This needs to be shown to anyone contemplating chopping an A. The perfect chop IMO; proof that "less" really can be "more". Great job!
It's nice to see someone not get carried away on a chop, proportions on a full fender A, that right there is right on, less is more ,nice work
Thanks everyone for the compliments. It really did turn out even better than I expected. I was nervous that 3 inches wouldn't do that much for the car and that it would be a ton of work for nothing, but as soon as we set the top back on the car after taking out the 3 inches it was like an entirely new vehicle. Its amazing how it totally changes the look, especially with the proportions of the rear of the car. It definitely helps when you start with something pretty nice. I was fortunate enough to find a one owner, 60K mile car that was basically rust free. Here's what she looked like the day I picked her up in Kendrick Idaho. I would have driven her home but after sitting 43 years I didn't want to chance it. She's come a LONG way since then and I am completely happy with everything so far.
Adavis, my wife bought a car last Sept that could be your cars twin! Hers satin a barn from 1948 to 2010. The green, blue and black paint on hers looks really similar to yours. Take a look. CTJ
Thanks for letting us be a part of your project. Not everyday when someone lets you cut up there nice 'ol Hot Rod. We had a blast!
How 'bout a field trip to sunny So Cal to do another one? Looks great and you have mastered 3" which is what mine will be.
I certainly agree with that statement . The chop is perfection - just enough , but not a cartoon character .
I want to recognize my friends Eric and Cory for building my new custom dual exhaust header. I could start a new thread for this, but since it all happened while the rest of us were cuttin' the top I figured I'd just tack it on this one. Eric was an instructor at WyoTech and is pretty dang handy with a TIG machine. Between the two of them they were able to build a sweet customer header that has perfect clearance and looks beautiful. Here's the basics on how it went..... First was the layout. I had been planning for this for a while and had my friend and fellow club member Andy (owner of Hells Gate Hotrods) mandrel bend me up some 1.75" exhaust tubing per a template I drew. He also cut me an extra thick flange to help prevent warping. The firing order of a Ford model B 4 cylinder is 1-2-4-3 so we tied 1 and 4 together and 2 and 3 together. That should give it the right sound but more importantly allow the exhaust to properly scavenge and the engine is running. The mandrel bender was able to make the tubes for 1, 2, and 3 all in single tubes, but 4 had to be done in two piece because the distance between the two top bends was too short for the dies. After the header was tack welded up we fit it in the car and realized that the header couldn't be parallel with the engine after the bottom bends because it would cause clearance issues with the motor mounts. After some thought, it was decided that the best way to resolve this was to cut all four tubes above the bottom bend and "clock" them out from the engine a few degrees. This kept the clean look while giving clearance without having to extend the exhaust any further below the car. Here's what the header looks like on the engine. No welds will be visible once I'm done with cleanup. There is plenty of room between the motor mounts, body, engine, and header. Its really a work of art. After we were done, Andy made a jig off of this header and will be able to make them for sale soon. He does custom exhaust flanges/headers but hadn't done a Ford 4 cylinder before this.
WOW, the chop on the car is perfect. I wish I was there for that fun! That header is a work of art. There sure is a lot of talent in that building.
The chop is perfect, the amount and fab work. So many cars are ruined by over chopping them. The header is perfect, too. Great work all around.
Great Job gents and THANK YOU for the documentation and step by step. Humm wonder what my 31 Pickup would look like with that chop? - D
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