Ive had the idea in my head for a little. Me and my friend have looked and looked and have found out were to make the cuts and a 4 inch chop. Both of us have never done a chop and both would like to experience doing one. Has anybody on here chopped a 60's car and what are some of the struggles we would deal with if we go thru with this? We already can have the glass cut by somebody we know, but the only downfall is weve never chopped anything before except model cars! So i would like to get the most feedback before i go and mess anything up! Thanks Nate
Find something easier...like a square-bodied thirties car or a shoebox (as in Ford)...try to stay away from curved glass...it's not the chop that's the difficult part of the problem, it's getting everything to fit back into it...and look like it belongs there and no one messed with it. Just my nickle's worth... R-
There is a thing called the "HAMB chop" that goes on every once in a while. Maybe you would be a good candidate for the "victim" this year. Basically a bunch of HAMB guys, with skills to spare, get together and lower the lid on a younger fellas car. Free of charge and all that jazz. Maybe there could be a HAMB chop in your area this year? .....who knows. You'll have to talk with the folks that organized this thing before. Not me... and I'm with the rest of these guys. Chopping is not easy. NOTHING on a unibody car is easy. If you are dedicated though, anything is possible. I wish I could give you some practical advice about the actual procedure. I have only chopped one thing (a scrapped out '48 willys pickup) and it turned out looking like a blind man with a chainsaw chopped it. I can fix it though! I know I can! Good luck! JT
You can do it, don't be affraid. With the Unibody, brace the hell out of it before operating, and understand all your welding to put the top back on may be in constant stress (Unibody)so your welds will be critical. If everything isn't aligned you may get an odd twist to the body under load, {read; cracked glass}. TZ
It's a 4 door? Sure, cut the roof off. That'll make it easier to get at the spare parts you need to use on the 2dr or better, 65 Caliente you replace it with...! Yes, I'm serious as a heart attack. Go ahead and cut it up, put it out of it's "transportation car" misery so you can get on with finding a 2 door to customize. It'll give you the experience of slicing and dicing on a "test case" before you do the "real one". Actually, the older cars with more rounded roofs chop better than the newer flat roof cars becasue they still have a place for your skull after they are chopped even with mail slot windows, whereas if you chop a flat roof radically, you don't have anyplace fir your cranium before you're sitting so low you cna't see over the dash. But go ahead and cut it up, and throw it away when you're done and buy something more appropriate to chop. There were very few four doors ever made that can even come close to being cool, and they all came with suicide rear doors. '61-64 Continental, '57-58 Eldorado Bro-ham, 49-51 Mercury and "baby" Lincoln. that's about it. This has all been a pubic service announcement...
Just my advice... It seems like you keep going around in circles as to what you want to do with this Comet. Gasser, Kustom, Chop. I think if you chop a top on a car that is that rectangular- it would look way too bottom heavy. Is the car running and driving right now? If so, think twice about the possibility of ruining one of the few old cars that New England has left on the road. It really sounds to me that what you want to do is make your Comet (which would be a kickass gasser) into a 50's style custom. My advice would be to keep the Comet as a driver or a fun gasser style driver, and look around to find the car that you really want to be your custom. I know you are young and you just want to DO IT, but other opportunities will come up. Maybe check around the junkyards for bodies that need alot of work. You might find something at the Amherst swap meet this summer, or find someone that has something taking up space that you could turn into what you really want. If you just want to practice, you should go find an 80's junker for $50 and practice on that. Good luck with it, whatever you decide.
kool thanks for the tips, that would be awesome if we could do a hamb chop. I would even drive my car someplace to do it! Thanks again Nate
I've only chopped one car, but I don't think I'd ever wanna try doin' a unibody. Everything you'd be cuttin gup is structural and has to aligned perfectly, if it's wrong nothing will fit right, and the car could end p being really unsafe if it was ever in a collision. I don't even like doin frame work on the things. I wouldn't try it, and I'd really hate to see a good early 60's driver end up being undrivable. doin' it 60's style would be the natural thing to me, it being easier is just a plus.
