Chopped 40 Ford draggers..post pics here

Ladyshifter wants her 40 Deluxe chopped after seeing Vern Hammonds in the Choppers new book.......any pics out there? Thanks Skip.

 

here are some pics not all 40 s

 

Thanks man that blue 41 kills me when I see it......awesome.

 

Vern's Chopped coupe is chopped perfectly.
The 40 Ford coupes are very hard to chop just right.





Dave Lindsay took the photos of this famous Purple coupe. Very nice, but to me it could have been chopped a littel more in the rear.





Heavy chop and 41-48 Ford rear window installed...
Also notice the rounded trunk corners which help with the flow of the top into the trunk lines.



With angled back windshield and raised front fenders (sectioned hood)




Another perfectly chopped coupe and this time with an real 40's look by removing the drip rail and rounding the door corners

 

Thanks Rik....I knew you would shine in.

 

Noooooooooo I'm going to sneak into your shop and hide the sawzall.

 

That tall stuff is nice and all that but.......

I still like a real chops......

I know ''How do you see outta that??!!''

I don't f'n care...........

 

This one was my Uncle's. The picture was taken in 59. He cut the car in 56-57. You don't see too many hard topped 40's. The rear window was from a 46 and the drip rails are shaved. Wish I could find this thing!

 

You aren't asking for opinions (cut or not) but I just gotta say, of all the cars Henry built, the 40 coupe is THE MOST PERFECT DESIGN in the bunch. Chopping one is very risky.....a ton of work to make it right....(IF you get it right) The majority of cut 40's have been ruined. Why mess with perfection? Get your hands on every copy of Rodders Journal....study em...then decide before you cut. I love my sawzall, but there is a line I dont cross.

Here's another idea...trade it for a 39/40 merc...then cut to your hearts content. They make a much better taildragger and easier chop.

 

Hatch

I haven't seen any ruined 40's here so far.

Your right some things are a bunch easier to ruin than others

I we all followed the ''God don't do that'' rule the frikin' world wouldn't have a HAMB

Oh & For the record ..... I don't do anything like ''Rodders Journal''

How shocking? ........ no too

 

Scott Guildner chopped vern's coupe. He is right out there near you.

Good guy too.

http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_...s/scott-guildner-customs/verne-hammond-1940-/

 

What model/year is that gold one?

 

That gold thing...? That's a Chevrolet

 

Bob Creasman's 40 is my all time favorite, the guy that owns it lives in the next town over. younger guy and he drives the hell out of the car.

http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_...stom_cars/40s_-_50s_built_40/bob_creasman_40/

 

I'm in love with that green standard rikster posted with the rounded door corners and such. Perfect.

 

Here's a chopped 40 coupe Photoshop. Not a taildragger though.

.

 

This is though.

If you do this, approach it very carefully. The side windows are a real problem area, with the proportions.

 

they kind of gloss over the topic in one of the "Barris Kustoms of the 1950's" books. Ill look for it to scan.

 

This side shot gives you an idea of the 1/4 window treatment on my 40

Remember this was done to ''fit'' lakes rules not a custom

This is a 50% chop (b-post is 6" tall) but still works.

 

Sorry but I got to say it that car is spoilt by the roof, love the rest not the roof

 

The purple one belongs to my friend Rev. Scrub. To get the hood to fit, it had to be cut every which way. '40 hoods never fit from the factory.

 

I disagree....bad looking 40's include....shaving drip rails...filling the quarter gl***. Some of the pics look OK, but not worth the effort. Have you ever finished a chop?...And by finished I mean, smooth and shiny? Chop an egg and make it look better.


Of the thousands of makes and models thru time, the 40 coupe is the ONLY car I wouldn't cut, which still leaves thousands of potential victims for my sawzall......I've seen one forty coupe that, if I can find a pic, I'll post it. Sam Foose did it maybe twenty years ago. Great proportions, angled B pillar....just enough cut for good design as far as the 1/3 to 2/3 concept is concerned....but still not worth the effort to cut a perfect design and TRY to make it better.

I'm big on proportions, and as much as I LOVE radical chops on certain cars.....the forty with a "bonneville" cut looks bad....as in bad, not good. They never were salt flat cars, and that is where that look originated...and THAT is tradition...true history....and I love it.


I can't be swayed on this...period....cut it if he must....it's his car.

 

Scrubs car looks just fine....one of my favorites if cutting is absolutely necessary. It follows my thoughts that the car looks like it had a "Good day on the ***embly line".....just enough chop to make people scratch their heads. Kinda like George Poteets Deuce, with what I remember as one inch cut. Also a deserving car for TRJ.

 

Found it....credit to Rik...hope ya don't mind

Sam Foose's 40

 

Sam Foose built 40 Ford
Lots of subtile chopping and use of much longer sedan doors. I always liked it.

 

Funny that the Foose coupe is pictured next to a '38 Chevy coupe. I think the only right way to chop a '40 Ford coupe is to give it a bit of backward slant, as evident in a stock '38 Chevy. All others look goofy, because the door gl*** is too short and a forward-ish chop makes them look even shorter.

 

Hatch... you beet me to it with a few seconds


Here is a photoshopped three window I did a few weeks ago.
Chopped top, more in the rear. Extended doors (sedan doors) with leaned fore ward B-pillars and raked windshield.




And one I did for Nate's Art Chalenge...

Hard-topped and 1940 Mercury side window trim

 

Heeeeyyy! that's a 39 Mercury side window(no vents) . I'm not a fan of deviating from the original body mold, but they do look interesting.

Ken

And....The top dark green (Great color!) has Lincoln Zephyr style to it, with the 3 window mod.

 

a bit ot....

I have always loved the 39-40 Ford coupes a lot and I have built several 1/25 scale models with chopped tops in different styles.
The chop on these has always intreaged me a lot. So much work need to be done to get them just right.
After building a few models of them and studying countless 1/1 chopped coupes you can only admire the work of Scot Guildner and a few others who have - in my opinion - succeeded in perfectly chopping the top on these great looking cars as they came from the factory.

Here are a few of my 1/25 scale model samples.

First one built many years ago in a Hard-topped style. Lots of rake on the A and C-pillars






And this is the last one I did a few years ago. mild chop with leaned back windshield. one inch longer doors. chopped more in the rear with leaned foreward C-pillar and a sectioned roof for better proportions.

At the beginning of the project...



Almost ready for primer




And with pollished primer...








And one with skirts