You doing a great job man. I wish I can pull off some good work like you have on yours. Now stop that crying and get back to work!
Well I had originally planned on finishing the chassis before I chopped the car, but I have no cash right now. So I figured I might as well chop the car because it will allow me to continue making progress without having to spend money. so I took the glass out and braced up the body to keep it from warping. and hacked the roof off Removed the appropriate amount and threw the roof back on. had to cut out the package tray/catwalk and move it forward about 6 inches to line back up with the rear window. decided that was enough for one day, turned everything off and went home, came back up this morning and started fresh. cut and sectioned the top of the door and b pillar, decided that leaned pillars would make the car look better than straight up and down like stock. I still have a ton of work to do but it came out real decent for my first chop and no guidance from anyone.
Greetings Big Redd if you got some extra parts left from the rolled over car, we got a 15yr looking for a few items for his 53. Were down state.
Thanks I'll get his pops working on it...they got the 216 back in and firing on Friday...I know they need a right air tube the battery ate theirs. The boys were seam sealing the under carriage where all the new panels were welded in sunday.
Graduated back in may finished up the passenger side today, post before. and after some metalworking, I still have to do some work on the upper bodyline to where I am happy with it. got the inside plated up and welded. and wire wheeled the rear glass channel.
This was my first chop. I did it myself with no guidance from anyone with the exception of my girlfriend who just helped lift off the roof. Just take your time. I have about 30 hours into it at this point, By the time i'm done id estimate to have around 100 or so.
If they are looking for an upgrade I will be selling the drivetrain 235/3sp out of this car as well. Hell Ill give you the whole rolling chassis/rear end/motor for a reasonable price. Ill have no use for it, Id hate to scrap it.
started on the drivers side today, but before I could do the top of the door/b pillar I had to address door sagging when opening/ closing due to the beat door hinges, to be expected on a 60 year old car. Luckily the ones on the parts car were perfect. yanked out these and threw them in the scrap pile. with some help from this and a BFH. while the hinges were off I cleaned up the door jamb. mint with the door shutting like new again I got started on the pillar/door. Ill finish them up tomorrow.
now that the door closes nice, I decided I wasn't happy with the gap so I tightened it up. after spending a few hours on that I finished up the pillar/ top of the door. once again after a couple more hours it was time to do the C pillar. stock and after also got about 75% of the catwalk done, this took forever but allowed me to practice my hammerwelding. Im very happy with the lines of the car now that both sides are done. Visibility seems decent too.
First a throw back to 2 years ago this weekend when I dragged this monster home. and I was able to get a couple hours in tonight and finish up the chop. I have to say Im extremely happy with the final result. Ill be peicing together the next body mod this week so stay tuned for that.
What I admire most about this build is that you chopped the rear window. Everyone and their mom always cuts out the rear window just to chop the rest and have a full sized layed back rear window. But you chopped yours. That's the purpose of chopping a top, so that all windows are chopped too. Great work on this build.
decided to tackle another body mod tonight, wasnt exactly too sure on how or what I needed but after looking around the scrap pile at the shop I found exactly what I needed. started with a couple expansion plugs, drilled a hole for the antenna, and a second hole for a drain which I stepped for a snug fit got some exhaust pipe that matched, welded the bottoms on and JB welded some drains on which will eventually be hooked up to hoses to prevent the antenna holes from filling with water. fast forward a couple hours later, after drilling two rather large holes in the top of the quarter panel and after some ( a ton) metalworking with the antennas
Looks good. Did you ever decide on a bumper? I like option 3, with the splash pan modified to fit. Your metal work looks great. You have a great eye for detail and a ton of patience. Keep up the good work.
nice antennas. way better than mine. i used a old shock part to do mine. it had the main hole in it and the right size and lenght. just had to add drain.
quick thanksgiving update from the last few weekends. I finally got my laptop fixed so I can go into more detail. quick peak back from the start of the frame build The center crossmembers that I made and decided to run the exhaust through. epoxied the floors and with the frame, ignore the torque tube, thats getting thrown out but I needed it to keep the car movable. outside I decided to Z the front frame 2 1/4" to give more clearance for the car to lay on the center of the frame and not so much on the front control arms. plated both sides with 3/16" plate threw the motor and trans back in after I finished the mounts for good. I started figuring out my front drive setup, going with a GTO LS2 a/c compressor, a CTSV alt/bracket and a 2013 caprice powersteering setup to keep all of the stuff down low and out of sight. front brakes on. and tested all of clearance, I cant wait to see this thing with the ass end on the ground too.
The Jalopy Journal
