Just curious what some of the easier 50's cars are to chop. Lots of great info on here about chopping some early iron, thinking of searching out the car based on the chopping process v/s buying the car then figuring out how to chop it. I guess what I am asking is what makes for a good first chop?
There are no EASY CHOPS! There all a lot of hard work and you can screw up a decent car by just whacking away without planning ahead.It is easy to get in over your head if you don't have experience with metal fabrication. OH yea glass is another subject.Good luck.
First I was involved in was our 51 fleetline. We spent 6 months in the planning. The day of the chopping everything went as planned.........it was really anti-climatic......glad we did it
early 50s stuff with flat windshields..take your time,lots of first timers do a helluva good job,others ruin good cars with bad/no planning
And a lot of the hard work starts AFTER the initial metal work is done - glass fitment, trimming weatherstripping, cutting down garnish moldings, modifying the regulators, vent widows etc so the windows work properly, and on and on.
heres a easy chop! <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UWRyj5cHIQA?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UWRyj5cHIQA?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
Chopping even a simple car is a fair amount of work. It also depends a lot on how much reshaping and reproportioning is done. In general, rounded cars(like the '50s cars you asked about), are a lot more involved than earlier "phone booth" body styles. People tend to want to start the adventure without sufficient planning, or even a firm idea of where they are heading. This is not a project where the wing-it approach is appropriate. For a job like this to turn out well it needs to be completely thought through in advance; and that thinking needs to be done by someone who can visualize the finished result.
Buy this book, you will be glad you did. I learned a lot before I chopped the top on my '46 Ford p/u. It will explain and demo how to chop a turret top (the most difficult one).
I can tell you that a 53/54 chevy with a wrap around rear window is difficult to do correctly. a lot of people chop them and a lot of people have screwed up chops. I say do your home work, plan, plan some more, then talk to some people that know what they are doing, then cut. I can tell you from exp too to pick a rear window that has the same contour if you wanna keep your belt line. I know that sounds like a gimmie but trust me, its easy to get ahead of yourself there... I also am a big fan of formulas. cant go wrong and you know what your end result is going to be exactly
Everyone thinks a T coupe is easy to chop till you see how the pillars all taper in from top to bottom!!!!
you wouldnt happen to have wrote down those plans ? i just picked up a 51 fleetline and wanting to chop it
metal is easy, it's the glass that will kill you. always figure the glass first. I see all sorts of "I chopped my top last night" threads here where everyone starts telling the guy how cool and talented he is until someone asks about the glass. then it occurs to the builder that he just ruined his car.
Ricks Garage is right... I have the same book and it is full of useful info. When I first tried to order it the website was having problems so I wasnt able to order it at that moment. Later that night around 8pm I got a call from Tex Smith letting me know they were having problems and took my order over the phone. What a class act!!!
Here is my old Merc. You need to have a REAL good idea of what it takes to chop a car cause once you cut em, it can get pretty scary.. The chop took me 6 months from start to finish including wing/vent windows and garnish mouldings. My advise is to be very honest with your self about the amount of time it will take and your skill level. Also have a plan from start to finish about where your cuts need to be and what is going to happen when your sheetmetal gets mover around. Also...never forget to measure twice, cut once. Good luck, -Abone.
Your best bet would be pre-52 Ford Motor Co. cars/trucks. Two piece flat glass windshield. Trucks are easier cause the back glass is also flat. If you're gonna do something with curved glass, get the glass cut first.
I think your chop turned out great! You have a lot of good advise, most people don't think about the inside and all the stainless and vent windows.
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