Customs What is the 'perfect' '35-'36 3-window chop?

Mine too !!

 

dang skippy
35/36 Fords are drop dead sexy..........especially a chopped tail dagger

 

Thanks! I've had that 'look' in my head for a long time and it's great to see it coming together.
I've always thought the stock '36 taillights and stalks looked like a pair of wheelbarrow handles sticking out.
By the way, that 'license surround' is a severely cut down '50 Merc, and will eventually get some snug fitting bumperettes that will finish at the crown in the rear fender.

Bear

 

Thanks.

We talked about this chop a lot before the guys down at East Bay started cutting. One thing we agreed upon is that the ones we like..the Pierson, Calori, and others, all shared the same thing....they were cut through the sail panel rather than at the beltline.

While I do like some that are done Marcel's way, many end up getting too square due to the natural shape of the roof. Especially the heavy ones.

 

October 05 Cover of R&C. Gold 36 3 window built by Brizio chopped by Marcel.

 

This one? Close your eye's and envision this '36 3" lower in front, 5" lower in back, and the most important part, painted Black or Burgundy!

 

Or deep indigo purple!
It does have a real nice flow, but I'm thinking it looks like the hood may have been pie cut a bit which is helping it.

Anyone know the specifics of this one?

Bear

 

Checked out my R&C collection and found the details.

3" Marcel chop which is probably 3 front and rear. It does have a completely custom built front with a 1 1/2" lower grille, so there's a bunch of taper in that nose area which I think disguises the taper in the window, in fact the hood line appears to match the upper window frame line.

I would also suspect that something extra has been done in the rear pillar area - the roof appears to lean forward more than normal (which I like) - it doesn't seem so 'bulbous' as many of that style chop do. There's actually a whole lot more metal moved around there than you would pick at first glance....

Bear

 

Please forgive the artsyness, this is one of my favorite local cars. I think '36 coupes look better chopped but not aggressively.

 

One in our shop done years ago

 

Sorry, but that is way too much of a slice for me. 4 inches and over loses the flow in the roofline and ends up looking too flat through the top of the door.

Bear

Sent from my SM-G930F using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

looks great. but I also like this too. No bags no worries over bumps...

 

Jon Fishers by Guildner, done while I worked for Scott, it's perfect! A little more in the front is what sets it in motion while standing still. Scott is "The Eye"


<>
2/3

 

Mark Morton/Hop Up's black 3 window has a nice look also.

 

How many inches has this been cut? I seem to remember seeing somewhere that it was 4 inches, which is probably right on the upper limit for my taste. Definitely a very appropriate chop for the era it is styled after.

Bear

 

On the topic of too much chop, and once again this is very much a personal view, these ones seem to have gone a little bit too far.









Once you get past that '4 inch' mark there seems to be an issue with the door top looking too flat through the center, almost to the point where it aesthetically develops a 'dip' in the middle, or otherwise the radius at the front of the opening starts to look awkward.
I guess its close to what most would call a 'Bonneville style' chop on a '32 -'34, which works fine on the earlier, squarer rooflines, but doesn't seem to suit the more rounded '35 '36 profile.

Bear

 

Obviously, there's a myriad of opinions concerning what constitutes a "perfect" chop for a ' 36 3W coupe, in which case, that would mean there is no "perfect" chop or else everyone would agree. By extension then, no chop would be " perfect".

 

And conversely, if everyone agreed there would be no need for discussion, and this thread would have been pointless. Thankfully that is not the case.
There's even been 'anti-chop' guys posting their opinions - go figure!

Bear

 

Does anyone have any other pics of this one?

 

Couple of pics of the Morton '36 I found on the net.





Bear

 

Interesting to note the similarities, and yet slight differences in these two.





Very similar overall styling. The paint/no paint thing can trick your eye, but these both look to be a very similar amount of chop, maybe a little less on the Rusk coupe, while the Bello '36 at the bottom seems to have less 'bulge' in the rear roof line, and the rear window appears to 'lay over' more. Also note how the rear door cut line leans forward from the top of the body suage, whereas on the East Bay chopped Rusk coupe, the line continues straight up for about an inch before transitioning forward with more of a curve.
Interesting that the Bello car is made from a 5-window, which probably gave him more roof to work with, but his rear door pillar line looks closer to the stock 3-window. I guess he may have used original 3W doors?

I'm thinking that 'perfection' may lie somewhere between these two!

Bear

 

I like the door shape of the blue one (not chopped more in front, nice even curve), but the back roof shape of the bare coupe (curve matches the door opening instead of really slopey).

 

I never realized the amount of forethought and work that goes into one of these chops.. I thought you could just throw it on a grill, go read a comic book , come back and it's done.....

 

Chopped or unchopped, these cars are sex on wheels!

 

Here's a chopped one I had awhile back. Had louvered hood AND decklid.

 

This one does it for me. Love It.

 

From the rear.

I miss that car... shoot! I miss them all!!
Al

 

I LIKE THAT!

Can you give us any numbers on how much chop front and rear?

Bear

 

This is the one that probably inspired the direction I'm heading with my own '36.



The Pete Evans' Brizio built 3-window as featured in August '94 R&C.
There's a lot of detail stuff that doesn't necessarily appeal to me about this build - the tall Briz bumpers, Merc caps and chromies, and the modern underpinnings - but the deep purple paint, red interior, chop, stance and super detailed smallblock are all winners in my book.
I already had a soft spot for the '36 3 window since I built a slot car version when I was about 11, but this is the one that convinced me I had to have the real deal one day.

The 'Evans Special' reportedly had a 3" Marcel chop. I wonder where this one ended up?

Bear

 

^^^^^^^^^^^I don't like the back window!^^^^^^^^^^^^