I am realizing how popular these cars are however I have wanted to build one for a long time now. I am still in the planing stage and i'm trying to decide on how much i want to chop. Does anyone have any input? old renderings would help. I am going to do the chop first. I will be doing a channel. I'm thinking something conservative but not mild. The plan is slanted b pillars, Nosed with a peak, frenched head and tail lights, relocated wipers, custom bumpers, shaved, and decked. I can't decide on a grill. I might (depending on the donor car) change to the 51 hood and do something different for the grill or just keep the stock grill. I am looking for a donor car right now for parts but haven't been able to locate one. I do want to keep it traditional though. It has a flatty. Would like to convert to a t98. The parts lists continue to grow. Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
I've got some parts ...what are you looking for ....hit me up a conversation. .. As far as chop .....what Input are you looking for....whack off the top set it back on till you like the look of it.... Here's mine ..it's a four door but had the same dimensions before the top came down Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Please tell me you're keeping that steering wheel. My personal preference is slightly (like 2-3 inch) chops on shoeboxes but it's your car. Also from what I understand T5s are a great trans behind a flathead; if I was doing it that's what I would do. Looks like you have a good start on it, I'm subscribed! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I do want to restore the steering wheel. I'm wanting to stay pretty traditional with this one. If I can't find a top loader then I'll just keep the three on the tree. I eventually got all of the glass out except for the front. I will get that done on Monday. Then measurements and bracing. The final decision on the chop is 4 in the front 5.5 in the rear and advance the rear window 3 inches. 3 inch drop in the front and 4 in the rear. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I completely understand and that should be a great setup. You might want to pay attention to how much driveshaft/tunnel clearance you have with that much of a drop. What are you thinking paint wise?
Nice. Have a look in the Shoebox Forum for lots of info and threads on chopping... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/social-forums/shoe-box-hambers.112/ If it was my car I'd keep the '49 grille. Best of the shoeboxes IMO. Good luck with the build, keep us posted.
I'm not too sure on the paint scheme yet. It will probably be in primer sealer for a little while. I don't have a ton of time to do everything but I will be able to get all the metal work done. I'm going to make custom numbers from the ones I have as well. I foresee this being a long drawn out process. My ultimate intent is to have a rolling resume. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Bill Hines is a master at chopping these and Mercs of the same era, see if you can google or HAMB search anything from him with pics. I used a "Rod & Custom" mag article partly for reference where he chopped a 50 Merc. Get yourself a fat cigar. Subscribed!
Got the front window out today. Cracked one. Sanded the area around the rear window to get ready to cut(Plasma). Welded in the cross bracing for the b pillars. I'm going to brace with a k member. Should be pretty solid for the chop.
Looks like a nice start for the project.But cutting the window surround with plasma its not a good idea.You have to clean up the cutting crap before welding it and you have to grind some extras off to get the edges straight.You'll get straighter cuts with the cutting discs,just my 2 cents.. Well,good luck with the build!
I'm going to shape some templates so as to keep my speed consistent. With a plasma cutter you can keep very low heat to the surrounding area of the cut. Abrasives do give an accurate cut but because of friction create considerable heat which can warp the sheet metal. Thanks for the advise though. I appreciate the input. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Back corners, and b pillars cut out. The roof looks massive without the posts. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Call me crazy, but I'm fantasizing a WIDE B-pillar, kind of like a Nomad. Make the rear side windows smaller than the door windows by also widening the C-pillars. Just not so wide on either one to make it look dumpy!
If it wasn't so much more work, I would love to just make this a hard top with a wedge chop but slanted post it must be. Splicing is the name of the game in this one. I have some real expert instruction and direction but I have done all of this mostly myself so far. A few fellow students have helped with a few things.
Roof and rear window off. Sleeves made and plug welded. Rear quarter panel seam ground and tacked in. The first picture are an example of the plasma cut I was talking about. Great machine. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Got the a pillars tacked in today. Working out the rear glass and sail panels. The slanted b pillars in the picture is just tape painted black to see the look. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Ok so no pictures today but here is the update. I am getting some steady help now so things are moving but slowly. I am fabricating the support system that sits under the sail panels. We found some filler that was over 1/8 thick so I hammer and dollied the area, vixen filed and it looks good now. Minimal filler work in that area will be required. I'll take pictures tomorrow. The rest of the quarter seams are gone and the panels are tacked in. We are going to weld them solid and place some filler rod in the seam and weld it. Give it a nice peak. Tomorrow we should be getting to the transition panel from the deck lid to rear window then on to the rear crown of the roof. I only have 6 more days to get the chop done so this should be cutting it close. (Pun intended!) Thanks for all the support. I will become an alliance member as soon as funds ease up.
Looks great, I'm keeping a eye on this one. Do you have any more pics of the filler rod in the rear quarters?
The quarters are tacked right now. The rod is the plan. I'll post pictures when we do it. Tacked the rear window in today. Cut the skins from the rear corners and started the mock up. Started to wheel the transition panel on the rear deck. Reverse curves with a crown suck by the way! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Yesterday we wheeled the top of the crown and made a template for the sail panels. Those were cut out and planned on how to shape them. The English wheel will be the primary shaping tool that we use to build them. It's starting to come together nicely. The quarters are looking good. Completed most of the weld and dress. Next wil be to take a cut off wheel and cut a groove on the weld and lay 1/8 round stock in the valley. Pictures soon to follow. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Today I set the deck lid filler piece and the roof crown piece. Looks pretty good. We wheeled a sail panel and got it looking pretty tight to the existing metal. We had to Frankenstein cut to get things to flow correctly but once it's good I'll be cutting it out and weld the sail panel in. The quarter seams are smooth so now all I have to do is cut a valley and weld in the rod. My main focus is to get the chop complete before I have to get it out of the shop on Thursday. I will be spending a lot of time dressing welds for a while. Oh also those who are attempting the quarter seams. Be careful to find the lead seam that attaches the bottom of the sail,deck lid and quarter. It will spatter really bad when you try to weld it. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I got a lot of progress today. Sail on driver side done and the rear corner of the window tacked in place. Wheeled the passenger side sail and tacked it in. The bottoms move from a hard line to a reverse curve. Lots of help from my instructor. Tomorrow I will be getting the pass side window corner in and the two small pieces of the deck lid. Then on to the b pillars and door frames. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Yesterday was the last day in the shop for this class. So I had to stop whit what I had. I got both window corners in and both of he reverse curve pieces tacked in. I got the front door posts tucked against the a pillars and got them tacked in place. I still have to fabricate and build the rest of the b pillars. I got a shot of the car next to my parts car just to get a good comparison. Looks great. I think the updates may be a lot less frequent but I will post with the new developments. Thanks for looking. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!