Hi everybody, I thought I'd share some pictures with you guys. I have a 54 plymouth (I know....eww) and it's a four door (double eww), but last fall i decided to chop it, and I worked on it on and off for 6 months. It's chopped 4inches in front and five in the back. It has an early 50's chevy rear window (the car was so rusty and picked apart I couldn't figure out what year it was) and the sail panels are hand build with fadeaway driprails. In a few weeks I'm going to start installing 61 Chrysler tail lights and 56 ford headlights, but I want to take it to one more show before I tear into it again.
Looks pretty good from here, but I was wondering about the windshield too. Please don't say lexan.....
haha it's lexan FOR NOW, i need to round up a few more windsheilds just incase the glass breaks during cutting. Some day i'll pay somebody to cut it, but I'd rather put the money into other parts of the car at this point.
the car origionally had a flathead 6 with one of those wacky hydrive transmissions, but it started knocking reeeaaaaal bad and i used it as an excuse to swap motors. now it has a dodge 225 with a 2barrel 'super six' manifold. a slant 6 is a longer motor, so i had to cut the firewall, and now it has a removable doghouse like a van to get to the last spark plug and trans dipstick. the exhast is just open lakes pipes, so basically it sounds like a tractor. the motor is actually mounted a little funny to clear the stearing box, the mounts are assemetrical but it hasnt given me a problem yet (knock on wood).
I just posted on Robletica's build about my rides entry openings, I am digging the 54's as they are really an obscure build. The lines are really sweet and the trim package is stunning, cool tailight assemblies, fantastic bumpers, grille, headlight rings, just knock me out, I think that cool ride would be stunning in it's possibly orig. colors, "Less is More". Love the engine choice, Lindross's Valiant runs like a banshee with his slant 6. Good luck with the rest of this hip build. ~Sololobo~
to be honest i didn't really pick the car because I thought it had potential. I picked it because it was cheap, solid, and so ugly I wanted to see what it would take to make it cool.I've been seeing more and more of these cars coming out of the wood work. Since all the desirable cars are snatched up, young guys like myself are buying whatever we can afford on a shoestring budget. If anything cars like these old mopars are a great way for a guy like me to practice customizing techniques, so someday they can be applied to a more desirable car.
That looks like a tough chop. The C pillar area especially. I really like how the the rear window frame has that hockey stick effect to it, dont think many 50's cars had this. Nice project turning shit into sugar.
I don't know, I don't think its ugly...When I was a sophmore in high school, one of the seniors had a 53 four door. It was nosed and decked, rear door handles removed, lowered with skirts and painted gold. I always thought it was a pretty car. It had some sort of a chysler flathead 6 in it with twice pipes and sounded really good..!
Yeah I got some updates, I just need to take some pictures. I am trying to get the bodywork done, and frenching in some hudson tail lights. i'm trying to get it in one even color primer for the spring. then next winter it is getting paint.
OK here are some up to date pictures: I'm planning on installing 55 tbird head lights I sprayed some color inside the door just to see how I liked it. it's a vw gold, I think it will fit the car nicely. Here is a door in primer, all trim and the handle have been shaved. I have begun fitting glass in the doors. I had to cut my vent window out of an old side glass because the stock ones are tempered glass. The main side glass is laminated so it was pretty easy to cut. I did have to pie cut the frame a bit to get the shape right though (I guess thats what happens when you take out a few inches huh). Here is my stock 1/4 panel, complete with ugly tail light, ugly seam, and giant holes. This is what they look like now. I welded up that weird seam, and holes. I also cut about an inch off where the light mounted because it had an ugly swoop to it. I built a housing to french in a Hudson tail light lense, and am in the middle of working my body filler. So, basically all thats left is everything.
So it's been about 3 years since I touched my car. I had to move out of the shop I was renting because I couldn't afford it after buying a house. I store the car at work, and there it sat rusting in a lean- to in back of the shop. I have never taken a vacation in the 8 years I've been at my job, so I figured why not just take the week off and work on my car again. Luckily my boss was ok with the idea, so I spent a week redoing a bunch of bodywork, removing surface rust, welding, and generally just enjoying my car again. I got a bunch of panels ready for paint, but I'm still a long way from being done. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Excuse my crappy pictures, they were taken with a flip phone covered in overspray. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app