out 6 inches, which is pretty heavy, I was trying to get the windows to have a certain look, which is hard with the tall cabs, wanted more of a chopped '36 three window look. Only took 4 inches out of the rear window, but i also dropped it 2 inches into the body. Before: After:
couple more pics, before the chop, with cuts layed out, and after. I also repaired the rust while i was at it, the red on the roof is a reflection from the canopy, not rust. here's a link to my first post too.... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64369
thanks man, this was my first chop from start to finish, I redid the chop on the pagan Bros car with lots of help from nick, so I guess it coulda been alot worse! oh yeah, and i stretched the roof in the middle about 2 inches so I didn't have to lean the a pillars.
Too cool. Looks very nice. Im gettin ready to start on a 39 cab this winter hopefully it will look as good as yours.
Just reread your old posts; That suxs that you had to redo so much of a car that you thought was a runner, but atleast now its gonna be the way you want it. I'm diggin the killer chop. Did you have an extra roof to use for the section you added or did you make the filler piece?
thanks guys, I found a few pieces of roof and door sections from someone who had cut the roof off of one of these, so I was able to graft them in, it really was the only way to get it perfect. I have the leftovers which might be good for another chop too. one door was from a 40-41, so it was very slightly different, not enough to cause many problems.
as a note, instead of adding sections in like normal people, when I did the Road Devil 36 ford pickup I cut the floor and took a section out of it then slid the whole rear cab section forward until the A-pillars lined up. then sectioned the doors 1 5/8" so they fit right. I really didnt want to work on the crown of the roof for days trying to get it to look right.
The only problem is, I'm building a full fendered truck, not a chopped up hotrod, so if you do that, then the whole thing gets fucked up, plus, I want all the room I can get inside a chopped PU cab, theyre small enough already. I zigzag cut the roof, pulled the sections apart, welded them back onto the body and lined them up, and then filled the gaps with small squares of metal. It worked pretty good, but you just have to be careful of warpage as with anything else, cause you end up with alot of welds.
wanted more of a chopped '36 three window look. Think you got it..looks good,very nice shape from the side..thanks for posting the pics..
First time actually seeing this truck even in pictures.Yeah...sometimes you gotta strip it down to the bones to do it right! Sounds like you got the roof cut process going in the right direction.Man...it's gonna look cool! Let me know if you need an extra hand with anything. Keep on grindin' J.D.
wow, thanks guys, I really appreciate it. I can't wait to see what it looks like with paint on it. and it's gonna be a little while, cause we still have to assemble the new bed, do bodywork to the rear fenders, tailgate etc. and then I have to put it all back together and hope I don't have a bunch of nuts and bolts leftover. It's a lot more work building a full fendered car! Nick said he's gonna try to have the cab painted this weekend though so thats cool, maybe I'll swing by and take some pics. I still need to get a radiator, a bench seat, and plumb the gas tank and brakes. my only worry is that it's not gonna be low enough when I put it all back together. Paul, you won't even recognize it man.....I just need to come up with a name for it now.....JD, maybe you can swing by when we gotta lift the fucker back onto the frame? I'll letcha know.
Dan now thats what every 38-40 Ford Truck should look like. Great work and you better keep posting progress pics as you go. You aint that busy in California. Anyway keep up the great work. I love it. Rusty
bro, i see a bunch of 'before' pictures, but no 'after' picture, when ya gonna chop it? just kidding, looks awesome. a man after my own heart. PLEASE keep us updated with the whole build. thank you. tred.
Dan a friend and me and another buddy did a 6 inch chop on his 40 pu. It was channeled 4 inches.To get room inside we double z 'ed the frame in front and behind the cab.It was full fendered had to rise the front and rear fenders and section the hood. He is 6ft 3 inches and had plenty of room .
I have a 35/36 full fendered chopped truck running through my mind. I think they can look good! Dan your's definitely on it's way. So what are the body mods beside the chop? Same front? Thanks. Look forward for more update pics too! Ken
Dan, that chop looks great! Looks like those pieces you got from me worked out as planned. Can't wait to see the truck together! Gordon
Looks sweet. Good thing you had some donor roof. Most of them I see end up getting scabbed in with regular sheetmetal and the drip rails get all screwy, and the roof gets weird flat spots in it.
Nice looking chop, I especially think keeping the A-pillars at stock is what makes it look so godd. I never have seen one wioth leaned pillars that looked totally right.
38's are beauties. Nice job on the chop. I also followed the link to your original tear down and build up post. Your work on the front bones will be very helpful if I ever decide to lower the front end of my 41 Ford PU even more. It was my hope to find a 38/39 Ford PU for a long time, but every one I found was messed with like you've found. I ended up choosing my 41 because it was so unmolested. Nice job on getting your ride road worthy again. I'm jealous. Mike
Looks killer Dan. Can't wait to see the progression.I imagine as it comes together the truck will tall you what its name is......
I'd like to see pics of that channeled full fendered '40 pickup. Other than the chop, the hood is louvered, no hood sides, stock grille, and probably gonna run '36 ford taillights and stands, passenger car or desoto bumpers, '40 ford 16" steelies with caps, and whitewalls. oh yeah the motor will be running 6 strombergs. I'm leaving the hood ornament, door handles etc. I did shave the lock off the passenger door though, and the antenna and I filled all the holes on the firewall and built a custom battery tray for it. Thanks again for all the words of encouragement, I will definately keep you all posted on the progress.
My home computer is down right now .I'am working from a lap top with no scanner right now dan.But as soon as I can I will post them for you.
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