Probably the last car on earth I would chop! They look so perfect stock height. You will also kill the value of your coupe if you decide to sell it sometime.
I think you´d have to go some to reduce the value of that car any more! Could have set it on fire I suppose.
40 coupes are perfect the way they came out of the factory,why would anyone want to screw up something so pretty is sick.
I like well chopped cars. That chopped flat green 40 is the cats ass. Your car though is perfect as it is. Its a trad setup and imo it shouldnt be messed with. Sell it and find another one if you wanna chopped coupe. Its the same way I feel about my 36. Its setup perfectly as is and if I wanted a taildragger i'd sell it and go from there.
I love the replies but there's a 13 page story already! Anyway here's a SS version of the stock fender mount. my camera fried for the other ones so will post em up soon. Here's a "title" pic so guys know the chops already done! from this! TP
Zibo, love your shop, microwave, computer, stereo and welders all in arms reach...NICE...wheres the beer?? hahaha
Wow the frame is artwork. I gonna steal the idea of the pieces of round stock welded in. Great job. Mat
I have to commend you on this. Thank you for not choppin' the green one... It is too perfect to cut. I watched that body on Ebay and thought it would make a neat stock car. While a chopped 40 is hard to pull off, you are takin' a good stab at it for sure and with the section, it should flow a little better. I read that you planned on redoin' the upper cowl/windshield section? Is that still in the works? I agree that a woodie/convertible cowl would look killer with the centerbar but are you keeping the radical rake you have on the windshield or are you going to straighten it a little? (IMHO, it would flow a little better with the angle of the windshield raised a little, too much of a "lakes" rake on it) The direction this build is heading might make you think twice about your opinion on taildraggers. Whether you like em' or not, that's where it "should" go. Hat's off to you! L8R - Joe
TP, you are doing to a '40 Ford what people have been doing for years to the earlier non-Ford cars; fab the frames, floor, i.e., whatever's missing. Which is way cool. You are making a really cool car out of bits and pieces. Can't wait to see more progress pics !
Cool, its starting to look like something now! its cool that you tried a different style chop. looks real racy
I really like this. Looks fast! Fixing cars that are this f-d up lets the creativity flow. I cant wait to see more.
Hey guys thanks for all the great replies. Still workin on it but kinda slow going. I'll give you a hint though i'm inbetween this and this... will probably do a more in depth separate thread for it though. TP
So have been workin on this mini-project to go in this project... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=315269 The engine is so heavy that the plan is to have it set back and kinda low. This hopefully will help the driving characteristics too. I had it mocked up a little forward but it woulda been so high the distributor would be out of the hoodline... BUmmer about the firewall but i've got a plan... There is a big gap in front, Probably gonna have the radiator out back too. The headers will be crazy enough but here's another couple shots... TP
Looking good! I love seeing a basically wasted car being brought back to life, what are your plans to salvage the rear end? have you got a set of 1/4 panels or a donor rear clip?
gap....that's no gap, it looks more like an invitation for a crank/front mounted blower...mmmm can't you see it? Cheers, Drewfus
You guys are really something! Yes, it's a very nice Ford. If the owner wants to chop it, let her rip. If he pulls it off, he'll be a hero. But to always tell a guy not to cut up a car because: 1. It's too nice... 2. They're too hard to chop... 3. The car is too rare... 4. I don't have to balls myself... Blah, blah....What if Sam Barris, Neil Emory, the A Bros. or all the other great customizers said that ( don't chop that, it's too nice, just french the lights!) to their prospective customers. Can ya imagine this converstation: Hey Mr. Alcorn, don't chop that super nice Merc of yours, Who cares if anyone thinks that Hirohata Merc is so cool. Come on guys, let's support this guy... Joel
Thanks guys! We have alot of what the job calls steel and stainless scrap, but more than I would buy at once! (like if you buy 200 feet and have 30 feet extra...) So during work hours I'll try to scrimp as much as possible to keep the scrap for my projects! The stuff is amazingly stiff if you do the "triangulation" double bar trick. Also DREWFUS - You musta overheard our conversation! At the old shop I had this old T-bird blower that woulda been neat to retrofit on there even. Another friend mentioned converting the rear distributor to a front CAM drive distributor, like in the early flatheads! I can also imagine twin turbos but just getting it running would be cool too... TP
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