Technical Chopping Model A's.

Hey H.A.M.B.'ers, I was wondering how hard it was to chop a Model A, me and my dad are going to soon, and I need some advice or difficult it is. Thanks in advance, Front Axle.

 

Easy!

 

If its a coupe try and find the thread that shows a whole lot of different height chops.

 

Also a lot of info here somewhere with respect to rear window height, pie cuts etc.
Also the third hinge, keep or kill…

 

Now that is the Model A we have, 2 door sedan, the coolest of the body styles for a hotrod. Thanks for the advice, we also have a 34 3 window and that one has been a fight, so I wasn't sure if it would be as bad.

 

my 17 year old son and his buddy chopped his coupe

 

Most pieces are cut and drop . The windshield and front door pots require some spreading to match the parts . But nothing you can not handle at home . When welding tack and move around , warping it up will kill a beautiful chop . If you were near I’d gladly lend a hand and TIG welding skills for a hand shake .

 

I have chopped a lot of model a fords, 3.5 inches and less is pretty easy. You cut the car and drop the pieces into place. A heavy chop requires some
Pie cutting and a little finesse.

 

My son did ours after researching the HAMB and else were. Plenty of bracing inside the body as well as bolting it to a home built dolly. The area between quarter glass and rear window was cut offset to minimize the mail slot look. He used a permanent marker to define the areas to be cut and scribed the cut lines. Use a cutoff wheel and took his time. See photos.

 

A pretty complete post on how I did mine,

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/chopping-31-tudor-top-and-2-1-2-year-milestone.1205578/

Not that hard ...

...

 

The picture glancing at the fingernails standing next to the finished chop is an absolute classic.

 

We are going to do a 4 inch chop, but we are going to drop the back window, so I still have a back window haha, its only 8 inches for the back, chopping 4 and you might as well just fill it in because it's just a mail slot.

 

We chopped my little brother’s A sedan when I was around 15 and he was 13. It came out nice. We had some help and advice from Dad though, and he had done an excellent chop on a 33 tudor a few years before. Then I thought I was big stuff, so I hired out and chopped a local guy’s 34 five-window by myself at 15. I still see that car driving around town a couple times each summer.

Take your time, plan each cut, mark with a sharp scribe, sneak up to the back side of the cut line with a grinder or file, and make all your joints absolutely tight before welding. Gaps will get you garbage.

 

While you are at it, I'd build a roll-down back window. It would surely help air flow during the summer. I'm reminded of not doing this as for a few years I drove mine to Bonneville and back. I wish I had done that 30 years ago.

 

We're putting AC on it, might not be the most hot rod thing ever, but here in Yuma AZ it gets HOT in the summer.

 

Makes sense, but was it a good chop?

 

I wouldn’t worry about it. Occasionally guys from cooler climates say something snarky but they don’t understand that in places like AZ the whole car is built around the climate… Optional features in coastal socal are not so much in Phoenix…

 

Exactly, and because I plan on it being daily driver and the summers are brutal, cause when you have a 6-month summer spanning from May to October, it's best to have comfort over style.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1w...wqsBegQIEhAG&usg=AOvVaw2Qv7XLnE5h5JyDxHMP2IOp

 

It’s my mantra for any metal work. Plan ahead, make accurate cuts, and fine tune for no gap. I use TIG weld on sheet metal, but the same method for use with MIG. You are getting the weld done, not spending extra time and heat filling gaps.

 

Besides, remember it’s your car to build as you want it. That’s not saying, it’s my car I will do as I want, sorry used that old song “It’s my party”.

 

Man that is impressive to see a couple of young guys willing and wanting to do and learn these skills.
Most 17-year-old guys want to spend their time at the mall or doing computer stuff. It makes me glad to see this.

 

I hear old song references near daily, I get it.

 

Yeah, I would hate having to fill any gaps, sounds like an absolute pain to deal with when I'm just trying to get my car finished.

 

I know, all of my friends want to go into computers, or graphic, and while that stuff is cool and all, first time I ever heard a flathead run in real life, I fell in love.

 

I am trying to figure out how to hide the AC because I would like to put it in my little pickup when I get to that point... I love a traditional car but I also want to actually drive it.
I have gotten kind of spoiled with my "late model" cars (They are in the '90s lol) all having air conditioning and I noticed that if it gets around 90° I tend to grab the late model and not the classic car because nobody likes to sit in traffic and sweat...

 

It's one thing to sit in traffic, it's one thing to sweat, it's a whole different story to do both at the same time.

 

I did my 30 two door back in the 70's. Four and a half inches seemed just right. Pretty straightforward. When welding the rear section tacking from rear window and rear side window you end up with more on top than bottom. Takes some shrinking and stretching. Most guys just make slits. That makes for much more finish work.

 

Come on please Paul....story behind the pictures...inquiring minds need to know.