well im almost done with the top chop of this 4way chop job. so im asking for some input on the a pillars. id like to lean the posts but which is the more efficient way of doing so, i already had to cut it down the middle since i narrowed the whole truck. please help before i fuck this up being this close. thanks
On cars we slide the whole roof forward to solve your problem in pic one. Since the backwindow area is all redone anyway, makes sense. on trucks, most people quarter and move everything out to match posts. reason being you can reach the middle of a truck top, a car you can't.
I feel lile you skipped something.usually you measure cut slide roof foward.section roof top into 2 part left to right , add a strip I the middle.than pie cut the pillers and spread them open to get the desired with o the pillar..if the roof is just tacked, pop the welds And move the roof foward than clamp it and tack it .. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
There are a couple of ways to do a chop. Some people add metal to the roof section to make it long enough to fit once you take the chopped amount out of the height. Others lay the windshield back so that it fits up with the roof section. When we chopped the 39 Dodge pickup we laid the windshield back. I feel it gives a swoopier look to the roof but that is just a personal thing. By doing it that way you also save some amount of slicing and dicing of the roof section to stretch it out. Again, just the way we like to do them. Don
Thanks, Mike. Once we laid the bottom section back and then pulled the top section out to meet it, things lined up pretty well. It looks like a lot of work, but I think it is much easier than trying to recrown the roof after adding strips of metal when you lengthen it. Don
check out my build thread ...not sure how to link it across .I leaned the pillars back on my 48 F1 cab. I cut a wedge out of the A-pillar, pulled them back ,tack welded them into place, then cut the window pillars (bit over 4 1/2 ins) then slid the roof forward. I then added a strip across the back of the roof.My chop wasn't as straight forward as yours because I used Chevy doors, but the roof portion of the job is the same. I also made a cut down on an angle on the bottom outside corners and up the ends of the dash , pulled the lower sections in towards each other , whilst I pushed the upper portions of the pillars out ...and mated them up prtty well really. Alex Gambino posted a good thread on chopping a 39 pickup cab too ,which is basically the same and you would do well to read that thread IMO
looking at the 1st photo you posted I can tell you you'll need to move your bracing down to just above the top door hinge also. Many guys end up with a bulge on the outside of the A-pillars. I made sure I avoided that.
thanks guys, my original plan was to lean everything back since when i narrowed the whole truck 6 inches i only had to narow the roof 5 1/4in which was nice that i didnt have to add anymetal. don, are there anymore pictures of the dodge roof maybe with some more detail as to why you cut where you did? my dad always told me to be smarter than the metal and sofar i have, i have some lines layed out i might cut into and see what happens. im just worried that im gonna fuck this part up after the rest has gone so well. i have a feeling the upper section of the a pillar is gonna be smarter than me. haha fleetmaster, at one point i was gonna pull everything forward and and a strip of metal. that was also the point when i put those braces in, ha but i have some lines im gonna snap a few pictures and post them to see what you guys think before i commit thanks for all of you advice guys, much apreciated. i'll also get some better images of the truck with out the door next to it.
on the side vew the pivot point would be at the drip rail, and my mark goes down to follow the body curve which i would like to keep straight. in the front i would remove whats inside the lines and cut along the top of the dash so when i lean it in the window channel follows the lower half of the a pillar. and after the a pillar is whole again i would shape some metal and fill the gaps and remake the curve up towards the window. this part i feel would be easily accomplished.
my first thought was to cut the "triangle shield" marked area out and set it aside, and then to make one slice in and possibly cut a little further into the top, then fill the gaps and make a new "shield like" piece to fit. then i started to think that simply cutting a few pie sections into it would be the answer, but im not so sure it would turn out right. if i cut the shield part out i think it would be easier to reshape the drip rail and inner jam to fit and look more proper
how did you get the top a pillar to move forward? did you just stretch it or relief cuts in the jamb?
I lean the post whenever possible. The milder the chop the easier it is to lean. Saves huge amounts of work compared to quartering a top. In the case of my stude the chop was more about leaning the posts than reducing the height. I separate and remove the outer skin on the a pillar first. Then do the rest of the chop, then trim and tweak the a pillar skin and re install. I also reinforce ANY and ALL pillar cuts.
i went with the lean. i stared at my lines for a few hours and got sick of staring so i dove right it. best way to learn i guess is to stop being a pussy and cut some metal. ha idk if its just beginners luck with this truck or i paid more attention than i thought when i was a kid. everything is going extremely smooth, and it worries me a bit. p.s. im extremely grateful for all of your input and help with this. i've never had good luck with the forums before. my last build was a hardtail bike, and everyone was ignorant and full of themselfs. thanks guys
here are some pictures of tonights progress on the pillars. i plan on adjusting the gap once i get the door to size and removing the drip rail since it would take too much work to repair it.
Another consideration when you lean post is the pinch weld that the windshield rubber fits over. It needs to stay aligned. Make a templet for the glass, and make sure it lays flat on the pinch weld all the way around.
I did a 48 Merc p.u. a couple of years back, i like to stretch the roof with an extra front piece from a donor cab. I cut the back of the cab along the mid-body line, leaving that small rear window full size.
Looks like you have a handle on it. If you separated the cowl and pillar section, you'd be able to align and close your gaps a little better. And please clean your metal!
One thing I have found is that if you chop the top lets say 3 inches, you only take about an inch and a half out of the windshield posts, not 3 inches. The reason is you need that extra metal to stretch the windshield frame out. It just works out that way, and if you were to cut 3 inches all the way across you would have to end up welding some filler material back into the windshield posts to close up the gap. Don
tinbender, i assume you mean completely separating the whole lower half of the windshield and triming them both to size? i also figuered someone would say something, usually i do prep my work before welding. i plan on leaving the welds un touched for the first few years of its future life and im trying not to damage the patina. don, i think i get what your saying. i actually goofed up there a bit but on the up side my roof is a half inch lower than expected. but i think ill play it off as i meant to rake it a half inch shhhhh ha. btw the cars you build are phenomenal seems like theres some extreme skill going into them. i got to pie and trim some of the metal under the window on the cowl and add a thin strip into it, luckily i have 10in of metal from the bottom of the doors for patch metal thanks guys
as you can see i took your advise, i wasnt 100% on where i was going so i was leaving the option open. now i know where im at and what direction im heading with it. thanks jake
That looks better. Clean makes things easier and improves weld quality. Clean both sides as much as possible. Round corners on your cuts when you can helps reduce warpage too. So did you narrow this cab?
I found that out the hard way when I chopped my 48. One reason I'm in the process of building a new cab. It's also the main reason you always see the phrase "took out three inches in the front and four inches in the back" or something similar depending on the amount of the chop.
i had no idea about the round corner thing, thats a good to know trick, thanks. but yes its 6 inches narrower. i cant afford to get a nice model A body so this ford cab is my next best thing. there wont be any update pictures till i get my welder warrantied, you'd think since miller makes hobart and mine is only 6 months old with not even a whole 10lb roll of wire ran through it, that it would still work like new. nope not the case. best part is, is the similar welders are on back order. there is a picture of it after it got put back together.
I learned some reading this. I have a cab all marked to cut but haven't yet. Promised myself I would get my 56 running first. Good info about the amount of cut at the windshield.
still no welder yet, I've been tempted to bust out the flux core but cant bring my self to stoop to that level. with the weather here in wisconsin being fairly nice I've been getting alot of riding in while waiting so thats alright. i do have some newer pictures of the passenger side almost done, i just need to figure out where they went or re upload them to the laptop.
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