Here is a 39 Ford std coupe / convertable with 2 in sedtioned from the break line at the top of the doors. The car was done in the 80s. deChrome
To bring things full circle, this is reputed to be the last complete custom to roll out of Valley Customs. Larry Sanford's '40 Merc. Who says four doors aren't cool? It's difficult to see here, but the belt-line on this car was completely removed. Photo from the Andy Southard colection (brought over from Kustomrama).
When we started our project, Don Dillard remarked that some sectioned '40s have an awkward proportion between the grille and hood: the grille looks too large for the rest of the car. The deeper the slice, the greater the effect. The Jilek car was cut 4", a pretty good whack, and IMO has the proportions that Don was talking about: On the Hollywood Knights car, with frenched headlights and no front bumper, the grille becomes even more prominent: '39 Dlx and '40 Std front ends have more "V" to the front edge of the hood, which seems to help keep the grille and hood in proportion: We addressed Don's concern on my car by extending the front edge of the hood downward by half the amount that the hood was sectioned, and I think that the proportions turned out well: The grille still needs to be built, but I'm confident that we can reach a good result. I'm glad that Don brought up the issue and that we found a solution.
50 fraud, I like where you're going with your '39. Proportions are good. I've attached a crappy photo of my '40. I channeled it 5", chopped it 3", then sectioned the hood 2 1/2", and raised the front fenders the same amount. I'm not skilled enough to raise the rears, but I think you can get away with doing the lowering this way. My '40 was featured in R&C in August, 2009. Just in the right place at the right time.
Ya might check this out. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50877&highlight=father+hollywood+knights
let me say first, my ford doesn't belong on the same page as all these way cool Fords. my barn fixture 48 minus boards, raised fenders, welded trunk. Chopped 4 3/4 slid forward the same. doors widened 8 1/2 inches 3 window ford with rumble seat. inline to do is a 3 inch channel and hood sectioned 3 also. kind of like my GMC
Sectioning can be so tricky-the foresight for the finished product going into the project is an artform unto itself. When they're right-they're "right on"
I just bought some Hot Rod magazines this past Sunday, and featured is the Hollywood Knights car. The Yellow Submarine. Febuary of 79. Page 20-21. I`m sure sombody can post better pic`s than I can.
I would think that if you're brave enough and skilled enough to section the hood, you could raise the rear fenders if you wanted. I think your car looks great as is, though. You're brave to take this on, and I think it's working. Your avatar is where you're going with this, right? Here I thought it was a Mopar coupe!
I think about this kind of nonsense every day, but I don't think I really had an overview of this group of customs (channeled/sectioned '39/'40 Fords and Mercs) until I assembled this thread. Now I have noticed that there's a sort of hole in this universe. The combination of channeling, chopping, and removal of running boards was done fairly often back in the day, especially on '39 Ford convertibles. There were fewer Mercs done this way, although two of the very best were Jimmy Summers' personal car... ...and the '39 Merc that Valley Custom did for Glen Hooker: There were also some '39/'40 Ford coupes done in this style (chopped or not), ranging from this... ...to this: The void that I have noticed is that there don't seem to have been any (well, maybe one) '39-'40 MERC COUPES done in the channeled/chopped/boardless style. Thanks to Rikster's huge archive, I was able to find one car that fits this description: But with its fadeaway fenders and extensively customized nose, it has almost completely lost its "Merc-ness". While I don't imagine that there are dozens of custom enthusiasts looking for new and expensive projects, it is surprising to me that this particular combination has so seldom been executed. Obviously there are a zillion Merc coupes that have been done since Nick Matranga's milestone car was first shown, and demonstrated that the quirky Merc coupe top could be made beautiful with a little cosmetic surgery. In fact, virtually all of the custom Merc coupes that have been done since Nick's have followed its model almost exactly: a deep, smooth whack, radical lowering, and skirts. The only variable seems to be the shape of the B pillar. I'm thinking that a chopped and channeled '40 Merc coupe, probably with fenders moved/hood sectioned/wheel wells raised, could be a really beautiful and unprecedented custom. Rik, if you're reading this, have I missed anything here?
Is that the one that came out of NE Mpls/Columbia Heights area around 37th and University??? We had just finished all the rust repair work on my coupe when we heard about that one. I went down and looked at it, and I was REALLY interested in it, but after just having done all the work on my coupe, plus that one being channeled, my Dad put the brakes on that deal. I saw it at a swap for sale a few years later, and was glad to see it still around. Hopefully someone will end up with it and do something with it. Is that pic at John Z's house?
Great thread Tony. I could not agree more with you on this. To me the sectioned (or raised fenders on a channeled body) 1939-40 Ford/Mercury's are amongst my all time favorite customs. I have always believed that this style of customizing came from the European coachbuilt Sports Cars like the Peugot's and Delahaye's etc. Wonderful hand built teardrop shaped custom bodies with no running boards and the right amount of chrome details. My guess is that some of the young Custom builders in California, people like Jimmy Summers and Art and Jerry from the Olive Hill Garage and many others were inspired by seeing these European Sports Cars on the road in the 1940's. They must have noted the similarity in tear drop shaped fenders on these cars with the Ford and Mercury's of the time. And decided to built their own versions. The channeled over the frame bodies did not only look great, they most likely handled a lot better as well. The Jimmy Summers 1940 Mercury and the Valley Custom Shop Glen Hooker are my most favorite in this style. But there are many others shown here on this thread than show how wonderful these cars can look with these modifications. And Tony's version is a wonderful perhaps more modern, or at least more Hot Rodded version on this theme. But it sure shows that with all the elements balanced it can create a really fine customized car with lines than will keep you stare at it for hours.
Hi, Rik, thanks for joining in. I agree that Summers, the Valley guys, and other customizers working in a similar vein had been looking at European teardroppy roadsters. If, in the end, my '40 ends up having some of the character of this Chapron-bodied Delahaye, it's fine with me. I certainly wasn't attempting to copy it, but this body has been among my favorites for many years:
Great thread! My 40 Merc underwent this treatment in the early 50's but I haven't been able to find much out about this cars original builder. The car is ugly as it sits, but I think bringing the top down a bit more will be a huge help.
Wow, JJ, your car is exactly the thing I commented was missing in post #43. You have a great start on something really interesting; I look forward to seeing its resurrection. Have you been following this thread on the Kirkegaard Merc, too? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=740119
Thanks man, I'm really looking forward to getting started on it. As soon as I finish up the chop on my 49 I'll be digging into the 40. I stumbled onto the Kirkegaard thread a few days ago.... That car is amazing! I'm glad that there are a few people building this style of early custom
Couldn´t resist trying this out and apologies to Rik for using his photo. I also tweaked the back edge of the front fender into a more pleasing shape, as it looked a little slabby as it was, without the running board. JJ - you already have a good headstart on building this. Look forward to your build.
^^ Interesting. When it's channeled/sectioned, the car takes on the proportions of a Cadillac or Buick of the era.
Which you´d probably be better off starting with! In all honesty - and I hate to say it - the Matranga car is over chopped by any normal standards. The very deep body doesn´t help, so it´s interesting to see a similar chop with the body section, to get the proportions back.
The Jalopy Journal
