54 chop with cutt original back glass

Anyone have some pics of chopped 54s with cut rear gl***?

Picked up a chopped 54 early this year. A friend is working hard on getting it nice and straight. The original plan was straiten up the lines and call it good...but I cant help but hate the rear gl***. its the biggest gl*** on the car (the only real gl*** fer now). I have heard the two usual options are cut the rear gl*** down and build the top portion of the roof out or put in a 50/51 gl***. The latter of the two may still look weird cause it has a pretty severe chop.

here is the car before he started cleaninig it up.

 

you can't cut the rear gl***. It is safety gl***. It will just explode into a lot of little pieces. Your best bet is to cut out and replace with another.

 

Get it out of there! Any way possible.
Cut it out and get a smaller window frame and gl***.

 

Its the way they layed in forward...they always look way to big because there not cut!! You can buy laminated rear gl*** to cut down but be careful as the wrap arounds are such a hard ben they want to crack down when there being cut down to size! If done rite they look good!

 

NO you can cut laminate gl*** like all the other windows on the car... but not safety gl***. It's tempered and shatters!!

 

It is one of two kinds of "safety gl***" Side windows and rear gl*** is 'tempered gl***' and it does indeed shatter into a zillion bits when broken.

The other type is laminated safety gl***, ALWAYS used in windshields, although it can be, and has been, used in side gl*** for some applications.

The goal with laminated safety gl*** is two things, retaining visibility and windshield integrity when impacted, and the biggie, occupant retention. The plastic inner layer is very tough and even though the gl*** cracks, it is not easy for an occupant to penetrate the gl*** and minimizes the severity of gl*** caused injuries and decapitation.

The main characteristics of tempered gl*** is it is thinner, therefore much lighter, and easily shaped for contours and curves, think side gl*** wrapover ("tumblehome") on OT late models. But it does shatter into fairly harmless 'gravel', and has no occupant retention when tha happens.

However, the type of blow that breaks each of them is different. Latinated safety gl***, if hit by a sharp object such as a flying stone, merely chips, the little star chip. It breaks under blunt impacts.

Tempered gl*** is just the opposite. Small sharp impacts break the tempered surface and trigger the 'shatter' but it shrugs off blunt inpacts like a baseball.

Ray

 

Word!
Back gl*** is tempered and almost car I can think of is. If ya want it cut down buy the gl*** cut it to what you want then make the opening fit the gl***. Sounds backwards but it isnt in a way. Or change it out to somthing like Gambino did on his car
Dave Hitch

 

WE attempted to make it better but with little or no avail. Here is the progress...but Its clear we gotta make a change

cutt the rear or put in a new smaller rear....

opions and options are appreciated...

 

lexan rear window...

 

what? why would you want to do that? plastic? Scratches so easy you never want to wipe the water off of it even if you are washing it. A total waste of time.

 

forgot to add pix. Lowered the back part down and put the molding under the rear window back.

Think that might of made it more bulbous. This is just tacked in at this point



http://i215.photob
ucket.com/albums/cc199/erock805/54/Picture669.jpg

 

who is helping you fix it up.

 

It just looks too big to me, at least with quarter windows. I'd say if you're gonna leave it in, hardtop the chop(remove the b-pillar). In my little opinion that would help the lines out front-side-back. Just sayin'

 

I would check out the contours of 40's thru early '50's GM coupes for a back gl*** and roof section. Also a possibility might be a '49 thru '51 Shoebox ford.

The former are shorter, both verticle and horizontal than the latter, but I think would look good with the 'pancaked roof line. In fact, the roof may need to be sloped a bit more just past the mid point on back. Bringing the base of the top back a few inches where it meets the deck area may ease the transition from roof to deck. A lot depends on finding the 'right' rear gl*** contour and roof section, but I think would make a great improvement on the car's appearance when finished. It definitely, IMO, has too much gl*** area relative to the other windows.

Ray

 

Just my opinion, but I think with that chop, you're never going to make that window look good. Find something else. Here's mine right after I chopped it last year, with a shoebox window.

 

I dig this look.

 

Your orginal rear gl*** is Tempered and CAN BE CUT but it must be ANEALED first. Basicly put into a kelm and brought up to about 950deg and slowly cooled off for about 10hr. Then it can be cut like regular gl***. You can also sink the bottom side of the gl*** or buy a new repop rear gl*** as most are laminate and can be cut.

Rick

 

I've read here (at least I think I did) that some guys recommend cutting tempered with a sand-blaster. Is there any reason why that wouldn't work? (Just make sure to protect the part you want to see through.)

 

how ever . you can buy a new rear gl*** for a 54 that's safetygl*** not tempered . and i believe bobs cl***ic gl*** stocks them . then you can cut away all you need .

 

there's nothing wrong with using it as a rear window...it was used back in the 50's and as far as im concerned perfectly acceptable in kustom car as long as original rubber and stock stainless is used... i believe there is a polish out there to remove scratches from lexan...

in my opinion using the stock style wrap around window looks way better than using a smaller window such as shoebox or 150 chevy rear window...it's the worst when the bottom edge of a window is not parallel to the beltline trim...therefore, if one decides to go with a smaller back window, i would have to vote on the chevy150 window because a shoebox window isnt exactly parallel to the chevy belt line, and the chevy 150 window will look good sitting right on top of the belt line, like how it is stock.

another option is to sink the original back window into the trunk, i don't know too much about that technique...

here's an example of a lexan back window that i don't think anyone disapproves of

 

Lots of great info here...thanks guys for posting and giving me ideas. Not sure where I will go as of yet...found a 4 door 51 that I could buy and hack the back window out of. Talked about a 40 split rear window for a more unique look. adn Love the examples on here of moonglow and a cutt down rear window might be the cheapest alternative.

opinions and experience are appreciated...thanks... Either way I got to change that window. Cutt or replace it.

Chad... its Matt from Squeegs...dont know if you know him.

Chevy54...really dig the look of your chop...its different
thesupersized...great example..thanks.

 

rodiniron...you got a bigger pic of the side view like your avatar?

 

I agree (with some of it anyway), I see nothing at all wrong with Lexan for a rear window, with reasonable care it should hold up well.
But I still like a smaller rear window.

 

yup, everyone has their own prefrences....

here's a sedan that i think was done very well

http://66.154.44.164/forum/showthread.php?t=388341&highlight=chevy+chop

 

A merc split window looks great in those cars

 

I think the rear window needs to just disappear! It looks horrible! Moonglow was a hard top which looks good with chopped wraparound gl*** sedans do not!

 

Personally I am not a big fan of the wrap arounds on chopped cars, there are exceptions, but to me they just look goofy.

 

So after reading other threads I see the 51 plymouth window as an option...

Any other smaller window ideas. Rear 1/4 window is roughly 6 inches tall... so Im thinking the smaller the window the better...

 

the lexan rear window in moonglow is ***s, on this we can all agree. however moonglow is a hardtop and the rear window on a sedan just does not translate the same...

I saw 49-52 or 53 business coupe. you can cut down the stock one or sink it but I feel that the smaller ones just lend themselves to look a little more cl***y...

 

Nothing is impossible, but cutting tempered gl*** is not going to happen.

The good news is the latest repop rear windows for these 53-4 chev's are available in Clear, Green or grey LAMINATED GL*** and can be cut down to fit. yours looks like it could lose 2-2 1/2 off the top and a little off the bottom corners to lay in a little better.
Flattrap (on this board) has one in his check it out!!