Projects 60's Roof on a 50's Kustom?

i'm chopping and replacing my roof With something else Anyone ever seen roof swaps from 60's cars to a 50's Kustom ,Just curious something i think i really want to do. not worried of technicalities I'm a precision fabricator by trade.

 

Show us some concept sketches, and we'll let you know. The art end of this is even more important than the fabrication.

 

20-25 years ago someone put a '65 Impala roof on a '53 Buick and the mags treated it like a new thing. So yes, it's been done.

The problem you will run into is on most 54-back cars you will have to narrow a 60s roof lengthwise. You can't cut a safetyglass backlite, so you then have to find another rear window opening or have the glass made to fit. Of course with a chop that may have already been an issue.

After that it just depends what top you want to use on what car, 50s cars tend to have round lines so short of the long fastback roofs off some of the mid-late 60s cars the later top isn't necessrily going to flow well on the earlier body.

Although a 59-60 GM with a circa-64 top might work, a-la the apparent prototype for the Gran Prix which was found rotting in a junkyard in the 80s and apparently destroyed not long after.

 

Hollywood hotrods put a mid-late 60s roof on a '60 caddy (from memory, not 100% sure on the car) imho it looked terrible and I normally love most things those guys do.

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Here is a '57 Chrysler with a chopped '60 Chrysler roof and custom glass. Is that what you're looking for?

http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_..._i_like/custom_cars_from/johan-norlin-1957-c/

 

WOW, that Chrysler looks like it rolled off the assembly line that way. Very cool. Close friend wants to do a '61 Chevy Bubbletop roof, on his 1950 Ford Shoebox. Actually built a model car of it to see how it would look. Jury still out on the whole thing. Dare to be different???

JT

 

How about the Copperhead Buick out of Kansas?

 

Jim Bailie in Windsor Ontario build Nadine for Pat Hurley , it was a 1953 Buick with a 1965 Impala roof.

 

The Kaucher designed '54 Ford had a '65 Buick Wildcat lid on it.

 

No

 

Rarely does it work. Mixing the rounded surfaces of the 50's with the crisper, harder edges of the 60's.

That said I always liked where this example was going. Squarebird with a Starliner roof. But they are very close in year, which is why it probably looks decent

 

That squarebird is pretty cool. The body line in the side mimics the roofline and it work. I never did like the squarebird roofs.

 

What Jim said - it's not just about being different, it's about creating a thing of beauty if possible.
Sketch something up and see if you like it first, then ask some people you trust their judgement for their opinion.
Cheers.

 

Not too long ago, someone put a '60 Plymouth roof on a '63 Impala...painted it red if I remember correctly and it looked good...don't have any pix tho, I'm sure someone on here will have some filed away and they can add them here...

R-

 

I believe Boyd Coddington did a 57 chevy version with a mid sixties impala roof line. Of course the whole car was hand made but look it up on google. might find it. im at work and cannot post pics from here. Maybe someone else can.

 

this 55 shows up at the local shows from time to time. i think it is a impala roof, any way it is a good job. the bad part it it doesn't look right to me.

 

Thanx Gotgas...just the way I remembered it...

R-

 

It's a clash in design in my opinion. It all depends on the choice of roof. like it's been said the squarer roof does not match a rounded body.

 

Steve Stanford penned that one before it was built. No wonder it looks so right

 

The orange Impala and squarebird both look really good, but their donor roofs shared the era and shape with the cars they went on. I do like the purple '54 Ford as well, but that car was designed for that roof from the beginning.

The Buicks and '55 Chevy above, I don't really care for. Nice craftsmanship, but I'm not a fan of the finished product.

OP, post a pic of the car in question and we can photoshop some ideas for a roof swap to get a better idea.

 

I ended up getting the remains of the '60 Plymouth that was cut up to build the orange Impala, lots of nice clean sheetmetal, was a shame to cut up such a nice one but the car did turn out really pretty.

 

Easy to do poorly.

Plan ahead.

 

Jim said they should have started with a '65.
Would have been less work.

 

I always thought a '59 Galaxie would look good with a '57-58 Ford hardtop roof on it. Kind of a pre-Starliner.

 

I like the way that looks! Very nice!

 

Totally agree with this one...

 

the one Boyd built for Billy Gibson from ZZ top (think thats his name) I'm going to build one next. using a 50 merc. That somebody all ready took the roof skin

 

Billy gibbons

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No.

The Chrysler Gotgas posted is the only one I've ever seen that looked any good - and I think it looks really good. But then, the years aren't too far apart.

The rest are square pegs in a round holes. If it's not a natural fit, it's a recipe for crash and burn and that tastes bad.