Kool i see were you guys are coming from, i dont think ill chop it, ill try to find a early truck body to practice on or something. Thanks Again Nate
kustomizer- Deyomatic is right on in his advice. Obviously none of know you and what you REALLY want to do, but making this thing into a cool, but not too crazy, driver sounds like the way to go. You know I dig these cars but they really are at thier best as daily drivers that you can cruise with some individuality while you hack apart something more worthy of the effort. Shit, my falcon is all done up and on the road and it's probably not worth as much dollar wise as the non-running big window f-100 that i have been working on for five years now. Falcons and comets are cool but if you go overboard on them it just seems like you don't get it. mild, subtle customs are cool, especially if you know you have better projects in the works. especially with a four door- if its not trying too hard to be something its not, it can be really cool. but it is easy to cross the line into polishing a turd and everyone will look at it and say - nice work, but why?
YoU AlL act like a bunch of pansies Cut the fucker up!! Just make sure you brace it up really good before you cut the top off. If a buddy of mine can cut up a chevette and chop it then someone could cut up a comet. Hell I'm going to cut my 60 up when I get my current chopped car done. Now my 60 isn't a unibody car tho. Measure twice cut once.
Hmmm...that just doesn't seem to be the car to be chopping. See, the thing with chops is that they were originally done to improve the lines of the car. Naturally, when chopping became "cool" people started hacking every damn thing in sight. This ruined the looks of a lot of cars (40 Fords, 55-57 Chev's, a ton of early 60's cars, etc.) Just go the 60's mild custom route Nate. Drop it, put some Astros & skinnies on, shave it, paint it in outrageous flake, and call it good. It's not the right canidate for chopping. If you are hell bent on spending a bunch of money and time on this thing, go the airbag route. It would suit the body style much better.
Yeah, its is lowered and i have 3 4 lug cragar s/s and i need one more then ill get 1 inch whitewalls for it and im going to do the body in a mettalic red and the top in heavy metalflake red with white outline of the body and scallops. I just thought a chop might look kool, but i see were all you guys are coming from! Anybody have one 4 lug, 13 inch cragar s/s they want to sell? Thanks for all the advice Nate
[ QUOTE ] It's a 4 door? Sure, cut the roof off. That'll make it easier to get at the spare parts you need to use on the 2dr or better, 65 Caliente you replace it with...! Yes, I'm serious as a heart attack. Go ahead and cut it up, put it out of it's "transportation car" misery so you can get on with finding a 2 door to customize. It'll give you the experience of slicing and dicing on a "test case" before you do the "real one". Actually, the older cars with more rounded roofs chop better than the newer flat roof cars becasue they still have a place for your skull after they are chopped even with mail slot windows, whereas if you chop a flat roof radically, you don't have anyplace fir your cranium before you're sitting so low you cna't see over the dash. But go ahead and cut it up, and throw it away when you're done and buy something more appropriate to chop. There were very few four doors ever made that can even come close to being cool, and they all came with suicide rear doors. '61-64 Continental, '57-58 Eldorado Bro-ham, 49-51 Mercury and "baby" Lincoln. that's about it. Your such an ASS!! "public Service" more like your opinion that does not help.. Dont chop it Nate, but also dont listen to this guy. Keep it simple... This has all been a pubic service announcement... [/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] YoU AlL act like a bunch of pansies Cut the fucker up!! Just make sure you brace it up really good before you cut the top off. If a buddy of mine can cut up a chevette and chop it then someone could cut up a comet. Hell I'm going to cut my 60 up when I get my current chopped car done. Now my 60 isn't a unibody car tho. Measure twice cut once. [/ QUOTE ] How much unibody cutting and structural splicing have you done? EVERYTHING structural MUST be sleeved, and / or stagger cut. (everything other than sheet metal is STRUCTURAL on a unibody car) This is NOT something that should be done without a thourough knowlege of unibody construction, and collision energy management. Fuck it up, and someone can be killed.
