Would it be feasible to convert a 1950 Pontiac two door fast back sedan into a hard top? I would want to do away with the vent window.
You'd have to cut the "B" post out to make a hardtop. Eliminating vent windows is kinda street roddy for here ...
The hard part is making the windows seal afterward. And welding the top of the doors to the roof may look funny. 50's cars had flippers in the roof that flipped down to seal the top to the windows.
The problem with GM cars of that era is the wind wing and the side glass follows a horizontal arc instead of being in line with each other, this would complicate eliminating the wing windows. If you look at pictures of the Matranga Mercury, the original car had wind wings, some of the copies do not. To me old customs doesn't look "complete" without wind wings. Best of luck with your project.
it can be done "Angle Eye's" was converted to a hardtop, but if I remember correctly they used a 53/54 hardtop as a parts car to do the swap based on the dogleg of the rear quarter glass and the flapper areas.
Okay, let's say you get past the wind wings. There are some options there. Let's assume you have a good plan for the Roof Rail above the door glass. Now, what are your plans for quarter windows? I love Kustom stuff. Way back in 1971 I chopped a 50 Olds fastback. That was a Big Job in how I did it. That chop went clear to the Body panel below the deck lid. Same basic body you have there. The Wizzard
I really appreciate all the replies and advice. Right now I'm in the "What do I want to do with this car" stage. I can't do any major body work and there are few to no shops near me that I would trust to take this project to. I just thought the hardtop would be something not seen much. But, listening to the words of wisdom from the more experienced folks here has changed my mind. So, here is what I have and Y'all tell me what you would do with it.h body is pretty straight but needs front floor pans and a trunk pan. I have a friend who can weld them in for me. It has a running straight 8 and I have an Edmonds dual carb intake for it. Manual tranny with 3 speed on the column. Give me some ideas but take into consideration I am on a budget and don't have a whole lot of money to work with.
How about getting that nice car running just as is, when you drive it open all the windows, get over the fact that there is post there, and enjoy the fact you are driving a nice classic. Also please don't start this project only to not finish it and leave it to someone else to dispose of.
Yes the car looks great as it us and with the dual carb set up should motorvate down the highway just fine!
Bad idea, don't do it unless you have Mirko's talent. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1949-cadillac-custom.873919/
To get rid of the vent window for a one piece door glass is ALMOST impossible, the door hinge protrudes in the area. The roof to to door area is just work. The quarter window is another problem, because of wheel well. When I hard topped my 48 cad sedanette, I made the quarter windows slide in from front to rear, windows down quarter glass in trunk. Almost forgot you will also need to brace the b pillars at the floor, you have just made it weak
Thanks for the advice, again. I mounted some new tires on it today just to see how it looks. The tires are cheap 205/70/15 on Ford 5X5 rims. The beauty rings were in the trunk when I got the car so I polished them up and, despite being dinged up, I like them.Maybe chrome lug nuts or a center cap of some type. I also think it would look better dropped maybe 2"s in front and 1" in the rear. I am open to suggestions so keep them coming. Oh yeah, as for completing this car, as long as the Good Lord lets me stay here I will work on it. The 67 GTO in my avatar took me 7 years to complete but my plans for the 50 are not as detailed as the GTO was. If the car looks a little off it is because the passenger side is still on wheel dollys and sits about 6"s higher on that side. I didn't have time to pull the car off the wall and replace the passenger sides because I had to get the GTO back in the shop before the rain came.
With a donor car I bet that wouldn't be the worst job in the world. I think eliminating the vent windows would greatly complicate things more than discussed. The factory seals and trim have provisions to accept the vent window and eliminating them would add a lot of hassle making everything seal and look acceptable if it were to be a finished car. The devils in the details. I see the sheet metal work on that aspect of the project being the lesser of the evils and a lot of time being spent buttoning the glass and seals up. Secondly, that's an involved chop. I've never chopped a fastback but I've chopped other round cars and can tell you that for that to flow its gonna take considerable work in the trunk surround area. All doable stuff but man if your not doing it yourself its gonna cost you big. That being said it costs to be the boss so if its what you want then go for it. Start hunting a parts car. Good luck
The more I look at it might be more straight forward to convert a 2 door hardtop to a fastback rather than transfer the had top stuff to a fastback
It would be a lot easier to just buy a hardtop. They did make a 1950 Pontiac hardtop. You are wise not to over match yourself. Taking everything into consideration, you might want to fix the obvious things like floor, tires, brakes etc and put the car on the road. Keep working on the basics like brakes, suspension, steering, shocks, engine until you have a good road car then start thinking about modifications. Once it is on the road you may find you are having so much fun all you need is a black primer paint job and some mexican blankets on the seats.
I didn’t see where he wanted to chop his car . On my cad the chop took 2 1/2 hours to cut and tack the roof, but the trunk/decklid took a month to get where I liked it.
I have a friend with a 51 Merc who had it chopped by Dean in SoCal. It has slide in rear windows and front have the same rear arch as the front of the slide in. I don't remember what the doors looked like. Sorry no Picts.
I'll tell you what. The "Crimson Skull" was one of Eldon Titus' signature works. He was quoted as saying that the leaning door posts was one of his favorite modifications (and this cat did it ALL!!!). BUT!... That Poncho of yours is a great piece as is. The round front wheel wells set it apart from similar Chevies, AND... what could be Kooler than an Edmunds equipped, split pipe straight 8? Don't go chasin' rainbows.
With no skills, no budget, no trust, I'd just drive the shit out of it. I have the skills, dough, and trust so I'd fix the floors myself and then just drive the shit out of it. Way way way easier to get a hard top if that's what you want. You'd be years and years ahead and a lot more happier. Fix that one to enjoyable and flip it
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ No Skills + No budget = leave it as it is. By the way, there is nothing wrong with the way it is. The Wizzard
Count me in for leaving it alone if you don't have the skills to do it yourself. Here is my Buick with a 2 1/2" chop.
Just to be clear, when you say split pipe do you mean splitting the exhaust pipe and running duals or splitting the exhaust manifold? Has anyone ever built a split exhaust manifold?
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