sorry if this has been covered but not much turned up in my search... i'm planning to cut the top off of my 50 desoto 4door and had planned to weld all the doors shut but i'm wondering if i could get away with leaving the front doors functioning with out the body twisting all to hell and with no structural add ons... thanx
Could look cool saw this yesterday on eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3ASS%3AUS%3A1123&viewitem=&item=250259701538
Now.. don't bite me, I'm just asking questions I ask myself before a project... 1. Do you have a CLEAR picture of what it will look like? Not just in your head. Do you have an edited picture to actually see the effect of what you want? 2. Do you have the skills to pull this off? If not, are you willing to learn them and from whom will you learn them? 3. Do you have the tools and space to pull this off? 4. Are you willing to deal with it if you aren't successful? No, I am NOT being nasty.. just a realistic question. It's very easy to cut and undo a picture, not so easy to undo that quantity of work. 5. $$? Obvious question. There could be dozens more questions but that's a decent start. And even though my opinion of what it would look like doesn't really matter (it's your ride) .. I'd need to be convinced by a picture. I've some weird stuff work. Seen lots butchered too. Without adding structural support? Not in my opinion.
that things bad! but i'm going topless... topless but not fender less... little more radical than what i'm thinkin no biting, all good questions, havent grabbed photoshop yet but seems to be a must... i'm lucky because i have access to pretty much any tool(s) i need and any knowledge i havent yet grabbed, also a good way to learn (at least for me) is to get in there and do it... i'm probably gonna end up just having all the doors filled in but i was just curious at work on a slow sunday, too much time to think! thanx for the help, if anyone has a pic of a topless 50 dodge plymouth chrysler desoto send me that way
You will have to add some structure to the body and the frame I believe as verts were beefier from the factory to avoid the twisting, I think even if you just cut the top you still have to add something even if you weld the doors shut and personally I would want doors, a Desoto is a pretty big car to be jumping over the sides on. I watched a new episode of Overhaulin this week that they made a 4 dr 54 ford into a roadster and it turned out cool as hell so you may want to see if you can view it on the internet or something
My FAVORITE car (of about a hundred) was my '56 Caddy Sedan DeVille 4 door hardtop that I cut the top off. After doing that, it looked "funny", so I chopped the windshield 4". Then, it was low enough, but was too long, so I shortened it 16" behind the front doors. It was proportioned nicely enough then, but I still should've lengthened the front doors a couple of inches. All this useless info is to tell you that if you want the car to actually look GOOD instead of like a hacked up POS, it's not just about whacking the roof off it. If you don't have Photoshop, take some nice side view photos, blow 'em up to 8x10's, and cut 'em up with siccors and tape 'em together untill you get the look you want. My Caddy had a massive frame with X type center crossmember which I was able to pretty easily shorten and kept the Xmember intact (same frame as the convertibles). Your Desoto will need some work to make it rigid, it's not just about having the body not twist (which it will without the roof) but having it be SAFE to drive. Don't just whack off the top and call it good, it won't be. I've done several convertible conversions, you HAVE TO STIFFEEN A SEDAN FRAME. Period. The latest car I've "convertiblized" is my '36 "Fordillac" built from a two door humback sedan. Again, keeping the proportions right requires lots of work and thought after the roof is lost. Hopefully, the photos will attach... Cut the thing up, but plan the build carefully or it'll be a huge mess. Brian
...agree with flynbrian about proportions. here is a link with some nice verts. FWIW, I have a 2-dr with a such a poor chop job that the previous owner simply quit, so I may have to turn it into a vert in order to save it. Is the frame stout enough as is? I will try to make actual comparisons to factory cars then make the call. http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=9906 Hope you can access this....
I can't see how cutting the top off and welding up the doors will be an improvement on any car. this is a cool old ride right here... v <CENTER></CENTER>
i figured i would need to do some structural improv's, just trying to keep the budget low... as far as shortening the beast i would love to and it would definetly improve the look but this is not my favorite car ever that i'm gonna keep forever either, just something i gotta good deal on and figured it would be fun to learn with, time will tell, thanx for all the advice
Fun to learn what with? If you want to learn welding and bodywork, fill the handles...shave the hood and deck...french the headlights...tunnel the taillights and plate...dechrome...etc. Lots of learning in that! Why kill an old car for nothing? What do you learn by cutting off the roof and welding the doors together? Seriously! What skills do you want to work on that will improve by destroying the cars structure and looks?????