[ QUOTE ] Yeah, its is lowered and i have 3 4 lug cragar s/s and i need one more then ill get 1 inch whitewalls for it and im going to do the body in a mettalic red and the top in heavy metalflake red with white outline of the body and scallops. Anybody have one 4 lug, 13 inch cragar s/s they want to sell? Thanks for all the advice Nate [/ QUOTE ] Sounds like you want it to be a lowrider more than a custom. See if Kojak will lend you his visor.
Tyler, LEND? I think he'd be willing to sell that visor outright by now, what with all the shit he's had to endure!
[ QUOTE ] There were very few four doors ever made that can even come close to being cool, and they all came with suicide rear doors. '61-64 Continental, '57-58 Eldorado Bro-ham, 49-51 Mercury and "baby" Lincoln. that's about it. [/ QUOTE ] Kool is in the eye of the beholder. Like most people I think a flatbad is a lazy fucks way of not buildin' a bed, NOT KOOL but that's just my opinion. Build it like ya want it kid!!!
There isn't enough old stuff left in New England, that is reasonably priced, to play the "Door snob" game there. But suicide rears would be cool as hell on that Comet.
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] There were very few four doors ever made that can even come close to being cool, and they all came with suicide rear doors. '61-64 Continental, '57-58 Eldorado Bro-ham, 49-51 Mercury and "baby" Lincoln. that's about it. [/ QUOTE ] Kool is in the eye of the beholder. Like most people I think a flatbad is a lazy fucks way of not buildin' a bed, NOT KOOL but that's just my opinion. Build it like ya want it kid!!! [/ QUOTE ] You said it, and so did Deyomatic.. I was actually making thinking about suicide rears on my Galaxie..
[ QUOTE ] Like most people I think a flatbad is a lazy fucks way of not buildin' a bed, NOT KOOL but that's just my opinion. [/ QUOTE ] Now wait a damn second! First off, what does this have to do with Kustomizer's Comet.... Secondly....Lay off the flat bed put downs. A flat bed can be made to look DAMN cool. Plus I know of a couple of flat beds with plenty of work put into them.... This "Lazy Fuck" is going to put a flat bed on his '58 Chevy. One reason is the original bed is wasted. Another reason the flatbed is cheaper. A third reason is that it is light. I don't know about you all, but I appreciate cars and trucks that are LIGHT, MEAN, and FAST. Flatbeds ROCK! Later, LAZY FUCK VonTingler. (Dr.J....Are you reading this CRAP?)
A lot of chops never get finished, so if you need our advise on whether to chop it or not, than maybe you are not sure enough and the answer is - Dont chop it... 5 or 10 years from now, are you going to be happy about having a ton of time and money wrapped up in a 4Dr 6Cil ? There are a lot of good reasons not to chop this one, and only one good reason to do it ( if this is your dream car and you absolutely have too...) The car will not be off the road as long if you first hone your skills by doing things like quad headlights and suicide rear doors. And if this car needs rust repair, start with that...
Ha Ha Ha Ha.....Von, I was just thinking about your truck the other day when I was over at my buddy's house playing "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" on his X-box...there's an old 58-59ish looking GM truck with a wooden flatbed in that game...actually lots of 'em at certain points!!! I liberated one from some Lazy Fuck ...picked up a 'working girl'...and terrorized the local citizens for a little while with the old cow-chaser! Not too fast though, and I dunno about LIGHT...it only BARELY cleared the river when I launched it off of a convenient ramp...maybe he used too much wood...or not enough cylinders??? Ha Ha Ha...thanks for lettin' me test-bash your truck, Dude!! (Tech tip...the cop car easily sails over the river...but they take it kinda personal if you go and nab one from an officer who happens to be using it at the time...best to try for a parked one...good luck picking up "company" in it, though!)
Thanks Again for all the feedback. I can see were all of you are coming from and im not going to chop it! Thanks again Nate
[ QUOTE ] Another reason the flatbed is cheaper. [/ QUOTE ] It has everything to do with his post. I would venture to say that is the same reason he has a more door comet (cheaper). He is lookin for inspiration and people like DrJ (flatbed) seem to think because he's got e coupla extra doors his shit ain't worth buildin'. I say flatbeds still suck, build the fuck out of it kid and show 'em all...
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