Customs 41 Ford Business coupe Chop or no Chop

thats some badass work.very nice.

 

My suggestion is Chop it! Saw the picks on ruffrodders nice work lining everything up. you going to fill the license plate piece up?

 

Very nice looking....

 

chopppppppppppppppppppppppp it .......................

 

I like the way this guy thinks.

 

These cars look great with a chop, but only if done properly. A forward slanted b-pillar will make the car look fast standing still, although this will require extra fabrication. Get the proportions right and you will have yourself a car that looks nearly as good as a chopped 41 Plymouth.

 

chop

 

The Blue Collar car had a great roof that was relatively mild, I looked it over at Santa Maria, really liked it. The Lopez Coupe to me is the high water mark here, (And Dragnut's 41 has an identical roof) but they are sedan-coupes, so... as far as a business coupe, I think the contest has not yet been won, but the Paul Bragg '41 biz coupe (at Santa Maria also) may be the one...

 

Oh, yeah- the Snooky Yanich coupe was good... and now that I think about it, the Jack Stewart car was a business coupe...

 

Paul Bragg's work in progress 41....
Fantastic. Click here to see more photos including many in progress photos to see how it needs to be done right!!!
This will be most likely the best ever Custom 41 Business Coupe

SanfordsotherSon Photos

Paul "Snooky" Janich Barris built beauty...






Jack Stewart Ayala/Barris Built Coupe...











It can be done.. and can look awesome.
But this short door coupe is harder to chop right then the longer door Club Coupe. I have seen a lot of bad chops on these, but with the samples shown here, and with Paul Bragg showing every step how to do it... your friends should get it right for you.
Take your time, study and measure, measure again then start having fun cutting it.
I think leaning the windshield frame on this one is a very important step as well. Barris and Paul Bragg did that. But I think the Blue Collar Coupe has still the stock angle. So it will work both ways. I just prefer the more streamlined look of an angled back windshield.

So my vote is Yes Chop it!!!

 

I'm with Keith and Rik on this one, it's hard to beat the look of the '41 that Paul Bragg is putting together. That Blue Collar '42 looks really good too, nice flow and really cool with the drip rail still attached.

So, get it chopped but make sure it gets done in a proper manner.

 

Here is a nice near profile shot of the Blue Collar Coupe... Very nice indeed!

Russ Beckwith Photo

 

Side shot of mine. It's chooped 3 1/2 at the B post more frt and back. Be carefull not to chop it too much and end up with a cartoon car.

 

You guys are absolutely killing it in the custom metal fab department these days.

 

I used to see a cool chopped one in the syracuse area it was orange with flames. My dad was in california in the late 90's and almost bought one for me and i said no but man do the look awsome as a sled

 

It's time to chop chop! Gary

 

Build a hot rod out of it

 

Nice chop Blue Collar PERFECT ,Sweet

 

I would chop mine if I had the skills or the money. I love the pictures of Blue Collar car. I think they look better with the rain gutters.

 

Chop it and LEAVE THE DRIP RAILS ON!!!!

 

i like it the way it is surfast rust and all

 

I'm stoked every body seems to dig the 42 we choped . So there you go you should chop your car.

 

Hi Rik, thanks for the comments on my 41. some food for thought on short door coupes, 40s & 50s style. This is from old school perspective.
#1 Keep reasonable proportions. Don't over chop. Looks cartoonish. Don't under chop. Why bother. #2 windshield posts are way too vertical. Slope back plenty. Whole top must taper to the rear. Never chop more in the front. Keep top of doors even with the belt line. #3 Avoid fast back look!!! #4 Avoid porthole windows. sloped windshield posts help here. #5 avoid slanted B posts. Combined with healthy chop and sloped windshield, top of doors get wierd. #6 Most important I think, no flat areas front to rear or side to side on the back of the top. Maintain center loft and thickness of top above the drip line. See number 3. If not you will end up with a pinched area above and behind the quarter windows. This is the most common problem I see. Rmember I am old school and I am coming from that perspective. If we had left the drip rails on a radically chopped and heavily molded custom car back in the fifties it would have akin to driving Mom's Nash to school. Your buddies would have run you out of town on a rail. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To each his own. I vote to chop it old school!!!!
Carry on, Tinguy

 

Well put, Paul!

 

Well said. What are you waiting for, chop chop..

 

I say go with a mild chop like the Blue Collar car. It has just enough off that it looks cherry, but not too much that you lose Henry's beautiful lines. If you still cant decide, flip a coin! It'll look great either way.

 

I say NO chop. Rod it!

Its yours, but if it were mine......
I would put a drop axle up front and on the rear, a reversed eye spring.
Get a mid 50s Olds engine, tuck and roll interior. Nice paint job.53 Olds Fiesta caps...........your done

 

when i think of one of these chopped i think of the blue one on the first page.. that one is Sweet!

 

This one is in the shop now, souped flathead, no chop. I kind of like the stock look.

 

From what I have read and seen posted so far Anaslime, this is the post to pay attention to for both advice and reference cars. As stated, the Bragg car is for sure the high water mark car of modern short door customs. The Blue Collar car appears to be done very well, but too mild for my liking. Other body styles can benefit from a mild chop, but the 41 to 48 short door seems to beg for a heavy hand in the chop department. Those bodies actually do make great unchopped mild customs. Of course, I am a fan of the long door(not too surprising-ha!). Rik is a maniac about customs, and that is a good thing. Go thru his site, and then do it again. Remember that its all been done before, and very well at that. Good luck.
D.