Projects 53 Chevy Mild Chop (w/ a ton of pics)

Well. Ive already built my car. Didn't have a build thread while i was doing it because i only have computer access at work. But i took a lot of pics along the way. So I'll post them as i have time in hopes it will help someone else planning to chop their car. This was my first real chop and I'm pretty happy with it. I didn't go with the standard 4 inch like most people. My car is bagged in the rear but it doesn't lay out. And i hate seeing over chopped cars that sit too high. I did 3 inches in the front and about 3.75 in back. I also moved the rear window forward, extending the catwalk about 2 inches. Anyhow. Ill try to explain as i post.
Its a 53 chev 150 2dr sedan. I got it and it was a good runner. Just needed a bunch of rust repair and body work. Over the first winter i did a few custom touches and rust repair. Also bagged the rear. Enjoyed it for a few months. Then decided to chop the roof.

This is the car when I bought it

After 9 months and a bunch of work

Mid Chop

And heres how it looked 10 months after I started chopping it.

Anyhow. Ill start posting pics of all the stuff in between tomorrow. Thanks for looking

 

Damn it looks great. Love the progress so far. And I'm diggin the ford grill.

 

Great car.. you should be proud

 

That chop looks just right. Great job

 

looks - good. sure there will be interest in pics & details

 

nice work

 

Your chop proves that "Sometimes less is more" - Perfect.
Also the '54 tail lamps are a 100% better than the 53's imo.

 

Thanks for the kind words guys . So heres some more pics

Heres a couple pics after cutting out the b pillars





And the back window/sail panel area

 

And your typical roof on the floor pic

 

Apparently I didn't get any pictures setting up the new roofline or picking where the back window should go. So heres one from after i started piecing it together. Back window moved forward and slanted. Then tacked in place.



And marking out where to cut the catwalk to move forward to meet the back window. Also set the window into the frame to check for flow. I used the leftover piece i cut from the back of the roof and moved it down to fill the gap under the window.

 

And here is the only time i really started to sweat. Cutting this out was scarier to me than cutting the roof off.

 

And here's the piece i cut out, trimmed up, slid forward and clamped into place. Thats it for today. Gotta get back to work. Ill try to post more soon. If your still checking it out, thanks for looking

 

More please !

 

Heres a couple pics of me patching in the hole that was left after moving the beltline forward

 

Reshaping the back corner of the rear window

 

And heres a couple pics after i finished welding up some of the rear window and catwalk area

 

looks killer .....what did you do for the windshield?

 

Very nice work!

 

Nice!

 

Sweet. Wish I had the talent and cahones to try it. Nice work

 

How much did you take off?

 

Wow - it's lookin' great . Waiting for more pics .

 

Thank you! I took 3 inches out of the front. I have a pic or 2 of cutting the glass down that i'll post when i get there. The rear glass is the factory 150 glass.

 

Fantastic workmanship. Chop looks spot on!

 

Slanted B pillars starting to be pieced together



And heres a shot to show the stock door top in relation to the new chopped roof.

 

Next up was the sail panels. I had never used a english wheel before. Bought one. And the sail panels were the first things i attempted to roll out. I was pretty happy with them.

Heres the beginning


And after a little more rolling


And finally ready to trim and weld in

 

Heres it is welded up


And here we are, ground hammered and sanded out. Not "metal finished" perfect by a long shot. But i was pretty pleased with it, being my first attempt at this much custom metal work

 

Couple more. Thanks again for looking. Ill try to transfer some more pictures from my phone and post more tomorrow

 

Nice work. It looks like you nailed this one. Great job on the sail panels, the english wheel can be a beast if you're not patient.

 

Great work and cool car!!