The Art of the Drop Top Chop… Part 3

Welcome to the last installment of Keith Tardel’s chop on the ol’ 1939 Mercury convertible. Part I was all about the A pillars coming down a full 3 inches and massaging the posts to line back up. In Part II, Keith tackled the tricky top bows, not only getting the chopped top to connect with windshield, but also getting the profile dropped in the back to simulate the flow of a Carson top when it it’s up. In the first two pictures below, you can see how he laid the top material (albeit loosely) back over the new convertible bows to check the revised profile. Notice how far the center bow has come down from stock height. Beautiful.

Part III is about cutting the stainless side window frames and glass. This proved to be a very difficult task, mainly due to the window frame materials: Galvanized steel wrapped in .010 stainless steel… A welding nightmare. Undaunted, Keith took to cutting, grinding, heating and fusing the frames into a perfect marriage with the convertible top. There’s still some wiring and boring issues with the Merc that need to be addressed next before we move forward with the rest of the tantalizing Tardel transformation, but can you see it? Can you squint and see how good she already looks?

Just wait till she get’s some freshly pleated upholstery and a nice, tight top…