I started by taking out the complete B Pillar, and Door Top. Then I drilled out the spotwelds on the Driprail under the Cutline. I cut the A pillar lengthwise, and I took a piece out on the inside ( Windshield Side ) and a bigger one on the outside ( Driprail Side ). After that I cut the C Pillar and took 5" off it, and I sliced off the side, 3" above the Driprail over the whole length of the Roof. I took 5 5/8" off the bottom of the A Pillar Driprail ( = 4" Vertical ). And mocked up the side, with the B Pillar clamped in place. More later...
I have a way of overcomplicating shit.. I try and keep the 1/4 windows as long as possible, visually. To try and match the Door Glass better. That is why I almost allways lean the B pillars foreward, and I keep the back corner of the 1/4 Window Glass sharp ( not rounded off, like it used to be...) Thanks guys...
im gettin all ancy now!.......im running around the house trying to find my ol lady saying,...."babe quick come here and look"........ the rear 1/4 window looks great, i know that was a concern we talked about...and i think its gonna really come out good, hell i told you i trusted you!....let me know when its safe for me to come by and drool a little ....
id probably get to this point and wonder what the hell i got myself into.. looks good keep up the good work
Some more Pics. Side tack welded in place. B Pillar tack welded in, and the corners from the B Pillar to the 1/4 Window pieced together.
alex, you seem to be moving along pretty quickly, should i still plan on coming down to pull my dash out?...or should i just wait till your done with the car?....and if i can come and grab it when would be a good day?
Sometime next week will be fine... give me a call. Or you can leave it in there, does it hold the column up?
hey alex, just got off the phone with Mike.....he said you guys are pulling the 49 caddy fast back in next after mine?....whooooo that is gonna be a ruff chop,..but its gonna look absolutely siiiiiiick! fast back chops are the next "in" thing. oh and yeah it does hold the column, i will come by this week and we will talk it over looks great!
nice...im a bit lost in what your doing, but im sure it will come together great. do you cut it like that to keep the angle of the glass in the stock position? I see the 1/4 window is shaped differently too. Either way, the chop looks bitchen, I cant wait to see the roof come down to meet the rest of the car.
that looks real good. I haven't chopped anything but I always wondered about chops where the roof remains in one piece other than removing rear glass frame, I guess some can be done like that, but this looks like the real way to chop I'm guessing you're going to split the roof or roll out the crown?? to blend the countours to the doors,quarter,windshield can't wait for more pictures.
That makes perfect sense. You dont see many of them addressing that issue. Nice work as said before.!
Hey metalshapes, looking in your truck chop thread you said something about soft welds that you can hammer smoth (couldn't grasp the whole thing) what does that mean, how do you do it. where can I go other than picking your brain to learn about the process you use for the metal weld/finish part.
I'd like to get inside your brain and see how it works .....I ve seen a lot of ways around the barn ,but thats different Man.......Ha!
Its the type of welding that makes the difference. A Mig Weld is a lot harder and more brittle than a Oxy Acetylene Weld. You can do quite a lot of Hammering and Shaping to a Mig Welded area, but its tough to move the Metal and it might crack. O/A Welding heats a bigger area and it warps a lot more than Mig or Tig but by Hammering the Weld before it cools down ( which stetches it ), you counteract the shrinkage which causes the Warp. I'm guessing Hammering the Metal while its still Red Hot makes it stronger too. Sofar all the welding I've done to this car was done with the Mig. I still use that for Tacking everything in place, and for parts of the skin that I can't reach from the back. (You need to Hammer the Metal into a Die to stretch it...)
Wow, never seen a chop where the window frames were chopped before the turret/roof, cool. What happens ta the cat walk behind the rear window? Does it get slid foward , for a business coupe kinda look, or flolded down Dick Dean style? Kool chop!
Very nice. I'm anxious to see the rest of the operations. It's interesting that you are taking this approach with the top. I am helping a friend do chop in a very similar way, but on a completely different kind of car. Looks good so far. Chris
I've done a Chevy pretty much the same way. 4" out of the Front and 6 out of the rear, if I remember right... And I layed the Rear window flat on that one as well ( I'll do that on the Shoebox too...)
hey ,metalshapes do you have anymore pictures of the chevy I got a 51 and would like to get a better idea on how to chop it .
Sure... But they are Photos, so I'll have to scan them. Give me a day or so. Later in the week I'll have some more pics of the Shoebox too...
Dadgum it Alex. Quit making me lose sleep over not having my car in your hands yet. As usual, it looks like it will be another quality chop. Here is a pic of that Chevy as it sits now.
After shortening the A and C Pillar, I tacked it back in. Cut the B pillar to size, tacked it in as well. Widened the Headerpanel, clamped it to the A Pillars. Clamped the top of the Pass Side Door in place. So I could check the Height of the Windshield, and how it compares to the height of the Door Glass ( The Windshield is Chopped 1" less than the Doorglass, 3" instead of 4" vertical...) And check all the angles.
The Jalopy Journal
