Always kinda wanted to take a 56/57 two door hardtop and graft in the c pillars and rear glass from a four door hardtop
No difference at all, and anyone who wants to do it should go for it. I am just saying that it is not something that I would worry about. My view only. I never said it shouldn't be done......
I've got one that looks just about like it... and I still wish it were a Tudor. The extra windows do not help the looks of the car at all. I've owned it for over 50 years so what do I know...
had a buddy that had a more door wagon....trying to convince him not to drive one night after a 'few beers' he stumbled to his car insisting he was good to drive....he entered the driver side back door.... ' hey guys...who stole my steering wheel' gave him a ride home after convincing him that no one would steal his four door
I've thought about that too, but I think it'd be a lot easier to start with the 4 door hardtop, hang the longer 2 door hardtop door on the front hinges, then move the striker back to match and make the quarter window and filler panels out of the old back doors. Would be even easier if you could cut the door striker area and a couple leading feet off of the quarters of a 2 door hardtop donor car, but there aren't a lot of donors of those just laying around. A Pontiac would work as a donor though.
Lotta 56 Chevy four hardtop derelicts floating around Arkansas. Kinda how the idea popped in my head years ago. And here in Missouri I've seen a lot of junk 2 door hardtops pop up on marketplace. Guess the main advantage of putting the four door hardtop on a two door is talking smack to guys that try to trash talk saying it isn't a real two door lol. Either way you went about it it'd be a good bit of work. I'm more of a two door sedan kinda guy myself. But were I to get a 56 hardtop id personally just splice in a few inches above back glass to the trunk filler panel. But....then again as most two doors could use new quarters your route idea would make a lot of since if you had to do quarters anyway
I daily drove a '65 Belair wagon for about 6 years, swapped a newer 327 and an M20 into it, swapped in new springs, cut coils of course, fat radials on Vette wheels. It rode amazingly well. One local around 1977 had a '56 Belair, 4 door sedan, a handed-down family car. He went full tilt with a built up SBC, dual tunnel ram, 4-speed, Cragars, fat rear tires, the ass jacked up. He laid down an amazing 2-tone paint job on it. BUT... it never did anything for anyone else but him. Which is perfectly fine.
My dad always drove Corvettes and has still only owned 2 doors as best I know. I considered my last one a grandpa car. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-adventures-of-bob-the-big-ol’-buick.1265291/
two doors are usually my first choice but i won’t walk away from a cool four door. (and that vauxhall is cool.) my dad had a 37 four door ford in the early forties at hollywood high school. and then a four door 40 plymouth later.
In classic cars I'm not a 4 door guy and will always go to a 2 door first but I have seen a few 4 door tri-five wagons that aren't bad. I do find that people pour on the excuses to try and justify a 4 door, don't hear that out of the 2 door crowd.
Touching back on my eventual two door conversion on my 53. I'll actually be anxious to hear the first person comment that "it's not a real two door". And I'll just mention it also used to be a straight six automatic with power steering car that was two tone green with factory tinted glass that sat a lot higher. Would say originality wasn't high in my list lol
I don't get the "real two door" part. Guess what...... If it ends up with two doors, it's a 2 door. It doesn't matter how it came from the factory. It will be what you have made it. Two door conversions end up being one of three things. 1) A really correct looking conversion that is very hard to pick from an original factory 2 door. Good result. 2) A well executed custom conversion that, although not factory looking, hits the cool mark. Good result. 3) A half-assed cockup that is just a waste of a totally decent 4 door car. Very BAD result. If you can manage to land your conversion in one of the first two catagories, then go for it.......
Shooting for between 1 and 2 lol. Not going to be particular about the lower interior panel being dead on correct. And going to use four door rear arm rests
When I was in my twenties (late-1980s to early-1990s) there was a four-door Hudson Hornet in town. That was the first time I'd seen a Hudson. It was different. It wasn't a muscle car, which kind of need to be two-doors. That's what made it cooler- it wasn't a muscle car and it was odd. It was an oxidized blue and cream. Here's a similar body style that looks good as a four-door.
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