Hello. I've got an, maybe insane, idea of chopping my top And chopping it off, Like an Removable Hardtop and mount it like an Carson top, but in steel. Does anyone of you guys have a picture on a build like that? or will it just look like ****!? Hope you understand what i've been asking for here´s an picture of my car, oldsmobile 47 coupe.. (i have photoshopped the lowering and wheels on this picture, but you'll get the idea.) if someone could Photoshop it into a Convertible, Feel free to do so.. // Foppa
yeah i like it with the top on (soon to be a chopped top), But i even like olds Convertibles, so why not do the both? but i'm affraid it wont look so good.
Well It could be done, I don't know how great it would look though. if you could cut it so that the roof sat on the windshield posts and frame like the newer removable hardtop cars do it could work. But it would be a lot of work to get that seam above the windshield right. The back end wouldn't be a big problem as you could use latches from some later model car to hold the top on and a pair of locator pins to get it lined up right. You would have to do some serious reinforcing in the body and maybe the frame to keep it from flexing after you cut the top off though. That is the big problem with doing that as the doors gaps tend to get wide and narrow while you drive down the road or park on an incline. As Temper mental said the roof would be heavy and a challenge to lift off and on and probably take several people or a hoist in your garage to take off and put back on. Not something you really want to be lifting off at a car show to cruise around ******* and then looking for help to put it back on after hoping that no one's kids use it for a slide.
If you do a search for a 46 chevy chop you can look at Krazy Kory's chop thread and see what his chop looks like.I just cant rember how much he chopped it.
Thanks for all the answers so far. Yes i've been checking that thread out over and over also the chop that JAWS did on his coupe. i love this cars chopped. Maybe i'll do a regular chop instead and forget about the whole removable top idea. edit: Okey, so then i need some Photoshoping help with a chop on my car. would love to see a good Ps. Pic on it with the roof lower..
was popular in sweden in the 60s on hardtops.I made brakelines on a 58 edsel that was converted A piece of ratling leaking **** 4 man to lift of the top
Don't even chop it! The proportions are right on, just lower the **** out of it and for **** sake paint it.
Is that picture a photoshopped lowering? The edges of the body next to the wheel and the shadowing just look a little off. Man I tell you what I love convertibles and the wind in my hair as much as the next, but unless it's a car a bit more plentiful than a 40's coupe I personally would say hit the brakes on this one. I've seen a couple of 50's 4 door california convertibles that looked great and were a blast to drive that didn't cost a whole lot to get them on the road, but not a 40's coupe.
Don't forget you also have to take into account the door post. So, to pull this off, you probably need to consider how you would like the look of your car as a hardtop rather than a sedan.
love those Olds.....call me crazy but a lift off (fork lift off) top sounds like the best of both worlds...hell yes convertibles leak, but it never rains in Sweden,right?....Anyway make a roof out of fibergl*** if you don't have enough friends to help get it off...then build a frame and put a lift off Carson on it for a change....now you got 3 different cars....convertible; hardtop, carson top....You can do it, and be the envy of your neighborhood!!
i know two different guys who have a removable steel hardtop. They made a really simple winch/pulley setup in their garage above the car. It hooks to the top in 4 corners then just turn the crank and the roof raises straight upward and it stays there until you lower it back onto the car. Takes one person to do it and it stores the roof in a safe place and out of the way. Definitely do it!!! But make sure whoever chops it is top notch.
very many different answeres, I like it. Let's see how i do, First thing first is to get it streetlegal (here in sweden) and drive it like it is, And Yes! i'm gonna paint it. dont like that "rusty" look of it, since i've been spending so many hours of rust repair on the floor and so on, so no more "rust" och "rustlook". It's leaning on skipping the idea that i came up with and if i'm gonna do anything to the top it will be a "normal" chop of it, not an hardtop job. Thank you all.
Your frame will need to be changed or reinforced. Here's a photo of my '47 Olds convertible frame Also, like someone else has mentioned the rear quarter jam needs to be reinforced.
The seams in front and the rear will look odd. Like having a tilt frontend on a pickup and they make the split seam just in front of the firewall, your eyes go right to it. Also having to remove the B pillar and coming up with a solution for the side gl*** would be a chore. I think the mild chop photo shop pic looks great...imo
if you cut the top off, you will have a severely weakened body,Factory convertibles have a much stronger rocker and pillar combination to keep the body from fle**ing,I cut the top off of my 33 Fordor but before any cuts were made the body/cowl were braced up from top to floor,crisscrossed from side to side.then Square Tube steel was welded in place around the perimeter and from C-Pillar to C-Pillar a horseshoe Brace of Square Tubing before the bracing was removed.Most Convertibles are heavier than other models of the same production year because of the added strength.
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