This is my first time on this site- I heard that it was a great site and the people on it are kool. I am just now getting my chopt 1950 Ford tudor on the road. It is chopt 6.5" in the front, 9" in the rear with 8" measured at the C pillar, but a 1" decrown 4 " above the driprail starting 9" back from the center point of the B pillar. The window was left in its stock location, but laid down 11" at the top, and the roof was extended 14". I live in Temecula, Ca and I am good friends with Dick Dean, as he gave me a lot of advice on chopping my first 50 tudor.
Welcome to the board man.....and your right this is a great place to learn I have learned a ton. You got any pics of the tudor? Owen
once you figure out how to post pics PLEASE post pics of this car... im curious sounds like one heavy chop! WELCOME
Man that car sounds HAMMERED I hope you are not too tall. So this Dick Dean fella, He chopped many tops in his day? . Welcome to the HAMB. Lets see that shoebox.
[ QUOTE ] Man that car sounds HAMMERED I hope you are not too tall. So this Dick Dean fella, He chopped many tops in his day? . Welcome to the HAMB. Lets see that shoebox. [/ QUOTE ] Good one Roadstar, the Dick Dean story I like best, when he worked for Barris. Some of the guys got together and had a T-Shirt made for him that said "Dick Dean will never die from Lead Poisoning" he says, he was one of the first to switch to Bondo and he's never had any problems
I am not sure if I should take your comment as sarcastic or not- so if I do, please forgive me for doing so. I live in Temecula, CA, about 23 miles west of Hemet and San Jacinto, where Dick Dean's shop is located off of Esplanade. I frequently go out and visit him at his shop. This is the second 50 tudor I have chopped, and when I chopped the first one, I cut it, set it, tacked everything in place with some 1" strap, drove it out to Dick's shop, and asked him where to go from there. He generously gave me some time, and explaned to me how to leave the back window where it was, and make a relief cut above the driprail to pull out the c pillar to meet the beltline, which I had already done, coincidentally. These two things give the roof a very pleasing crown and slope, especially leaving the window in its stock location, just layed down. The relief cut in turn also decrowned the rear of the roof, getting rid of the square and boxy look of the shoebox fords when viewed from behind, chopped or not. Any other questions? Dick Dean is a very good man, and he is still going strong in his shop in San Jacinto. You are right about him being one of the first to start using bondo vs. lead.
hey, thanks a lot for the kin comments about my chop, it is my second chop on a 50 tudor, and i am very pleased with it- it was quite a learning experiance. I "researched" chopping cars for a long time before cutting mine.
do you have any picts of the process...i bet the "few" shoebox guys on here would love a tech and chop up post...very nice.
I do have a lot of pictures of the buildup on this chop, and my other 50 tudor that I chopped before this car- unfortunately, the first 50 burned to the ground in a garage fire back in January. The chop was never quite finished on the first 50, and the car was totally beyond saving due to warpage. The new 50 (just thebody- I reused everything else from the fire) is chopped exactly the same, even down to the last measurement that I could pull off of the old burned car. I can email you the pics and then you can post them for you if you don't mind- I am lost on getting them onto the website (hamb forum). Luckily, another nice hamber helped me out with the first pics.
that thing is soo wicked, i fuckin love it. someday i will whack the lid on my 56. when will your shoebox be done? will we see it at paso or billet this year? i have a bunch of friends in Hemet, and will be driving down as soon as my T5 trans is in. hopefully i will get a first hand look at that thing. nice work
As far as I'm concerned, I am way behind on getting her on the road- I feel that I should have been driving her by now. I have gotten tied up with work and going to school full time. I just gor her running on January 2nd (i think that was the day)- I will definitely have her at Viva Las Vegas!!!!!! I missed the show last year due to the fire in my garage in January (my fault- LOOONG story) She runs very very good, and sounds mean with her 2 inch straight pipes, but the engine, when idling, spits out a few drops of oil every (about) 2-3 seconds from the back of the block onto the front of the flywheel, which in turn throws the oil on the ground. I have retightened all of the bolts on the oil pan, and wiped everything clean, and checked for leaks twice. Everything looks dry. I have great oils pressure- about 35- 50 psi, depending on revving or idling. I called the shop that rebuilt, which is very reputable by the way, and they said that it might be a leak coming from the three plugs on the back of the engine block above the cam, or maybe the rear main seal, but only if the crank was not machined perfectly. No matter what, I am going to be pissed off if I have to pull the motor- the paint is new and really came out gorgeous, and I don't want to deal with it right now, so I am hoping the leak might go away magically, !??? As for now, does anybody know what else it could be leaking from? I am not running a flywheel cover because it interferes with my stock 50 Ford steeting center link. I have driven this car before everything was rebuilt for almost 2 years, so I know that I don't necessarily need a flywheel cover. Any help and response would be greatly appreciated!!!
Anytime you are coming down to Hemet, you are more than welcome to stop by and check out my car- if you email me at [email protected], I'll get your name and number, and call you with directions, I live in Temecula, CA
i am planning on making it to Vegas even if i have to drive 55 the whole way with my 3speed and 4.11s. so i will see you there. this is what i drive.
Hoochie-mama! What a chop.....You didn't say what motor you're using in the "box" but a simple deduction that it could be the 3 plugs in the block's back and the fact your flywheel inspection cover would interfere with steering linkage tells me you gotta small block chevy..... Got a pcv? Is there any crankcase ventilation? If not, you could be pushing oil out the rear seal with unvented crankcase pressure.If you're vented ok and have a pcv, check for a leaky distributor if its' gasket is torn or missing...if the engine has a road draft tube [early block] it could also be leaking. I'd use a mechanic's mirror to watch the back of the engine while it's running to see the leak... If you find everything external is ok, you may get to pull the engine abck out to re-seal...good luck and welcome to the HAMB..........
There is a burgandy shoebox cut kinda the same as your car only it flattened out in the back sail panel. Yours is absolutly perfect I think. I have a 51 club coupe that I'll leave the roof alone but I have a 50 sedan that begging to be cut. Definately post pictures for the tech here.Welcome and thanks for posting pictures of the car. TP
Uh, that's all really to technical for me Slick Ford, that chop is smoooooth. Don't really think it can be called a shoe box anymore. You'll do well here friend. Welcome The PknBner
The Jalopy Journal
