Chopped, Widened, Lengthened, and Lowered 52 Chevy *Lots of pics*

Man, looks like A LOT of work. Hope it doesn't fold in on itself.

 

Widened right down the middle! I've never seen that before. I really want to see this car with paint and glass in it. That was an insane amount of welding and fab work.

It's going to be a lot tougher now for the naysayers to tell you it isn't going to work when it's already done!

So what are the plans from here on out? Paint, chrome? Are the back doors functional? For a 4 door with stock length front doors, it has a nice quarter window to door glass ratio. That's usually where a lot of 4 door chops lose it for me.

 

cool,looks different than all the other 52 chev's

 

Thats the same thing I noticed right off the bat. Instead of widening a body to fit a frame/floors, why not find another frame/floors? Thats a hell of alot of work to get finished, good luck. It looks... different.

 

all the sheetmetal used on the car is 18 guage so im not worried about that at all.

 

thats a problem with an easy fix the only reason it wasnt fixed in the pics was i didnt have a way to get enough muscle from teh inside of the car to fix the low spot, i have a porta power jack now that will allow me to correct it.

took me over 2 monthes to find the caprice in my budget, i wanted an 80's malibu ( as a matter of fact i havent found a good donor car since either because i want one for another project) thats why i used it.

plus what the hell ive never seen a car widened before.

 

I don't know anything about this merc, but it seems to be in the process of being widened.

 

man that's a lot of work!!!!!! it will definitely be a custom

 

looks pretty cool ide like to see it in person to get a feel for the lines and the flow of it! but it dig it!! good good

 

So rather than cutting the frame to fit under the car, you made the car bigger to fit over the frame.

Okay.

 

Its different thats for sure, Cool idea good luck finishing it. Keep it posted.

 

I like it, it is different for sure but I wouldn't call it the "R Word" by any means. Keep going on it, I cant wait to see more.

 

I give credit to anyone that has the nuts to tackle a job like that, and of that size. I look forward to seeing more as you progress.

 

I think the sculptured strip down the middle gives it that Pontiac styling look, pretty cool. How about a wild 3 piece windshield sorta like a 49Merc rear window. Diff proportions obviously.

 

if anybody knows how this guy feels, its me LOL.

 

Not very original
But I can appreciate the work that has gone into this project.
I bet your one has'nt got hinged rear fenders

 

I went back through all the pics with good shots of the roof, and it looks like you're going to have a hell of a time popping that out. It almost looks like the piece you welded in was a hair too narrow, which forced the side pillars to lean toward the center of the car. Or, like the pillars needed to be pie cut to allow them lean outward so the roof sections could line up better.

I hope the porta power works for you though, cause it would suck to have to cut it apart again.

Good luck!

 

No one told you not to eat the brown acid?!?!

 

Interesting!! Lot of work man!!

 

Well...its different!
Looks like the reason the fenders are lengthened is to allow the car to have a radiator...without having to relocate the engine rearward and all that would involve.

Makes me realize something;
Placing cuts where they require the least amount of welding doesn't always equate to the least amount of total work!
Next time...plan your cuts around the high points of the crown in the panels...even if that requires long runs of horizontal cuts to make everything work.
More welding...but you keep the pleasing roll in the various body panels and less metal shaping.

I give you an A for seeing it thru. You tackled a job many would have let rot and did it your way without blinking an eye!
Thats pretty cool.
Use what you learned from this one to make your next one even better!

 

shit, all i am is a copycat now.

the hinged rear fenders remind me of a saying from tin cup, when he played the back nine holes with a 7 iron....


"so what's the best youve ever shot with just a 7 iron?"

"Hell Cup i never even thought to try"

 

Very cool project I noticed the same stuff that 52pickup noticed in the pics. I hope getting things straightend out goes well a lot of work an thinking going into that car. Well if the porta power doesn't work you'd just have to cut it in half again to straighten it I suppose you've already done that do big deal there. Nothing to it but to do it. I like the way it looks so far keep at it you got yourself one sweet ride. What you using for engine drivetrain and such like?

 

the stock 83 caprice engine and drivetrain.

350 chevy with 350 turbo

 

Sheetmetal screw some Plexiglass in, hit it with two coats of Rustoleum semi-gloss black and lets go cruising!

 

Whoa. Just...whoa! Lots of work for sure!

 

Oh dude!

 

Don't you just love the HAMB? A guy finds the bottom two inches of the right quarter panel of a deuce 5w and everyone is saying "gotta save it, just dive in and make it happen,that bitch will be worth $300,000 when you get it finished (or better yet "I'll give you twice what you paid for it right now with no intention of buying it OR doing what it takes to bring it back) and here is someone diving in and tacking a project that would overwhelm most and just about all he gets is negativity.

Frank

 

Well i've got to commend you for having the balls to get in and do it. Its not easy doing something different, and some folk will never get it, but i say build what you want, make it safe and drive the wheels off it.

 

what exactly are your plans?

 

mostly just get it all driveable and wired ect. ect. , proly got another 3-4 weeks until completely done.

then drive the wheels off it this summer in bare metal ( clear coated), and tackle all the body work and get it painted this winter.