Cut the roof off, Chop the winshield down and shave the door handles. Dont weld any doors shut. It could make a nice open air cruiser. I seen one simular in rolls & pleats a few years back.
Whoa partner, lets not get too worked up here, deep breaths, i know you kanucks have a good health care system but lets not go abusing it with a self indused heart attack bud... i plan on doing all you listed as well as cut the roof off and "destroy the cars looks"... hey, has any body ever made a model a coupe into a roadster with a chopped down windsheild? somebody let me know if they've seen that and maybe send me a pic so i could see what that looks like thats what i'm thinkin...
There was a thread about chopping off the roof of 50's Mopars back when i had mine about 2 years ago or so.Do a search and i'm sure you'll find it...I'll look thru my saved pics on my computer and see what i can dig up for you too.....
Filling all the doors in and making it look nice, is probably damn near as much work as making it a proper looking 2 door. Here's a '49 Plymouth that used to be a 4 door. Take the time and do it right and they can be very sweet...
I was just looking for pics of this car too.It think it was called"Jesus Chrysler"...I had a bunch from billetproof this past year but i cant find them...heres what i did find...
Plymouths of that era have a big added X to the frame, one of our rotty parts cars is a '54 ragtop - the X is all that holds the car together. You could probably round up an X cheap out of something like a 49-54 Pontiac or 57-58 Buick frame if you didn't want to make one. But I'd add some steel to the entire frame cowl to rear bumper. The B-posts will need some added bracing too if it stays a 4dr with opening rear doors. Personally I wouldn't do it unless I lived someplace it never, ever rains.
Didn't think I came on too strong...sorry about that if I did! I'm not excited at all. Look...smiley! No seriously...you said you wanted to cut the roof and weld the doors closed...and that you would learn something from it. I just can't figure out what you could possibly learn from doing something the way you described it. You didn't mention doing a full customization or anything...but you did give the impression that you don't care about the car at all! Thats a recipe for disaster. I'd use the car as a stepping stone towards getting the car I really want by fixing it up a bit and reselling. You'll get nothing back if you make impulsive moves that result in the car being totally undesirable. The pic "good_ol_boy" posted is awesome and shows just whats possible IF you apply yourself with a good attitude and a little restraint.
My guess is the car he has and is thinking of cutting up isn't quite as nice as this...A Dodge convert is definately an improvement over a rusty old sedan. How 'bout not only cutting it up and convertibleizing it, but do it as a faux woody, a sort of Dodge Town and Country? I'd do that in a heartbeat, even with a cherry sedan as pictured!
right on flybrian, thats the kinda thinking i like, even though i'm not feeling the woodie look for me i can definetly appreciate it... hackerbill maybe this just isnt the thread for you, i take it that your the kinda guy at the shows that looks at a car and begins to list the things he does NOT like about the car aloud, mean while the owner is sitting right there listening to you shred all the hard work he/she has put into it, to each his/her own buddy, i promise you, you would never hear me say anything negative about a project of anybody elses.... SEISX- always good to get your 2 cents, your my mopar man, right on... thanx for everyones tips
Ahhhhh...Yeah...thats me alright... Note to self: Never question anyone who's name starts with "Von"! LoL
or car title's that start with "not hackerbill"... not tryin to lay into too hard here fella but if it's tryin to get someone to take a second look at a project your getting at, you should word things more along the lines of GizmoJoe at the top of the thread, and remember, they make all the m&m's different colors for a reason guy, i build things the way i like them and if it piss's a few people off along the way then thats just the icing on the cake...
"Note to self: Never question anyone who's name starts with "Von"! LoL" Words of wisdom from Hackerbill...
I don't think this is a good idea. You are about to bite off more than you can chew. This is a very serious undertaking. In order to make the car a convertible, you are going to have to do a lot of work to stiffen the frame. You need to find 2 of the same model of cars, one a convertible and one a sedan, then check out the differenc in the frame structure. The top is what holds the car together. And if you were correct in saying this would be a learning experience for you, maybe you should learn on something that isn't so much work. Start small, work your way up.