No need to apologize for going sbc. Great motors and fit well in most anything. They have always been my first choice.
What a score and I LOVE the work youre doing on it. Wishing you were closer to me and still trying to pawn it off dirt cheap. Those tucks lend themselves to being Kustoms so well!
The metalwork you have done so far makes it far too nice to just primer and then sit outside to rust.
I even tried giving it away for a couple hundred bucks and people still didn't want it. OK, you can give it to me for "a couple of hundred bucks"! I'll pick it up in the spring. Thanks!
I chopped my 49 COE 4 inches front and back. Quartered the roof like you did and kept all the stock pillar angles. I had a second roof to cut up for the splice pieces. I have the smaller rear window being the 48-50 size, but I took 2 inches above and 2 inches below, keeping the rear window stock size. Ended up being about the same height as the new side window height. I think 4 inches is a good look for these 48-52 Ford truck cabs. I still have plenty of interior headroom.
I've got some bad news for you...I think you might be an expert. Damn fine work all around, and a nice save.
So here is where I left off on this. 2 years ago I got sick of this one taking up space in the garage so I pulled an all nighter, welded the hell out of the roof, slapped some primer on it and dumped it outside to rust...actually it was only supposed to sit outside for a couple months...but a couple months turned into 2 years....
Fast forward to last month I decided the most responsible thing to do during a global pandemic would be to drag this thing back in the garage and finish the chop. I decided to start beating the roof skin back into submission. This was a daunting task seeing as how I have no idea what the hell Im doing, and also I didnt do myself any favors by welding the crap out of the roof 2 years ago... These pictures are the results of many many hours of barbaric hammering, the drivers side and center is more or less ironed out, where the passenger side is still being finessed
Just a couple before photos of the roof, its hard to show in pictures, but the roof was quite badly creased and caved in. Next photos are the roof skin completed, the dark spot in the center is still the remnants of the cheap primer that I'm too lazy to sand off...supplies and morale are running low!
Got the back window opening barbecued in. I think I only took 1.5" out of the back window, I also drilled out the spot welds and removed the inner brace to make it easier to planish out the welds and fix all the dents. Also got the passenger back corner of the cab finished out, still have a long ways to go getting the lower back window area smoothed out
View attachment 4697447 Making the back window area somewhat presentable was getting pretty tedious, so this weekend I went for some instant gratification and finished the last of the welding and splicing on the passenger door top, also got the missing driprail piece put back in, and started getting the front edge of the roof pulled straight... This is where I'm at now, hopefully I can get some more done this week, there is still a mountain of work left to get this chop done. Hopefully all the time I've wasted on this science experiment is worthwhile, when this truck was sitting outside I had people stop and tell me that I had completely ruined this truck by chopping it haha.
Keep "ruining" it, I think you're on to something! You are a Craftsman, what other mods do you have in mind?
It seems every state and province handles auto titles, registration and licensing differently. In Illinois there is a process for a Bonded Title. There are also Salvage and Rebuilt Titles. They also have a Junking Certificate and once a car/truck gets one of them it cannot be sold, only parted out.
Yup- First you saved it—Then you ruined it—then it’s cool as Fuck—Then it’s all Fucked up— Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Great job on the smoothing out and metal finishing. I think the truck looks great chopped, but I'm a little biased.
I like it, project that hangs around and gets some attention when youre bored. You're a meticulous metalman, I commend you. I woulda reached for the high build primer a while back. Lets see what else you have in mind, keep posting, when youre able to spend time on it. I have a 63 impala that hangs around, total backburner project.
Thanks for all the nice comments! I had plans to channel the cab a couple inches, pancake the hood, shave the front fender seam, build new running boards and build more rounded bed stake pockets similar to the ones on late 30s early 40s ford trucks. Unfortunately times are tough right now so it will be getting put up for sale once the chop is completed...if it doesn't sell, or things start picking up at my new job then I'll just keep it and continue tinkering away at it.
Not much to report this week, I've been picking away at the back window area, hopefully I can sneak it past the Qc department. Now its time to get the inner back window bracing welded in. Before I welded the back window in I had drilled out the spot welds holding the inner brace to the back window, this made it easier to hammer out all the dents, but I also wanted to keep the brace in 1 piece to make it easier to keep the 2 lower halves of the back window in alignment. because the back window opening is now wider I had to cut the corner braces off Here is the brace loosely mocked up inside the truck the corner pieces will get moved out slightly and rewelded. So thats where its at now, hopefully this week I can get the inner all cleaned up and the back brace welded in, as well as finish up all the loose ends and final welding inside the rear of the cab. Then by the end of next weekend I'd like to have the drivers door top done...
The Jalopy Journal
