Hey y'all, Since I'm away from my 50 for a little bit, I'm thinking about what would be cool for body modifications. It is a four door. which i like. but its not really kustom just modified. Now what i was thinking was (once all the suspension and motor things are sorted out) would be to chop the top and suicide the rear doors. which brings up another question. the rear edge of the rear door isn't a straight line because of the rear fender. which would mean either one super strong hinge or two hinges about 2" apart. Is there anything out there that would work? or does anyone have an idea on how to make one?
Have you looked at these yet http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/autoloc/product.l***o?prodinc=suicidedoors
yes it is... good call. so is the p***enger fender and door. theres a slight difference in grille opening from 49 to 50 so theres a 1" or so gap on the drivers side but I'll make somthing work.. maybe a different grille or.... idunno. i dont really have any good ideas other then the roof chop and rear suicide door. hence the start of this thread. and chilly, autoloc has a premade kit for the 2 door but no 4 door and i don't know if their independant hinges next to each other would be strong enough for those heavy doors.
FYI - when the front door of a 4 door opens in the standard way, and the rear door opens suicide style, it is referred to as having "kissing doors". Easy to figure out why.
I used to be concerned about my '50s body, but decided suicide just wasn't the answer. Just kept going. Worked on the car and got it on the road, then found out there are a lot worse '50s bodies then mine. Still, my 60's are around the corner and I suppose I should start thinkng about getting some exercise if I'm gonna be around to have a '70s body. Hang in there.
ok kissing doors it is. I've also thought of removing the B pillars. like most of the 4 door extra cab pickups (and of course the 4 door Lincolns of the 60's) now in my head this would work and i would relocate the latches to the floor and roof. what would i have to do to the cab of the car, if anything after removing the b pillar to bring structural integrity back?
You're going to be doing some incredibly serious and longterm work for darn little return on that 50 Plymouth 4door sedan. When the doors are closed no one will know you spent the time doing it and when they're open most won't even know they didn't come that way. Better to go with a subtle chopped top and a little lowering job, a striking interior, grille change, taillamp change, bumper changes and leave the doors alone. My humble opinion.
I think your right.. except i don't want to leave the doors alone I've already decided that if this car gets "done" in the next 10 years I'll be happy and I've never really done things for others.. its for me
I was thinking what I should do with my 50's body also...but do not have enough cash for the major plastic surgery....lol...oh you meant a car body....
So why are you asking here for ideas...your mind is already made up !!!! Side bet on the 10 years..make it like 20...........
You can use 49 front fenders to fill that gap. One suggestion might be to move the B pillar back a ways. Extend the front doors with the front of the rear doors, and hinge them at the relocated B pillar. That gives you a straight edge to work with. Use the remainder of the old rear doors to fill in the rest. At the same time, you could section the body about an inch and a half if you are really ambitious. Don't chop the roof too much. Consider standing the windshield up almost vertical for a 'mean' look.
hey if anyone re-reads this post anyone got any cool ideas on what i could do the grille to make it look more mean? i do like the look of the rectangular 55 chevy grille but the hood overhangs the rectangular grille on my car so i think that look would look goofy. Any ideas from the experts?
not a bad idea.. I've always liked the desoto teeth look too.. and maybe if i made a new grille thicker it would take up the space. hmmmm
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