For the first time ever, I say: ...STOCK! In my humble opinion, the greenhouse on those cars is already the right proportion to body height. I don't think a top-chop can improve that car, only change it. If you really want to chop something, maybe pick a car that needs it(?)...there are many!
HA! i just entertained that thought and went to the garage to measure and visualize what that would look like. a little to much. but thanks.
If'n I can get this link thingy to work, here is the thread I was talking about, courtesy of hot rod artist, hard at work beneath a camo tent in case of a drive-by bomb run. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=194400
To much of a good thing is still to much, so go mild, try to make it flow with the rest of the car. Chopping the hell out of a car just to prove that you can doesn't do the car any good and more often than not makes the car look worse than it did before it was chopped. I think customs look best when your average person can't tell for sure what was done to the car. I would vote for about a three inch chop. Just my two cents. With Hotrods it's a different deal, but even there to much isn't always good.
And just for that here is your favorite car! http://phoenix.craigslist.org/car/434581853.html I had a 50Caddy and loved it the way it was with no chop... I say stock in this case or mild chop if you happen to go that route. my .02
Here's two pics from ARCHANGEL's Latino Heritage thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212476 These cars look great with nice finishes and a lowered stance. Another thing to consider is your skill level; I have no clue what it is, but beware of your limitations. I can't imagine chopping or sectioning this car would be easy. A mild custom with excellent execution will always look better than something radical with sub-par craftsmanship. Also, a mild/excellent custom is probably an easier sell if you decide you want something else.
back a day later..... If you section through the beltline you end up pancaking the hood. good examples of this are the kopper kart, and the 54 cad convertible that barris did for a super market exec. in 55 or so. the belt line is the area between the bottom of the windows, and the top curve of the door. I read about the 1/3 rule in a book somewhere, and it seems to make sense to me. I would consider that 1/3 is from the top of the roof, down to where the roof meets the body. the 9 inch window rule was quoted by bill hiens in a top chop how to a few years back. I chopped the roof on my elcamino down to 9 inch side windows, and then I sectioned it 2 inches, and the proportions look just right. Not too tall anywhere, and not too low...
I grabbed these from Rik Hoving's site. the 52 buick is chopped gangster, notice that it could lose a little metal around the beltline, and some on the side, and it wouldn't look so cartoonish. the 54 cad has been sectioned through the beltline , and chopped. It has a balanced look fron the side, however I was never a fan of the split top, or the extra long continental kit, I think they lengthen the car too much.
We went through this **** in the 50s and 60s. Back then it was called "If some is good, more is better." The result was some pretty damned ugly cars. The one thing I like about today's customs is that some serious attention is paid to overall design and artistically appropriate modifications. Say what you will about Boyd and Foose billet, high dollar ****. They both have good underlying design concepts.
ok.. my vote. Picture number 2, with no chop on the top. In other words, add the smooth skirt, slam it, and otherwise leave it alone. Caddy's are cool just as they come.
OK! i tried another sketch. this time i sectioned the body a little and took some out of the belt line... i gave it a modest chop but laid the back down just a little more. I see what you guys are saying about making the changes subtle. i think the lines flow a little better. i might be getting closer on this one.
Do you have a clue to how much work doing a section job involves????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
wow!,,,,,,,,,,,,i wonder if sam realized he was doing a "gangster" chop when he did that,,i'll bet he was just going for "cool"..... gangster????????????wtf
i was ****ing around with the "gangster" comment. jeez. im 30 years old... not 16. i do realize that sectioning a car and/or chopping one is a major undertaking. A man can dream, cant he?
Cool. Don't chop it so much that it looks like the top has collapsed into the trunk. It kind of wrecks the smooth flowing curves of the top and the trunk lid if you chop it too much. Or if you do want to chop it super low, try to reshape the rear of the roof and the trunk lid and rear window so they blend together with a nice profile.
kustom 7777 heres my elco. As for the section job.... it is an extreme amount of work. and on a caddy double that work because of the way they are built, if it needed one bolt they used three.....and hid 2 of them! Sectioning isn't too far away from chopping though, just brace up all your stuff, alot more cutting and welding, and definatley plan ahead for re-engineering stuff. this is all about making lines flow and changing stuff up. making a caddy unique, just don't go too far on way or another and you will get a great result.
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