I've been helping a bud work on his 54 chevy 2D belair.He wants to chop the top off next & make it a "carson top" but people have told him that it can "bend" the frame!! They said that its only smart to do it on a convertible frame(whats the point!!lol). I really don't see too much of a problem with this, but i'm not too experianced with it. What problems will we run into? jimV
cos convertable frames have a heavy duty x member in them that the sedans dont,,well the 55 convert i helped on did,so i ***ume the 54 has also
I think the problem with taking any roof off has to do with the doors. The roof is tying the 2 sides of the car together and by taking it off you will see some changes. This is why people brace cars when they chop the top. It's probably no big deal, pretty sure I have seen cars with this done. I cant imagine it doing anything to the frame because the only thing holding a 54' on the frame is a few bolts and they don't really have any leverage to do this. As for the Carson top, I'm not really a fan. They are a lot of work for something that never quit looks right on the car.
when you cut the top off the quarters get pretty flimsy...I use some heavy steel angle...like 4"x4"x1/4" and braced the door posts at the bottom to the floor. Also after you finish the steelwork around where you cut off it helps too. Before you even start make sure your floor is solid,no rust or even thin metal. I would even brace the floor from underneath front to rear just to be sure it doesn't sag in the middle.
Yes verts have stiffer frames and also extra bracing in the floors and under the rear seats and up the door pillars front and rear. If you really must cut off the top and make a vert make sure you do some extra bracing and when you think you have it braced add some extra. I just chopped the top on my 53 chevy 210 and I can tell you that cutting the top off makes everything really flimsy. Good luck
1: he's already got the car, 2: if he doesn't make a carson top he'll chop it 3: not everyone can afford another car 4: its going to be customized anyone. JimV
is the car already a hardtop? (no posts) if so then half the battle is already done since the hartops have a lot of the same bracing as the convertibles in the floor and quarters. take a look at a convertible frame some time. they have a giant Xmember that looks like part of a train bridge. to do it right would take some engineering and fabrication experience that I would ***ume you and your buddy lack or you wouldn't be asking. the problems you'll end up with is a car that flexes and eventually doors that don't shut right if they shut at all. if it is not already a hardtop you'll end up with no side windows and even more flex.
The roof is an integral part of the structure of the car..As was mentioned, a rag top has a much beefier frame designed to withstand the added stress of not having a top to add structural support to the body. If he's dead set on doing a carson top, i would look at the design of a convert frame and do something similar to the post car's frame. I would think, even if it didn't happen right away, sooner or later the car may develop sag in the center..it IS a possibility... Taking the time to make sure everything is strong structurally will be worth it especially if he's spending all that time with body mods.. Just my 2 cents.. Tony
Dude, its his car!! if you think there a band aid don't put on on your car! The question was "will it weaken the car" not "Do you like a carson top" JimV
Carson tops are hardly a "band aid"...they may not be your eye of a nice custom mod but they are as traditional as frenched headlights or fender skirts.....and many were built on real convertible cars....so how is that considered a "band aid"? Maybe when you heard about someone screwing up a chop and he had to build a carson top....but if you have ever built one you would understand just how much work there is involved in getting one just right.....I have chopped tops and built a carson top....it took more time to build the padded top and get it right than to just chop the roof down. As for the frame bending in the middle...go ahead and add an X member and some floor bracing and go for it....it's just an old car that has the potential to be a really cool old car if ya got the balls to build a custom out of it!
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