Tell you what....... I'll sell my chopped Ford to you "gotta be stock" fools and you can put it back to stock.
I say chop away. I have always thought the roof on a '40 was 1" or 2" too high. I did this for the art challenge last year.
hey Travis, you heard right, but you're gonna have to wait a while for pics, I want to get a little further along with it. although there are a couple of shots on the thread about the open house. it's about as different of a chop as could be compared to yours, but it'll be cool to compare the two when theyre both done. looking forward to seeing your progress....
Holy shit Dan that things CHOPPED! I'm puttin the pics up here just cause its the exact opposite of mine, lotsa metalwork there. I know yours will be "nick o'teened" but it would be cool to have em side by side, IN JAPAN!! that's a dan collins windshield right there... this is what I didn't want to do, but whats got to be done for a slope-back custom chop. What are you gonna do with the scraps? Can't wait to see some updates, when I get up there I gotta drop by! TP
haha, yeah ,i gots lots o work ahead. Nick won't be painting this one though. I'll keep you updated....
After checking out both the 32 frame tech builds, I was kinda embarassed to throw this out there. But here it is anyway! Since none of the frame is visible, the goal was to only follow the basic dimensions, not the curves. I found a company in LA that makes 2x5 tubing. (BOORMANS) Hard to find. Stock is 6 inches but figured it since it is pre-boxed it would lower the body an inch. Just a simple taper. Drilled and welded those rods in cause the tubing compresses when its separated to a C All tapered up. There is a slight bow to it, and thought of clamping it to be straight, however the bows were symmetrical (to both sides) and since i'd be bending them anyway, figured it would be easier to compensate for the bow, then having one be straight and one not as straight, or worse yet a lefty or righty. After alot of thinking and trying to use highschool trig, the most absolute way was to make a doorskin template... And then cut and paste the pieces to follow the measurements on the floor! Most of the bending and tacking was done on a flat table not the jackstands! the floor got a good workout... The end result should be a front and rear frame Z of 2"s. And these were the finished frame-rails. All of the weld joints have big ugly plates covering them, just in case. Like stated before, the frame shouldn't be too visible, so just wanted it strong. TP
Newbie but been around cars for 40 years . I do like the 3 windows when they are chopped and slammed but the 5 windows well they can't be chopped down to look right with out going to a hard top look . I have admired this body style so long at 52 i finally have one . Well its the 37 with the stub nose but the body lines are just so great i couldn't imagine it any other way then stock top . These lines are great high in the rear and low in the front .
It does look really cool the way it is but I gotta agree with hudsoncustom, you should chop it, skirt it, and taildrag it!
There was a coffee table book out a few years ago, think it was called 'Hot rod' in black and white and had a hammered 40 coupe on the cover driving away from you on a dry lake. I thought that looked so cool so I tried it in scale. The plan is to be very Westerguard in style. Thats if I can get the chop to look any good. Man these have to be the hardest things to slice and make look good. May loose the B pillar and do the Matranga Merc treatment to it? Zed, you shit me, that is perfect. Doc.
Hey rags to richs, thanks for posting my ride on the hamb, i got more pictures of it. I will post them later. wayne
I got the day off today so gonna post up some pics from the past couple weeks. If you look on the previous page you can see the frame rail buildup. Here's the crossmembers... and here's them installed on the now pinched in the front frame... I found these cool 3/8" bolt inserts that took a long time but attach the runningboards nicely... and using the runningboards the body placement was easy to measure up. Since there's no floor or lower 2-6" of the body, new mounts and supports had to be made. I had found some larger inserts, for 1/2" bolts, yeah overkill but they're kinda cool... ... TP
The cowl mounts were nonexistent so using the frame scrap made a support that will also attach the door hinges. the lower firewall was gone too so whipped out these front mounts which really stiffened up the body. now that the body could be mounted, started to work on the crossmembers. First wanted to cut some holes in the inner plate though. using .188 2x4 prefabbed the crossmembers. This is the pedal mount which solved and created problems... ... TP
How do you know where the bottom edge of the body is supposed to be in comparison to an original 40? Or is it not that important, in so far as you can put it where you want? Props for bringing this one back from the dead.
Now the majority of the frame is done. Still need to do the suspension points, holes for spring u-bolts, lite frame gusseting, bottom welding of the crossmembers... and the rear tranny/engine mounts/crossmember but need to wait to find exact measurements. At least now I can see what it will really look like! TP
Thanks for the props! I have a kinda original 40 coupe, well it has the floorboards and stuff, so i've been using that as a template. This makes it really easy cause the "wescott" frame diagram is really vague, although it is precise in some measurements, there are no body placement measurements. This body will be "sectioned" 1.25 inches basically by lowering the body towards the frame. I've been using the upper reveal line to the runningboards as the "fixed" measurement, (and also the door lines) If you notice the fender to cowl part was cut out since the fenders will be "raised" that 1+", alot of work but on my photochop it had a sleeker look, so I think it will be worth it. SMOKINFLATHEAD-Can we get a side profile picture now that the fenders are on?! -not without giving away the engine in it, but here's a sidebyside shot. The rusty 40 is probably 1.5" higher than its sposta be. TP
Definitely looks good with the slight section. These are pretty tall appearing in the body, so it should offset the chop really nicely without being obvious.
Cut baby cut.....throw out the template, and build it with your heart... Good progress, keep mooving forward. Cheers, Drewfus
I love it! so amitious haha. I just love it cause its a chopped 40, and "you cant do that" Im definatly followin this one now...
Yes chop it ,not too much though! Some guys get all excited with the saw in hand thinking a radical chop is cool.Then after it is done find out "ops" too much TOO LATE! Some cars look way out of proportion with a radical chop. Some look kick ass .Be careful and plan ahead. Hay you will get better gas millage from aerodynamics!
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