Hey guys. I'm pretty new to the Kustom game, but I have some great guys by my side helping me out, and I also want to learn from as many people out here on The HAMB. I just got a 1953 Ford Mainline and I love it. I have some work to do on it, but that's part of the fun. I have one question. I want to do a front clip swap and I would like to know what the best car to use as the donor car. I've heard that the 86, 87, and 88 Cutlas are the best. Is this right? or is there something else I could use? Any info would help. I also would love to see some pics of your chopped Mainlines, Customlines, and get some ideas of what I can do as far as chop options are concerned. I've heard of people using Chevy roofs for their Ford chops. Is this possible? If so, what model and year Chevy roof ? I have seen a few pics, but I would love to see whats out there to give me some ideas. Thanks guys.
IMHO they rarely look good chopped unless you had a Victoria and even then it's a tough call. They are perfect MILD Kustom material and as such have been restyled plenty over the years. It doesnt take alot to make these cars "have it". Good Luck. Do yourself a favor if you love Kustoms subscribe to Kustoms Illustrated. Good Luck
Thanks Bullet. I'm gonna look into the s10 as an option. @ Love. I know what you are saying about these cars as far as not doing too much to them. I myself don't like the chop look with the stock roof, I'd rather just keep the roof as it is. Like I said, I've seen some with I think Chevy roofs, but I just want to confirm that with other builders and see some pics if anyone has any. Thanks for the Kustoms Illustrated info as well.
Here's a couple pics of my chopped '53 Mainline. I did this one in high school. Here are some words of wisdom. First off, the Chevy roof cars are based off of Ford hardtop bodies, at least, every one I've seen is, no post cars. So your Mainline is not an ideal candidate for a Chevy roof swap/chop. Second, sinking the rear window was a mistake on my part, it leaks and it makes it impossible to lean it forward. When I redo this car I'm going to use a '49 Mercury rear window and surrounding sheetmetal. A shoebox Ford window would work too, but a different rear window is almost a must. Third, when I did mine, I made the roof longer and left the C pillar in the stock location. I think it makes the rear quarter windows look too long, a couple people have asked me if I started with a 4 door. The quarter windows are long to begin with. Would have been much better to leave the roof length stock, slide the whole thing forward to meet the windshield pillars, then lean a different rear window forward to do the chop. This is a difficult car to chop properly, I've only seen a couple that I liked, and I'm not happy with mine. It's OK, but it's not as good as it could be. Have someone photoshop any chop ideas you have before you cut into it, it's a great basis to have a finished picture to work off of. Can I ask why you'd want to put a frame stub on it? They have a regular coil spring/control arm suspension on them already, I don't see the value in swapping out the stub. I certainly wouldn't want to use a GM stub as that would change the bolt pattern, maybe I'm missing something?
Here's mine that I started to chop but lost my space and had to sell it. I guess someone in WI finished it. In any case, I put a '50 Ford back glass in and slid it forward about 6". http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=111324 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=140841 Slim
I hadn't seen that one before, that one has a pretty nice profile. More what I was talking about above. That's a lot closer to what I'll be going for when I redo mine.
Thats pretty sweet. I see what you are saying about sinking the window. I'm not 1005 on doing a chop yet. I like the stock look, but thats why I wanted to see some pics, just to see what is out there, just to get some options. The chop, IF I do it, wouldn't be until way down the line. The front end needs new components, and I want to go with disc breaks. By the time I buy all the new parts it seems to be cheaper to do a front clip swap. I heard that the Olds Cutlas was the best front clip to use. Again, this is why I am here asking for advice.
I have to disagree. Although most that I have seen do not look good I think its because most of them got the proportions wrong. I have chopped two of these cars (a 53 and a 54 business coupe) I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out and I have seen a few more recently that look right.
Here's some pics of the cars I chopped. the 53 has a 48 Chevy sedan rear window that worked perfectly. The business coupe has a shoebox rear window that I wouldnt recomend using, they are too big and have too much of a curve.