Technical Making head room in a heavily chopped coupe

There is a big difference between "going to be" and IS. Between the two is what will make the difference in driving your creation, selling it or "option 3". Option 3 is when you buy a dually 454 air conditioned pickup, a 30' enclosed trailer, hauling your 'ride" to all of the events, unloading it, polishing it and telling everyone who stops by what a bitchin ride it is, how much you spent building it, sitting in a lawn chair with a cold one until it's time to leave, loading it back up, hauling it home and telling all of you buddies at the bar what a fantastic time you had. Are we having fun yet?

Frank

 

This procedure sounds like it could be the start of something fun!

 

I guess it's all in what you can stand. To me I couldn't stand looking at my truck with a light chop. Ill deal with some issues to have a bad ass hot rod pickup. Is it loud, hot, harder to drive then a DD, use a lot of fuel? Hell yeah it does! It's a hot rod.

When I read some or the response of dont chop it more then x inches. Because you be uncomfortable or you'll run over old ladies to the worse thing ever you'll have to lean forward to see stop lights! I think they're crazy. In fact i have a hard time believing they've even drove a chopped car. I'm 6' 190 and I fit in a 34 pickup chopped 6" and channeled 4" comfortably.

In fact if you're 5' 10" and building a chopped coupe on top of the frame you got it easy! Try building a pickup. Chop away just make sure to fit the seat, wheel, pedals in a good comfortable position and your eyes in the middle of the windshield and you'll be good.

BTW I would of chopped mine 7" if I wasn't so worried by reading these type of threads. Build the car you want you'll be happier in the end. Even if you have to lean forward to see traffic lights like me. 😀


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I like all types of hot rods......it makes me smile when I see a guy that is so hard core, that he looks like a monkey F'ing a football, when driving his radical hot rod. It also makes me smile when a guy just comfortably drives a more conservative one. I'm glad hot rods don't all look the same.

 

I'm with you boys. If it was easy every one do it, as the saying goes.
I have my unchopped 32 5W and love it that way but like Mat Thrasher, I wish I had taken just one more inch out of the 34!

 

If you took one more inch outta the 34 you might need a periscope!

DAMN that car looks good!!!

Scott


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Bingo. Everyone's got to be true to themselves. Make your bed and lay in it.

 

thanks for this, tilting the seat back a bit is a good idea.

I think there's some additional room between options two and three.
For instance, option 2.5: When I'm too god damned sore from driving it, I'll load it onto a vintage single axle trailer and pull it behind my 53. That's probably pretty traditional too; and still sounds like fun to me.

 

Build your hot rod your way. If you need a comfortable car, drive your wifes. Nobody needs two comfortable cars..

 

My 34 is going to be one sweet ass bed to lay in. Thanks for help making my decision to chomp this car 6" the right one.

 

This cars was one i put together a few years ago, it was chopped 6-1/2 inches i think, and channeled like 3 or 4, surprisingly it wasnt that bad to see out of, the seats that were in it were some glass racing seats my wife made some new covers for, and when i sat in them i was looking directly out the middle of the windows.

one of the first cars you posted pictures of was my buddy Chadlys hemi power A coupe, my wife upholstered the seat in that, it started out as a middle minivan seat, He said it wasnt too bad to drive the car but the top was hammered like 7-1/2 inches i think.

Sometimes when you build a car you have to deal with some of the things that go along with them, a chopped coupe, not gonna be the easiest to see out of.

JEFF

 

Chomp away. Good luck with it.

 

If its the black one, that's absolutely one of my favorites here on the Hamb. I measured seven just based on what I've read on the Green Grenade. Does he still own it?

Funny about the seat. I was looking at that and wondering if it might have been out of a Caravan. A friend of mine showed up at a new year's party last night with a new/used Town and Country, and I was threatening to pull the 3rd seat to see if it would fit.

Your wife did a great job on the upholstery. Looks period to me.

 

Yep, black one with the black seat you posted, its the first gen minivans, 85 ish era, they are the thiniest and narrowest and the speedway seat tracks mount on them great, my wife has probably done 10 of those seats for some of my cars and freinds.

heres some shes done for my cars.

 

Man, those are nice!!

Thanks for the tip on the tracks, I hadn't read that.
I need to revisit a few of the seat threads and start hunting Craigslist.

 

Im all for a heavy chop, and plan on doing one on our model a pickup. Why cant you just lower the floor the height of the frame? Then you would gain back some of the height lost in the chop.

 

don't mean to hijack but whos car is this is there a build thread on here

 

Second that.


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wow

 

Where there's a will, there's a way.. There will always be nay-sayers, no matter what you do. Do it anyways.

 

I did my chopped and channeled 32 five window back in the 60's. I made a floor structure inside the frame rails that dropped the floor down halfway in the frame. I used bucket seats from a Sunbeam Alpine/Tiger. It was a very comfortable car to drive. I will try and find some build photos.

 

What he said (highlighted in red).

I owned this wicked little 27 T coupe for a stretch:



It was so radically chopped that it was truly difficult for me to feel safe driving it (and I'm usually comfortable driving some pretty sketchy stuff). That feeling was only compounded by the fact that the car was such a spectacle that every moron around me was gawking, taking a picture of it while driving, or rolling video. Given that I wanted to drive the car and not shine on it, it moved on.

Do whatever it takes to catch a ride in somebody's heavy chop. It will be worth the time if it saves you from this headache.

I now have this 34 pick-up. Less radical, for sure, but I can actually see out of it. Going down the highway at 65 mph feels much better.

 

I think this thread is starting to turn a bit, and is probably played out.

That said, If either of you have photos, that would be great (here or just to me via pm). I envision something like a 1x square tube frame covered in 20g with a simple bead pattern of some sort.

Thanks to all for the info/experience, and opinions.

 

Not sure who owns it but I can tell you its my new computer wallpaper. AWESOME.

 

mine to lol love this car trying to find out how it was built

 

Here are some shots from my 32 build in the late 60's You can see in the last photo by the bottom of the firewall the finished wood! Click on the photos to enlarge. Sorry I did not have a photo of the interior with seats in but it was comfortable.

 

Those are some great photos, thanks for scanning them. I can see where that would make quite a bit of space for a seat riser, and make a better fit for the driver. Its interesting that older builds in the mags etc all seem to utilize flat bar..and today its mostly 1x or 2x tubing.

cool stuff. And I like the wood. No wasted space.

thanks again.

-Chris

 

On those "radical" chops, doesn't being able to only see straight ahead get nerve racking? I drove with a guy in his chopped Model A and first, I was surprised that I actually fit in it, but the limited view was claustrophobic.

 

It was not flat bar. I think it was all 1-1/2" x 1/4" angle iron. Or it was 1-1/4" x 1/4". Interesting I can't remember what I did yesterday

 

I see that after looking again. Looks plenty stout.