Projects Chopping two 1940 mercs

so cool. someday I will be getting back on my merc. Love what you are doing.

 

Thanks Guys. So we got everything fit and tacked so now Im welding it all together. Im doing a few things different on this chop so im testing it out on Hodges merc. Everything is working great so Nathan's will get the same treatment.

 

Nice work as allways Kevan.Do you feel it was simpler to cut out and make a new rear part of the roof instead of piecut the old one.That weld cross over the roof can be a real pia if you´r not carefull when welding it and can be rather time consuming straightening back.Just curios and I enjoy watching all the different methods used by different builders on here. Allways learning something new.

 

Man I'd love to be there watching these beauties being born, absolutely incredible work Kevan

 

well I don't know if it's easier but certainly comes out a little cleaner because your not dealing with all those cuts in the roof. it's actually harder doing a new panel above the window but better results. Yes that weld across the middle is a bitch because you cant reach it, so it can easily get away from you if you're not careful.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this difficult merc chop. I will have a merc in the future that will receive a haircut.

Jeff5

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That´s what I thought.But you´re right, the end result is a lot cleaner and it´s the end result that counts.The easy way is not always the best

 

Been going full steam and got the majority of this chop done. I still need to do some hammer/dolly work but its pretty close.

 

Big mess = big success! Time to drink a few more beers, pass out, then do it all over again tomorrow! life is good!

 

AHHH, beer from the land of the sky blue waters

 

Cheers, buddy! That shop looks unreal with those chopped -40 Mercs all over.

 

Beautiful work Kevan. Looks like you might have the hang of this chopping Merc's thing.

 

Beautiful metal work Kevan, And the shop looks like mercury heaven. It has to put a smile on your face just to walk in the door in the morning. One word Awesome!


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Kind of a shame to paint all that beautiful metal work.Man you do some awesome work.

 

Thanks! Cheers JB!

 

Kev when I'm next over I'm envisaging a couple of cases of beer........each, haha.
Jason must be in seventh heaven with how the chop has come out on his, does he have plans for any other custom touches, ie rear gravel pan and decking the rear?

 

Nice topic! Thanks for sharing.

I found a '40 coupe last month, and hope to start next week.. ;-)

 

Hey Nath! Yes Jason wants everything molded and shaved like my Merc. He's also planning to eventually install a 49 Caddy mill.

 

Kevan, that metal work is beautiful. You have it so it almost looks like a one piece stamping. The compounds curves are smooth and flow very well.

 

Thanks Paul, I cant wait to work on yours! Going to be a fun trip!

 

...

 

I started working on Nathans car again. I made a brace to go up inside the roof. a little but different approach than Jason's car where I used a brace on the outside of the roof. Im just trying different things to see what works best. Also went ahead and started chopping the back window 1".




Got the back window braced and chopped it 1 inch.

 

Kevan, you've put a big smile on my face!!

 

Yes, April is going to me a good month! Booked my trip to the Roundup in Austin. Once I get back, I'll be preparing for your arrival, then we'll have Spring Carlisle.

 

Great stuff you're doing Kev ...Custom Mercs growing like mushrooms...it will be a popular car soon worldwide as far I see,ah,ah,ah
Patiently waitin my turn

 

Looking through the sally port the maranga was chopped less on the sail panel !

 

Amazing craftsmanship!

My grandfather drank Hamms beer back in the day. Cool!

 

hahahaha,

 

okay, so now with the back window chopped and secured in place I cut out the metal above the back window. because this car isn't chopped as much as Jason's burgundy merc I was able to cut the panel above the back window out, rework it, and then reuse it. I've never tried this before but it worked out great! Definitely not easy but I made it work and I'm very happy with it.

First was marking my line and cutting the piece out as strait as possible.




I put some slices above the rear window to get it to get some of the heavy curve out of it and follow the curve of the new roof shape.


Next I put the piece on the English wheel upside down and slowly worked the heavy curve out of it. The Panel got to the point where it wanted to flip flop over but I was able to put some heat on it and got it to stay right side up with just the right compound curve.


After some test fitting I decided to go ahead and weld it in. Normally I wait until every panel is tacked in before final welding but I felt pretty confident with this panel so I went ahead and welded it. Also, it was much easy to hammer and dolly the weld with the sail panels out.





After the panel was welded I decided to test fit the right sail panel. Everything is flowing smoothly and looks good!