chopping 54 hard top and keeping front glass

See my last post.

 

That's why the Moonglow used lexan.

 

Really,lexan,why?

 

If you chop it, do the windshield too. Get glass insurance. My 3'' chop on my ''56'' cost me $200. They paid the rest.

 

Remember,they only used lexan cause thats all they had.why would you do it half ass if the real deal is made now without being tempered.

 

I'm not suggesting he use lexan. The poster mentioned the difficulty with the rear glass area, hence my comment. And yes you could use a repop and cut it, which would probably be preferable (and could get expensive). I've never used lexan, but I'm just not one of those chop snobs that thinks a lexan rear window is a great sin. I wouldn't want one up front, but in the rear I don't see it as such a bad option on customs that get reasonable care and protection.

 

Some of the best advice I've ever seen posted on the board. Most often when one tries to "cut a corner" he ends up with something substandard. It doesn't matter if you are making hotcakes for your kids breakfast or chopping a top or building an engine the results are usually less than desired.

Thinking outside the box is one thing and usually you have to have some real top rate skills to carry off those out of the box things. I've lived outside the box most of my car nut life and often my ideas were ahead of the curve but just as often my skills, patience or finances to accomplish those ides didn't keep up with the idea it's self.

Case in point and telling on myself. I have had suicide doors on the 48 since 1981 if my memory serves right. I have never had glass in the doors because when I did the work to install the hinges the hinges took up some of the same space that the door glass needs to take. That is one reason that the truck is getting a complete from bare frame up rebuild. It may or may not have suicide doors this time around as the jury is still out on that but my daughter says it will.

Even after you come up with an idea it still takes research and planning to decide if the modification looks right and not just a modification for the sake of modification at risk of ruining what most of us feel is one of the greatest looking mid 50's body styles going.

 

As my wife said, "That's gorgeous.....just gorgeous."

 

Chop a 54 hardtop? Who would want to do that

BTW
If I remember my history.
These kids pulled it off on there moms driveway w no doubt very limited tools and experience and ended up with one of the most remembered customs of all time

 

This seems like a very sensible, well thought out response to me. I've seen far too many really nice and very desireable cars cut up (read "butchered") by well-meaning but untalented would be "customizers".

Encouraging a newbie to just "whack away" on his rare hardtop seems irresponsible to me. Hopefully he'll take the good advice over the bad and hold off until he's got the background and/or the $$$ to do it right.

 

Cut 5 1/2 inches out of my windshield (sedan glass) a hardtop would have been a 3 1/2 cut. Used a 4" wet tile blade on a pneumatic grinder and a water feed. Used my windshield trim to draw my cut line after taping both sides of cut area with aluminum tape. Cut 6 inches at a time and then cut off waste section to reduce weight from cracking windshield. Next glass I cut I will make a 2x4 holder to support the glass while cutting. In this method I kept the stock angle but moved the a-pillars forward 3 inches.