had to chop a garnish molding today so I can install non stock window channel, tracks and lift mechanism. Seems a lot of the work was done by someone less experienced than me. The passengers side molding had six seams and doesn't look as good. I did it in two. No big deal for some but I gave me a boost in confidence and reduced my procrastination. Instead of making more cuts I used heat to bend the molding. Worked out pretty good IMO with minimal effort. I'll work on installing the door glass and tracks tomorrow.
It's the details of getting the glass and garnish moldings and trim correct that make a chop so tedious. And done right makes the chop look factory. Good job.
Lots of tedious work to finish a chop, but it all goes into your bank of experience. Nice work, -Abone.
Your patience and skill paid off. Will you lay a small piece of metal inside the garnish molding and lap weld it over the weld joint as well as butt welding the joint itself from the front?
Nicely done! Smart work clamping or screwing them into the door frame for initial welding. Acts a s a perfect jig and reduces the chance of warpage letting the welds cool "at home".
Looking good! Probably more work chopping the garnish moldings, than the uninformed keyboard newbie thinks the complete chop would entail.
So true. So many chops have been shown in mags and on line over the years but they only ever show the glory part- outside - never the tedious inside stuff that makes it all work.
One might guess that I’ve chopped a few tops. Guys inevitably ask why so much time spent inside and out...and my answer always is that the door jambs and body jambs need to look as good as, or better than factory. No more or no less. Great job on the garnish moldings....they can be the toughest part sometimes.
Just noticed the window channel in the lower left corner. I installed the windows in a customers 1939 Chevy Coupe and really liked the GM stuff with a stainless bead on both ends, think I&I and Chevy's of the 1940's carries it. Bob
That channel was actually going to hold the GM type channel. It's 3/4" square steel tubing that I cut 1/2" out the center. The GM channel slides down inside and is held snuggly in place. I changed the design when I realized that the GM channel will hold it's shape in the curve and didn't need the extra structure. Got one more brace/bracket to make then I can take it apart and throw some primer on it. I'll post some pics tomorrow. It works pretty smooth.
Nice job! We cut up some 40 pickup windshield garnish molding to make em for a 40 convert--quite a job to get the corners just right--you did a great g job!
I just went through replacing all those channels, and fuzzies with stainless trim on my '39 Chev coupe. A lot of work, and many hours spent bending the fuzzy strips to replace them on all the garnish moldings. I have a passenger coupe with sliding 1/4 windows, and unfortunately found out one of my 1/4 window garnish moldings was not for the passenger coupe! Chevy used different moldings, and glass for those, so I had to section, and reshape the wrong molding, and weld it back together to match the opposite side. Also had to cut out and reshape for the sliding knob that operates the window slider latch. Correct style lower, and sectioned one above. Metal removed at three places and mig welded back together. Clamped it to the good side during welding t ensure it stayed true. Test fit to the window.
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