So im going to attempt my very first chop. The donor is the boss's 38 chevy p/u . Ive been reading up on it for months and am 98% sure that I can do it. I am a bodyman by trade so i believe I can fix it if I screw it up. What I need here is pointers/tips or do/don'ts or hell even encouragment . Since its my first time I want it to be a wonderful experience lol Thanks in advanced guys!
Tex Smith has a book on chopping tops that is great. There are some Top Chop articles on a VW site that are pretty interesting. http://www.runtrod.com/articles-roof.html good luck
I have the Tex Smith's Chop Tops book, read it cover to cover twice and will be by my side through the whole thing. I'll read through the site too though, thanks.
chooped a couple of cars all i know is make sure u brase it up good on the inside. and all gaps stay good as well
brace it well and chop it a few times in your head first! try to think a few steps ahead, (if i cut this here what s this gonna do??) like when you cut the last piece of the pillars and wonder why the roof fell on ya?? (i haven't forgot that part yet!) line your doors up well, before you begin, be consistent on your gaps. i like to use masking tape on the pillars to keep my cuts straight and clean. take your time and keep us posted!!!
You can see what I did here. Study and I'll be happy to answer any questions. I would do a few things different if I had it to do over, but I guess that would apply to any job like this. I still need to finish weld everything and put the door frames back on. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127505
Thanks for the input guys, we started chopping today. Im only working on it in my spare time at work when were slow so theres not telling how long it will take to finish. We did however spend a lot of today on it. I marked everything out, braced it, and got it ready to chop before lunch, went and had some BBQ and came back and started cutting. My boss actually helped me more than I thought he would. It was supposed to be just me chopping his truck but he helped me cut quite a bit. We got everything cut and filed and set back in place, got the back of the roof tacked back on and braced up. We got the front of the roof tacked on and braced up as well and then ran out of time. Everything is looking good so far(especially for my first), all the cuts are lining up nicely. We cut the tops off the doors and just hung them, to get them off the stands in the shop until next time we can work on it. I left my camera at work tonight, but I will post a couple pics when I get my camera tomorrow.
this might help?? this was for an old tech week http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=186306
Awesome, wish I had donor doors like you said. I will just have to make the filler peice. Thanks for the tech article.
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