Wantin To Chop A 53 Chev. Cut The Front Gl***, Angle The Front Gl*** Back, Roof Line, Rear Gl***, Angled Pillars? Any Suggestions Or Pics?
www.50chevy.com the guy is working on a 50 chevy slant back, and im unsure of what u have, but the site is also a very good resource for **** like that, also check past posts here on the hamb about it, there are tons of good articles about this, would like to see some pics of your ride sometime as well.
Check out Riksters site, he has lots of pics of chopped 53/54 Chevys. You can also PM me if you have any questions. http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_...ke/chevy_custom_cars/53-54_chevy_custom_cars/
'53-'54 GM cars seem to get chopped poorly almost all of the time. Look at the one that Sam F. recently did to see one that was done right. Sam's car uses the Chevy rear window, a lot use a shoebox rear window to compensate for screwing up the rear roof. Look at lots of pics, but especially Sam F.'s car. The last thing the world needs is another wrecked '53 Chevy.
Theres been enough of those chopped on here so just search the tech post to get ideas. Custom54's car is a perfect example of how they should look when they are done properly!
with any chop DO THE GL*** FIRST... look at the two examples above.. no back gl***. you need to either sink the stock rear gl*** or replace it with a smaller gl*** out of another car. 49 - 52 chevy gl*** will work, provided you have the sheetmetal from the doner car. as stated 49ish ford rear gl*** is good
... is your plan to have a ****box with a plexigl*** rear window or windshield?? plan ahead. my buddy has a cool chopped 54.... except for the fact that the windshield was glued in like a brand new minivan and there is no rear gl*** and no way to put gl*** in there at all. they made some metal gl*** pattern and thought they were going to make a rear gl*** from this. didn't happen... now it's going to be plexigl***. to me that's like keeping a turd on your front seat. "that's a cool car... well except for the turd on the front seat". FIGURE THE GL*** FIRST....
get the back gl*** out of a 49-52 chevy or other car. makes it easier. plus it looks better in my opinion.... which doesnt mean much cuz i really hate 53 54 chevys now, mostly because they all do the same modifications over and over. boring.
I don't know how to post it, but if you look at my avatar it's my chopped '53 Chevy. I used a 1948 Chevy back gl***, which is smaller and flatter than the '49-'52 gl***. I only chopped 2 inches, but section the roof skin and laid the rear window way down to sleek it up. My advice is look at any/all chop tech posts on the HAMB, and to look very carefully at Chopping Tops by Tex Smith, and to look carefully at photos you can find. Once you really start looking it's amazing how different every chop is, and you can figure out what looks good (cutting the top skin to slim it down and sleek up the back half) and what doesn't (trying to make it work with the orignal wraparound rear window).
By the way, I'll be at the HAMB drags with the car. If you're there, I'd be more than happy to show you photos and talk about what I did and what I'll do differently next time.
I agree with Chili Phil's sentiments exactly. So many bad chops -- and I don't mean shoddy, I mean ill-proportioned. What's worse, none of what I can say will really help you. That is, while I know what works when I see it, I have no hard quan***ative advice to offer. Well, that's not quite true: definitely don't cut it straight across. It looks like total ***. Also, 2" in the front is enough (and probably more than enough). The Sam F. car that I know IS a great chop: subtle, proportionate, suited to the lines of the car. But its not a 53/54, its a 51. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/samiam325i/a-4.jpg Here's a question for you: which 53 chevy do you have? Our cars came with about 10 different roof styles. Mine's a 1502 (2dr 150 sedan = long roofline, small oval back window).
Hey, Be sure and do your homework on the gl*** in your '53! It's my understanding that laminated rear gl*** is now made for '53-4 Chevrolets. This will get ya outa the Shoebox rut, and really opens up the design posibilities. In a chop, if you haven't got flow, all you have is a butchered vehicle! S****ey devils C.C.
Many ideas and posts already. Can always lower windshield and back window into body to save h***le of cutting gl***. Even check out Jesse James' TV show Monster Garage. Top talent like Gene Winfield have chopped tops on show.
first off,,THANKS for the props ChiliPhil and slow 64!,,but even though its a 51,,i want to say,,thanks again!,,because before i cut ...during and after the chop,,i pretty much dont really like any 49-52 chevy sedan chops that i have seen,,,most of the time they look like fastbacks,,,,, ,,so with that said... i wanted to have a similar roof line of a chopped merc or 53-54 chevy...,,even though their are alot of ugly 53-54 chops as well,,
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