Hey guys, Im wanting to chop my 40, I do bodywork for a living so im not soo much afraid of the cutting and welding, but it is my first chop, can someone post some pics or maybe tell me the correct steps to take to do it right! Thanks.
is it a coupe, sedan or tudor? a guy called Eddie Paul did a 39 or 40 sedan in osr a couple of years back. have you done a search? im sure yourll find something here.
If it's a 40 Coupe - DON"T DO IT! It is one of the hardest cars to chop and get the proportions right. For every 40 coupe chopped right there are thousands that are really f'd up. Personally I wouldn't so one even if I had chopped 100 cars, but that is just my opinion (and if you do a search, most on here as well) certainly you don't want to take a chance screwing up a 40 with your first chop. JMHO
Cutting and welding really has nothing to do with chopping a top properly. It's all in the planning. Lots of different angles as the top comes down to take into consideration. And then there is no "correct" way to chop a car, because there are different chops for different looks and it depends on tools at hand. What look are you going for? What body style? The best advice is to look for a finished car you like and think looks right, then try to emulate it.
do a search HAMB member Zibo started a thread on chopping a 40 Ford. that would be a good place for you to start
If all you're going to do is chop the top and leave the rest relatively stock, don't do it. It'll just look odd. The main 40 Ford styling glitch for me is the "top hat room" above the back seat area, if it had a back seat.. The best looking chops on them are on radical customs like The Matador. It was chopped I think 4" and had even more taken out above the doors flattening the top some. It was also sectioned and modified front to rear. My all time favorite Custom! http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_car_photos/beautiful_custom_cars/1/el_matador_40_ford/ I really like what SAM Foose did with this Ford that I believe was called Magnum 40. It's got a stock A pillar but leaned back a lot and the top laid down so the hump is gone. It's also got the wider two door sedan doors and the B pillar moved back to accommodate. There's a how to on this car near the middle of Tex Smith's how to chop tops book. http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_...m_cars/sam_foose_build_cars/40_ford_coupe_by/ Thanks Rikster for the fine picture site!
Terry Roberts, Toledo Ohio, has one of the most bitchin chopped 40 coupes in the country. You need to go to the right guy. Gary Roberts, also in Toledo, Terrys twin brother is the master of the top chop in OHIO. If you are determined to do this go to the man!
I agree with the rest of the guys, chopped 1940 Ford Coupes look bad. One of the few cars that look perfect without a haircut...
Don't do it. One of the most beautifully proportioned designs of all time. Leave well enough alone. Speaking of the '40 Coupe here. I have seen a Tudor sedan done with a very subtle ( I would guess 1 1/2" chop ) that looked great.
I generally like chopped tops -but a '40 Ford? Unless its a radical custom (Matador, etc.) my vote would be to leave it be. The '40 is such a good design - hard to improve it!
I too am new to this and am in the finishing stages of my first chop. It is a 46 chevy coupe. All I can say is study every chopped car like yours and similar styles, decide what you really want it to look like,
I agree with most of the comments so far, the 40 Ford coupe is fine just the way it rolled out of the factory. That said, IF I were to do a chop, this is the car that I would use as a model (don't look at the door handles, etc), the lines of the roof look as good as you're going to get on this body...
If it's a coupe, no way would i chop it. 2 doors look not bad if it's not cut to much. The 39 2 door in pic below is cut 2 inches, leaned w/shield post back abit. Basicly same body style as the 40 2 dr.
I've seen a lot of 'attempted' chopped 40s in the magazines over the years, and none looked right. That's a real waste of good tin.
Figured I'd throw my 2 cents in... There are a couple things i'd do a little differently but not much. Most chopper's cut out the rear quarter panels and make them more flowing/flat, but I like the roundness of the stock body lines, just not the height. There's a huge potential in destroying you're car though. So if you don't study and plan it'll end up a carson top. TP
I am with the "Don't do it" crowd. None of the 40' Ford body styles look better chopped. Sure, there are a very few exceptions people have done well with, but I still wouldn't take one of those over an original roof line coupe, sedan, or p/u.
Street Rodder had a good article on cuttin'a sedan. I gave it a go and it was pretty easy. I'd be hard pressed to cut a coupe though.
For pictures of a "HOT ROD" '40 coupe raked, Big & Little WSW's with a mild cut...see http:www.davepropst.com/Album/AlbumZ/AlbumZ.htm
The Jalopy Journal
