Projects A tale of 3 chops and the revival of the 41 to 48 fords

You will probably notice that some of the photos are out of order. I kept changing my build plan (or lack of one) and didn't always photograph all the changes.

It was about this time and place that I wanted a rear roll pan to match the front. I also had planned to widen the rear fenders for a bigger tire (did I mention I had a Hemi?)

I had noticed that some earlier fords had a longer pan under the trunk lid.I was looking for one when I came up with raising the fenders to line up with my panel

 

for the dash board I narrowed a 48 Buick dash and window frames

 

I Agree on the drip rails, it took 7 sections roof on each door. the drip rails are there

 

Here are some more pics of Magoozi's 46

 

there were a few in Santa Maria this year.

 

I really dig those model cars

 

What a great thread. I have to say some really nice cars. I'm posting mine a good friend helped me build it. No chop but if I had the skills it would be. I've changed it some different hub caps and no skirts. I have borrowed lot's of pictures of chopped ones may be some day. Keep this GREAT thread going.

Jim

 

Not everything needs to be chopped! having said that I chop everything. it keeps me out of the bars

 

Here's the perfect example.

 

Tom, that is gorgeous...

 

whether you chop a business coupe or not, I think they are a great car either way

 

On a thread about chops ,I say yes they should all be chopped

 

point taken, as I said I chop everything. not wanting to change the theme here, I have 2 Fords and a GMC in my shop right now. all are chopped

 

I know...I keep pestering you to get movin on the GMC although I sure wouldnt mind seeing you get back on the 3 window conversion either !!

 

True , the thread is aboat three chops, but also it's aboat reviving interest in the 41 to 48 fords, I think they are all cool.
We started on the secound car, i'll have my friend Stephan post some pictures of it's progress.
The secound car is a club coupe and is bagged in the rear and has mustang two front suspension, this is a different aproach to building one of these cars.
I first saw the car at the Big three swappmeet, boy this thing was confussed! it was chopped but was prostreeted and sat all stink bug in the rear, it had a one piece pro street tilt up front clip, year after year they would take it to the swappmeet and it would'ent sell, finaly , my friend boulevard bill bought the car for cheap and ask me for some parts to build it, I got him the parts but after a while he bailed too and offered me the car, I saw the car had potencial so I bought it.
the car was tubbed and had a trailer axle welded on the rear, so after staring at it for a while, i decided it would be a perfect cadidate for a rear bag job, I hawl it over to my friend little D (Dave chappel) and had him install a 4 link 8 inch bagged rear end, then the car sat for seven years and suffered the tipical Miguel neglect, after seeing it started to rust, I decided to trade it to my fellow club member Bob Guthrie for a bunch of parts.
Bob has been without a car for eight years now, and needed a good reliable long distance driver so he could go to shows with us again, so I decided to give him a hand and get the car together, the car will be traditional on the outside but will have a reliable modern chasis and drivetrain.

 

here's one that was a daily driver for 5-6 years had a flat motor and 39 ford floor shift with 26 tooth zeypher gears. Oh and I still have that home made tool box over 50 years

 

Im still having a tough time deciding on my chop, cant seem to get the look I had visioned......

Here are two examples of my chops, I think I like the one with the skirts the best or maybe I should put the skirts on and re-shoot the second pic???

 

That's the other one Miguel is doing in Tijuana. I guess it's a 47 club coupe. Somebody made it a hardtop and now it's gonna be put back to post.

 

I like the secound pic, the chop is a little more agresive, but like you said, let's see it with the skirts on.
I guess they are two styles of skirts you can use, the flush mounted style
and the one that mounts on the outside

 

Great pic! I would love a sedan delivery like this!

 

Me too , I had a forty but never a 46-to 48 , they are hard to find.

 

It was a real favorite that I had planned to keep for ever. swapped in a 260 small block with a C-4. pissed at my self. I went back to a flat motor.

I only had a 3 car garage at the time and couldn't get a bicycle in. When I got my T-bucket in 1974 I had everything rolled out on the front lawn. a guy stopped and wanted to buy it. it was a weak moment that I still regret. we agreed on a very cheap price.

I had never fired the new flat motor. I told the guy to go pick up a 6 volt battery. I spent about 20 minutes to finish the wiring. when he got back with a battery. it had an electric fuel pump that I used when it vapor locked. didnt even have to prime the carb. It fired right up. he drove it off, I had 200 bucks in my pocket and a big hole in my heart.

