how lame is it to turn a 4 door car in to a two door?

now,,converting a 2 door to a 4 door,,,THAT'S lame,,hahah,,,,,[/quote]
I would have to agree!!!!! LOL ETHER

 

ha ha ah if i get this car i am going to keep it a four door.
you guys crack me up with some of the things you say.
and yes i will keep you posted with how i handle the situation.

but thanks so far for the advice.

 

Just drive it. Sheesh. If you have the time and talent and want to do it yourself that's fine. To have someone else do it, you might as well buy a 2 door.

But you say a 4 door is fine so there really isn't much to discuss. Buy it and drive it. Heck, I'd even leave the door handles.

 

leave it a 4 door if you plan to just weld the rear doors shut as the proportions are off. if you plan to do the work and add the longer 2dr doors to it, have at it.. but why?

leae it 4 door even if you just shave the rear but you will not be fooling anyone either way.

Its your ride do what you want to it as long as you enjoy driving it.

 

4 door, but when he registered it the lady at dmv wouldn't let it register as 4 door and changed it to a 2 door.

 

We are looking at a similar situation. I have a friend who wants a 49-50 Merc 2-door, but those cars have been built since the day they came out, and a 2-door is the desireable model. Try to find one cheap!

We started talking about the fact that a "convincing" 2-door can be made from the much cheaper 4-door, but then the idea started to get out of control. It could also be a convertible...or a panel truck....or and El Camino style truck....or a 4-door convertible with suicide rear doors.....or a woodie.....or anything we want it to be.

This hobby is about customizing, and creating your own vision. It's not about pleasing people who only have one way of thinking. Don't let anyone tell you how many doors it should have. You will find that you cannot please everyone, and no matter what you choose, you will have criticism. What you need to make sure of is that when you look at it, it excites YOU!

 

i wasn't asking if i should do it i was asking how hard it is to do it and what the out come looks like.....

 

Because for most of us older guys, if we drove a 4 door, it looked like we were driving daddy's car, and that wasn't cool. Plus, let's face it, 2 doors just look way better, there are exceptions of course. If you do decide to make it a 2 door, doing it right to look right won't be easy, and doing it the easy way and trying to disguise the fact that it's a 4 door really is lame.
Your generation doesn't seem to mind four doors though, so just leave it alone and enjoy it.

 

If you do it right they are pretty neat looking. If you just take handles off and maybe fill the opening they don't look good at all. Lenthening the doors,and moving the B pillar back is not for the novices but sure makes a Mom and Pop 4 dr. look good.

 

58 4 door?........will NEVER look right as a 2 door. No matter what anyone thinks.....it will still be one of those UGLY as hell 4 door 58s.......spend your money on something else...if you want a 2 door, get a 2 door.........ditch the 4 door.

Not to say it's wrong to change something else from a 4 to 2 door...Many other cars "Take" the change easily and have the absolute look of a 2 door when finished...many will NEVER have that look, only weird. We have a 60 Plymouth wagon in the shop now that we changed to a 2 door...easy deal, roof is the same as a 4 door sedan which is the same as a 2 door sedan..tri 5 chevy/ponchos same deal........

 

Heres my dads 58. I wouldnt bother converting the 4 door. It will still look like a 4 door but without the opening door. which is dumb

 

Is the turret length the same on a two door and a four door? If so a conversion isn't that hard. Though if the two door turret is shorter then I wouldn't bother, it will look 'off'.
I don't have a problem with two dooring a car as long as its done right. Im thinking of doing it to my A-40.
Just remember a 50s anything is cooler than a 80s or latter everything.
Doc.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXLGxlFyzx4

 

There has been a tech article about this subject in one of the back issues of Traditional Rod & Culture, can´t rememer which one it was..gonna look it up!

 

Easy job....just get a pair of doors from a two door sedan.....move the "b" pillar back....then use a donor quarter glass surround and a small portion of the donor quarter...not that difficult at all. A four door 58 is as ugly as they come....cut it...now.

 

i did it...just to see if i could turn a 4 door into a good looking 2 door......


still a ways to go....

 

NOTHING wrong with this, I don't care if it used to be a Volvo wagon...

 

Another one that works great. Nice car!

 

There are many exceptions,Merc and most early 50's Chevys,Buicks. I think a 58 would be hard due to the details on the rear doors. I'm sure a well skilled metal and body guy could do it,but is it worth the cost? On a Merc....yes. Maybe not on a 58 Chevy. If it's a hardtop,the 2dr doors might cost as much as you spent on the car. I'd just shave the handles and leave it a 4dr.

 

dont shave the door handles only on the rear. if your going to do it shave all of them. keapt it a four door or do it right and do a 2 door conversion like the merc above.

 

Lot of work and cost in doing a really good job at this kind of conversion. Even with that, some still end up looking dumb. I have a 4 door that I shaved all of the handles on it, didn't try to make it into a 2 door. I think it looks good, as well as others who have seen it. Some don't recognize it as a 4 door until they are up close, and then they are surprised to see it is a 4 door.

There are a number of things that you can do without doing a full blown conversion.

 

Anything is possible with enough time and money, but you might want to consider a couple of other things. Are you doing the conversion or are you paying someone to? Do you have the time, money, and patience to either do it yourself or have someone else take it on? Do you think you can hold out long enough to find a 2 door (if that's what you would rather have.) If you get started would you be able to see the project through to the end? There's a ton of unfinished projects floating around out there. For me at least, the experience of owning and driving the car is as important as how it looks. If the price is right, buy it, drive it, enjoy it, and see how it goes. If you decide you hate it, save up, sell the 4 door and find something else.

 

A couple of years ago at Speedorama in Toronto a guy showed up with a 55 Chev. Two door on the passenger side and one on the driver side. BARF

 

Hi, pm me a picture or 2 and i'll photoshop it for you so you'll know better if you really want that or something else.

how hard it can be depends on what materials, tools and time you got. chopping and channeling is more time consuming... getting the curves just right, now that'll be the hardest part. all about patience.

i've seen some very nice 4 doors with front doors from a 2 and chopped back ones "a la suicide", the bitch will be the pillar.

if you shave, my 2 cents would be to shave 'em all.

 

I remember Plymouth did a concept like that.
Looked good.

 

converting 4drs into 2drs and shaving rear handles is so rediculously stupid! we are in this hobby because we dont care what other people think right? Back in the day a 4dr cost more than a 2dr because they had more class. I have both and my 4dr cars seem to get a lot more attention that 2drs. its because they acually cat your eye we all grow up seeing nothing but 2drs in magazines and on tv, they all start to blend together. I say a 4dr 41 willys the other day and thought of what a cool gasser is would be, i had never seen one with all of it's doors before that day!

 

i have a 52 chevy 4dr. i really wanted a 2dr, but hell the price was right. for a few min. i thought of a 2dr conversion... but i'm not very experienced in the ways of metal work. n of course the wife pointed out we do have 2 kids. point taken. i have shaved all the handles, nosed n decked, and lowering spindles. we r gonna paint it n drive the whells off of it.

 

Some cars that were never made in two door and converted to two door the right way (larger front doors, welded and filled rear) really look great. Ones that are not done that way look tacky. Many 4 dr. 49 to 51 Mercs done properly look great but if you still have that extra door there it is wierd. But it is your car so do as you please.

 

Hotrodlolita ..ck your PM !! .. I have done a bitchn one but it's not HAMB friendly

 

I'm leaving my Plymouth a 4 door. ........I don't have the mad skills to make it a 2 door. If i did I might just do it....... I thinks depends on your fabrication skills.