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Projects CUTTING UP A 40 PLYMOUTH COUPE.......OH NO!!!

Discussion in 'Traditional Customs' started by cgc1958, Oct 22, 2015.

  1. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    Why would you want to do that you say? Because it's gonna be cool, why else!! Yes, it is a beautiful car, yes it has beautiful paint, but we love Kustoms and fortunately the owner of this car does too. Yes, we could royally screw the pooch. That is true...but fingers crossed we won't.;)

    How could we do this you ask? Well it all started when we were caravanning to the Ventura Nationals with our friends Brian & Sabrina and the hood flew off and up into his windshield. Fortunately he was able to blindly maneuver to the side of the freeway. It damaged the passenger side A-piller and pushed in the window a bit and needless to say damaged the hood, but no one got hurt and he still had the hood! We threw the hood in the back of the Ranchero and continued to the show.

    When we got to the show while waiting in line my husband Clark got out to congratulate Brian,
    when he saw that Brian's fuel pressure gauge was leaking gas. O.K. it wasn't leaking... it was pouring, all over the head, the spark plugs, and the exhaust manifold! Had the hood not flown off it is quite possible that Brian's 40 Plymouth would have been a bad charcoal memory! So, you might say the hood flying up was a blessing in disguise! (Granted, I'm a glass is half full kind of a gal-so this is arguable!) While in line, Clark fixed the leak and into the show we went. Brian was rockin' his 40 Plymouth in "gasser style" for the day. I'm sure the guys with gassers were thinking..."This guy is off his rocker if he thinks his Plymouth is a gasser" ...and they would be right, the owner doesn't think it's a gasser...but he is quite possibly off his rocker to be cutting up a 40 Plymouth coupe!!

    Prior to this incident I kept bugging Brian saying he should chop his Plymouth. Now, I said "Well your A-piller is dented in, might as well chop it! I didn't realize that he would actually mull this over all weekend and decide to go for a full kustom. Woohoo!!

    So here we are, turning Brian's 40 Plymouth into a full kustom. We are chopping the top, shaving the drip rails, deleting the vent, windshield wipers, antenna, fuel filler, etc. Oh yeah, and we're putting a 64 Caddy engine in it too. Good Times!! So here it is before being cut up with some skirts that Clark made. More pics to come.

    Thanks for looking!
     

    Attached Files:

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  2. Budget36
    Joined: Nov 29, 2014
    Posts: 13,173

    Budget36
    Member

    This better be good;)
     
  3. 56longroof
    Joined: Aug 1, 2011
    Posts: 2,348

    56longroof
    Member

    I bet it will! Can't wait to see what happens. Cool background story also.
     
  4. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    I know, right!?! It is a beautiful car! Hopefully we can do it justice. We aren't cutting any corners (figuratively of course!!) so hopefully that will help!
     
    kidcampbell71 likes this.

  5. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    Thanks! I have a tendency to babble so I apologize for it being too long!
     
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  6. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    So, here are some more pics of the 40 Plymouth
    (out of order)
    Stripping the paint
    Adding temporary bracing
    Eliminating the drip rail IMG_9675.jpg IMG_8501.JPG IMG_8582.JPG IMG_8548.jpg
     
    kidcampbell71 likes this.
  7. missysdad1
    Joined: Dec 9, 2008
    Posts: 3,305

    missysdad1
    Member

    I've only seen a couple of these '40 - '48 Business Coupes that looked better after being chopped. The stock roof line is hard to improve upon. An inch or two is plenty.

    But here's a tip: The front windshield intrudes up into the top about an inch further than the side windows. If you bring the front window height down to line up with the side windows even a very mild chop will look radical...without the risk of looking squashed.

    The difference in window height is shown clearly in this photo of my car.

    DSC_0001.JPG

    Good luck!
     
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  8. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 31,177

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

  9. Toner283
    Joined: Feb 13, 2008
    Posts: 1,327

    Toner283
    Member

    Looking forward to this chop.
     
  10. Can't wait to see more. Keep the updates coming!

    -Chris
     
  11. 19Fordy
    Joined: May 17, 2003
    Posts: 8,025

    19Fordy
    Member

    Chopped cars always look much better when you keep the drip rail.
    It makes the rear quarter window look natural and flows with the chop..
     
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  12. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    Definitely food for thought. Thanks for your input.
     
  13. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    Thanks!
     
  14. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    Thanks! Will do!
     
  15. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    In many cases I would agree with you especially if you are pie cutting it, but I will be interested to see what you think after it's finished. I'll post some picks of what we are doing with the B-Pillar and the window frames.
     
  16. I think you should have used heavier bracing;):D
     
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  17. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    Haha, yeah I know it's totally ridiculous! Can you say overkill? It's what we call using what we've had lying around for awhile! We built the metal structure for a mock-up spaceship and had this left over. Figured we would use it and get it out of the way.
     
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  18. VNTGE41
    Joined: Mar 4, 2007
    Posts: 739

    VNTGE41
    Member
    from l.a.

    Sweet!! Brian Is my homie ,I met you guys at ventura! I'll be following along, I'm andy
     
  19. Olds Tinman
    Joined: Jan 20, 2011
    Posts: 228

    Olds Tinman
    Member
    from W.N.Y

    I am in for this one......
     
  20. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    Hey Andy! That's awesome! Yeah I remember, it was nice meeting you. Wendel mentioned bringing you by the shop sometime. Look forward to seeing you again!
     
  21. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    Buckle your seat belt, it could be a wild ride! ;)
     
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  22. Rusty O'Toole
    Joined: Sep 17, 2006
    Posts: 9,657

    Rusty O'Toole
    Member

    Love that you stripped the paint with a razor blade and love the razor blade holder (vice grips). You know you can buy a razor blade scraper at any hardware store for $3 right?
     
  23. BJR
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 9,814

    BJR
    Member

    I think you should brace the bracing, so it doesn't pull the body down.
     
  24. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    Yeah, we have razor blade scrapers that we use on glass. But I prefer the vice grips since the vice grips put a slight bow on the razor which prevents the ends of the blade from scratching the metal. But hay to each his own. Whatever gets the job done. Also, we scraped the paint on the roof so that we could preserve the paint below. But yeah the scrapers are great for certain jobs!
     
  25. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    Yeah, there is more bracing than what you see in these pics. These pics are just the beginning. But thanks for the advice.:)
     
  26. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    More 40 Plymouth Chop Progress Pics:

    -Clark cutting the roof off etc.
    -The A-pillar that was dented in by his hood, is on display at Brian's place.

    I have more pics, but don't want to get carried away in one post.

    Have a great weekend!!
     

    Attached Files:

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  27. Ratatouille
    Joined: Sep 3, 2014
    Posts: 618

    Ratatouille
    Member
    from France

    ;)Now, this is Art......Nice car.
    [​IMG]
     
    volvobrynk likes this.
  28. Pete
    Joined: Mar 8, 2001
    Posts: 4,745

    Pete
    Member

    Chop it more.....
     
  29. cgc1958
    Joined: Aug 22, 2011
    Posts: 302

    cgc1958
    Member Emeritus
    1. 1957-59 Ranchero's

    :rolleyes:
     

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