planning a 5.5 or 6 in.chop on my 30 ford coupe,is it best to chop with the doors on?i see some take out there chop lower on the door post then in the back of the car,what about the visor,should i tack it on along with the top wood?just some simple ? i have,this will be my first time(virgin)
chop saw, or if you want a hand saw to be more careful with, itll take more time but the chop will be cleaner... just my two cents, good luck luke
I took the doors off and did them later, get the big part done with the doors off, easier to line up the posts, etc. with them out of the way. Use tape to mark out where your chop is going to go. I then used a jig saw to do most of the cutting. Make the top cut first. And like was said already brace and cross brace real good. Think about how you are dealing with the wood around the windows, etc. You don't need the visor while chopping, so keep it out of the way til you are finished. Don't line up all your chop lines. Look for where the beads around the windows are the same width, etc. Are you sure you want to chop it that much? Red
Quinton, are you planning to keep the top hinge or no? There are a couple considerations. 1: Scribe a line so that you've got something to match the door top up with when it goes back on. OR 2: Tacking the door to the body to keep things in place. Also, this is common sense and judging by your past work... I'm sure you got this but cut on the same side of marked lines... by that I mean don't go above the line on one side and below it on the other. Makes for extra work.
Whats up brent,i think i will keep my top hinge,just need to see how they hang after the chop,i am going to tack it with my mig and finish with my tig,need to learn on something,i think i will lay out my chop and scribe my lines with ****m sprayed on the body,mark my doors also and take them off and chop them off the car,getting closer...
i'm interested in this thread. i'll have many similar questions when i chop my coupe, as i've never done it before. feel free to keep the information flowing guys.
I would take the doors off and chop the body, then chop the doors to match. It's much easier to get the doors to fit the body than it is to get the body to fit the doors. Also there's just more space to work with the doors off of the car and out of the way.
Any tips on tiging my top,was planing on 1/16 tungstung,.045 70s2 rod or do you like 1/16 rod better?
take your time, the metal is like 22 gauge real easy to burn through either rod will work i like 1/16 that's my personal prefferance.Follow what zombie said take the doors off first then fit them to the body vs. tacking them to the car then trying to line everything up.Some guys take the inner support structure out,then weld in the skin from the inside then reweld the structure back in,sounds like alot of work to me,haven't done it that way as of yet.
My advice would be to try to find some .030 ER70S2 rod. It doesn't require as much heat to melt it and you'll have less of a chance to blow through the parent metal. Use the .045 anywhere you have a little larger gap to fill. 1/16'' Tungsten is good...I use 2% thoriated. Good luck!
Where are you getting the 030,i cant find it anywhere?Are you running wide open and running the heat with the pedal or running less amps for safty sake?Im just learning this tig welding,its something i will get,but any help is good,not that many people in my area even have a tig
JMTC, but I think 6"" is too much chop for an A coupe. My '31's chopped 4" and I am short and the seats are on the deck and there's not all that much head room. Plus, you put the visor back on, now you've got about 7" to look out of. Even with a "prism" you'll have a hard time seeing traffic lights.
i left the doors on and scribed a line around the door.then drill and used a cleco to hold the top of the door in place. it definitely helped.
I see some choped 6 inches that have a better corner window profile,is it best to chop in the center of the rear and side windows or as it looks to me chop a little lower than center
If I ever chop an A coupe I am going to try to move the lower rear quarter window curve to the top of the other side of the car, and vice versa....and put the uppers on the bottom Make some printer pics of a coupe and cut them and do the swap to see what I mean.
I wouldn't do 6" either, 4 to 4 1/2 is going to look the best anymore than that is just to much, just my .02
I did mine 5" with the doors off and really like the look, but you have to split the doors around the gl*** area because they are slightly tapered. I gutted my gas tank and cut out my dash rail because I used a 38 ford dash and spread the bottom about 3/4" then welded in the gas tank, without the bottom it spreads fine. The front windshield is slightly tapered . Just center up the windshield frame and all looks good.
This is one I did(also first)It was also chopped 6".I cut the center out of the quarter windows,and stepped up,and cut the center out of the rear.
i chopped mine 5.5 with the doors on just because they opened, closed, and latched. i would really suggest taking your time with the cuts though. i could have been more carefull and ended up paying in the end. good luck!
I chopped my '31 coupe 5". Had planned all along to do 6" but honestly I think 5" is proportioned the best. Just braced it all (with the doors still hung) and cut it, welded it back up and off you go. -Dean
went 5.5 instead of six,has anyone cut header or is it best to just squeeze in the a post and add a few pie cuts?lots of little pie cuts to make evetything line up
I squeezed the a pillar to line up the outside,and then pie cut it to line up the inside pieces.Got any pics?
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