 

A brief story of Tijuana and the Tiajuana tuck and roll;

Well since the three cars are going to be built in Tijuana, I decided to tell you guys a little aboat my town,
Tijuana is famous for a lot of things, some good and some shadey, though it is only 122 years old , it has had an interesting and colorful history.
Tijuana is located in a river valley and is surounded by mountains except to the north where it borders with San Diego and southern california,
It started it's life as a large ranch that was owned by the Arguello family, originally, it was called rancho Tijuana, most natives argue that the name use to be Tiajuana, which means aunt Jane's but some historians argue that the name came from the indian word Ticuan.
It started as a two street town that tourist would visit to buy mexican curios that were brought from all over Mexico,a lot of american G.I.s from world war one started visiting the town, a lot of us think of Las Vegas or Havana as the first sin citys, but actualy with prohibition in the twentys, Tijuana became North America's first sin city, The worlds longest bar was built, it was a city block long and was called the long bar, many a gringo got shit faced there, and I was fortunate to visit the place before they tore it down and built a Kentucky fried chicken, what a shame , this place was bitch'en , by the late twentys, the Agua Caliente Casino was built, it was a lavous place were starlets from Hollywood use to hang out, it had an underground tunel that went all the way to the border, Guys like Lucky Luciano and Al Capone use to frequent the place, a few blocks down the street, the world famous Caliente race track was built, in the back property of the casino, there was bungalows and each one had it's own hot spring, hence the name Agua Caliente which means "hot water",
By the early forties, Tijuana was growing in leaps and bounds, the Tijuana Bull Ring was built and in one of Tijuana's main hotels, the world famous "cesar salad " was invented, one of Cesar's hotel employee's was of romainian decent and the salad was something his mother use to prepare from what they had around their kictchen in Romainia.
Aboat fifteen miles away in a beach resort called the Rosarito Beach Hotel, a bartender was serving a hollywood starlet, she told the Bartender
" I am bored and I want to get drunk , why don't you make me something different?" the bartender did just that and created [the margarita] shure enough , the starlet got drunk and by the evening had lost most her clothes.
If any old timers have pictures of these places, please feel free to post them.

 

The Tiajuana tuck and roll;

By world war 2, Tijuana's tourist trade had grown imensley, arts and crafts were broght in from all over Mexico and sold in little shops on Tijuana's main drag , Revolucion ave., one of the items that sold the most was their leather jackets and purses, leather hides were cheap in guanajuato and were shipped to Tijuana where they were converted to jackets and purses, a whole suburb of leather workers was created, they work out of their homes and dealers would pick up what ever they made and take it to the shops on revolucion. Acording to my old upholstery buddies, their parents manufactured tons of jackets and purses, huge boxes of leather scraps started to pile up, some purses were made from the scrapes and had a quilted look to them, then a guy decided to do a car seat and try to use up all his leather scraps, real tuck and roll is made with individual rolled pockets and not the just pleated design we see nowdays.
wheather the tuck and roll was invented in Tijuana is a question that Rickster will have to answer. By then , Tijuanas third ave had become a meca for upholstery and body shops, by then , some of Tijuanas upholstery guys started working in Los Angeles and San Diego.
In san diego, the place to have your custom or hot rod upholstered was Kaiser's upholstery shop, acording to legend, the carson top was invented there, again Rickster would have to confirm this story.

 

great story Miguel!

 

By the late fifties, Tijuana had become the most visited city in the world.
another atraction Tijuana offered was it's 2 cool drive ins, one was called el sombrero and the other was called Victor's, they were circular in construction and had a giant mexican hat as a roof, El Sombrero still stands today but is no longer a drive in but still funtions as a restaurant. Victor's burned down in the late seventys but I still got a chance to drive my model A their every weekend.
Another thing Tijuana was famous for was the creation of the hippy and biker fashion of the late sixties, the macremae belts and shawls, leather vests and floppy leather hats, the hooded ponchos that were made from a cotton yute that was originaly made for mops, the suede jackets with the long tassels, the suede mocasins and boots with tassels, the silver and onix jewlery, large earings and love beads, all these things were sold in Tijuana, in a way , I feel that Tijuana's easy going atmosphere had a great influence on the hippy and biker culture and let's not forget the mexican blanket, wheather you had it rolled up in front of your sisey bar on your bike or on the seat of your hot rod or custom, the sarape or mexican blanket became an iconic item of the fiftys and sixties.

 

For me it's a Carson top but still not sure if the long or short door looks best, views?

 

I really see the point about it looking better with a chop.

I also start to see what is good chop and what not-my-thing.

The ones where the 1/4 window is welded shut, make think more on a 41 willys gasser, not my thing!
The ones where the roof gets longer hardtop look (The MexiCali), adds some more grace and style to the car. Even more then I thought humanly possible! I looks more classy then a Lincoln with a film noir star inside!

The ones with with a small window gets a more drive-and-have-fun look to them.
But those 3types is so far apart in my book that it could just as well be three different cars!

After seeing all these beutiful cars, I sudenly see twice as many body mods on The Jack Steward car. Hence that is the first custom 41-48 I ever saw, In real life.