Well everyone I have a project!!! It's a 34 Ford pickup cab and I have a few basic ideas and wanted to throw them off those who have more experience in the area. I'm good with racecars just not 100% sure where to start on this one haha. Here's what I do know, it'll be flat black, loved the look before it caught on and everybody was doin it. I'm thinking a 6 inch chop and some holes in the visor. Now the ch***is I'm prolly goin to do 2x3 or 2x4 .125 wall rec tube. What do you guys think, would the 2x4 be overkill? It will have a SBF, I would love to build a 331 strocker for it but I'm thinking a 306 is more in line according to the budget. I have a T-5 transmission out of a fox body mustang just cause I want to slam the gears myself. Dropped axle in the front and would love to pick up a quick change but I have a feeling a ford 9 inch will find its way under the rear. (Going to have to bug my racing buddies on the quick change tho!!!) Now heres where I'm needing help. I like the way the early rods looked chopped and I lik them low, but I'm 6'3" and since it's getting chopped I DO NOT want to channel it. A Z'd frame is what I'm prolly going to do but I want the thing to have a rake that gives it that street brawler look that I want. So how much would be a good amount to Z the frame? I want it to look kinda like a cartoon truck full of piss and vineager. It will have big and littles with stickies on the rear. Like I said I'm open to any suggestions and I'm a broke 23 year old so if you have anything that might be useful taking up garage space let me know. I want to make them other young guys in their ricers regret building their 4-bangers one light at a time!!!! Thanks everybody
A 6" chop with no channel is going to be tough with your height. I chopped my cab 3" & am channeling it 5" & I'm 5'10." My sight line is in the middle of the windshield opening. I think you'll find that your head will hit the roof. Before you go cutting anything, read some of the previous posts concerning this subject. There are other problems with such a severe chop in these cabs, such as the windshield frame not lying down properly between the posts (necessitating trick surgery). This subject is also covered in previous posts. Just do some research before you pull the trigger & sleep on it.
I am 6'3" also and my truck has about a 3" chop and a 3" channel. Leg room is the bigger problem for me. 30's P/U cabs just don't have any unless you can get the seat up off the floor. I wanted low as well so I have over 20" kick in the rear and 4" in the front with a raised suicide perch and a 4" drop axle. Just Mock EVERYTHING up before you cut Anything! My coupe looked cool but I hit my head on every bump!
I totally agree,mock everything up before you chop it.Make a roller of it,get your stance,wheel/tire combo,and everythung else your wanting to go for,and then hack it.Nothing would be worse than getting it almost done,and realizing it will be so uncomfortable,you can't hardly drive it.(unless its going to ride on a trailer) Where are the pics?
I would get everything mocked out and a game plan before you start tearing into it. If you get an idea as a chop, think about it for a few weeks. You might grow out of it. For a local site for ford racing parts and random ********ting check out stlmustangs.com. There are a lot of young guns from stl on here, so you will fit in well. Also, where are those pics?
just sized up the w/s 6" chop will give you 5" center 7" on the sides. thats alot for a guy whos 6'3". i`ve owed one my self im 5'5" my seat was 12" from floor and stock height roof, let a buddy of mine drive it once hes 6'1" he could steer with his knees.its your truck do what you please, but if you go to far theirs on comeing back. for the frame i`d go with 2x3, got a friend with a full 2x3 ch***is under his vega does high 9's in the1/4 . he built the frame 25 years ago.
im 6'-2" and this i chopped 6" with no channel. if you make your own seat that has a thin back its pretty comfortable. when i was mocking this one up for stuff i just used a 2" pad against the rear of the cab. the owner who is alot shorter than me put a glide in it which makes it pretty tight for me now
Build the frame like you want... then chop it last. Cause once you get the cab mounted and a seat mounted you'll know where the top of your head is and that will tell you how much you can chop it.... Keep some progress photos coming also!
is a stock frame out of the question? setting up on a stock frame chopped a couple/few inches fenderless with big wide stickies & the box shortened a tad would look gooooood!
Be different. Run a stock ch***is and either dont chop or chop 2-3 inches at the max. I am 6'3" and have plenty of legroom and headroom in my 34. I wouldn't change my stance and overall look for anything else. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/petejoe/34%20Ford%20Pickup/Rellacar1.jpg
thanks for all the ideas guys. we have a set of model a rails at the house but i want to eventually put in a motor with some ummpfh behind and i'm not sure the stock rails could take the abuse. my dads 33 is chopped 4 inches and i can fit in it pretty comfy with the seat he made in it so i dunno. i noticed another post with a 32 that was chopped 5 inches and that looked pretty good. i appreciate the input i'm getting keep coming. I'll put some pics up of the cab when i bring it home this weekend or next week
What about a progressive chop? Like 5 inches in the front and maybe 4 inches in the rear of the cab? Been flipping thru some hot rod magizines and noticed some cars like that. What do you think a 34 for truck would look like chopped like that?
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