Chopping a 40 Chevy help?

ok. So last night, I watched that hot rodding is dead video that darby made. And it was like 11, and I thought to myself that I'm a lazy SOB. So I decided I'd go ahead and chop this thing in my front yard.

I've done quite a bit of research via the hamb on chopping cars. But I'm still not so sure it's right so heres some pictures

im taking 3 vertical inches out of it to start. I think its going to need atleast 1 more but id rather take more out than have to put more back in.

heres my pictures. Help me out.

a piller is getting 4 and 1/16


b piller is getting 3 and 5/8s


and heres my planned cut for the quarter window cut out


i dont have a picture of the back window but its nothing special. Im cutting at the lower body line below it and 3 inches above the window taking the whole thing out. and laying it down.

 

Search the tech archives for Cleatus' '40 Chevy chop ***led, "A fool chops at home." That's the baddest '40 in the land!!

And if you haven't, don't forget to mark the center of the back gl*** surround before you cut it out.

Bryan

 

i marked the center of the back gl***, im going to check out that 40 right now

 

Hey,

Your 4''+ outa the A posts is alot of a drop! The GMs of this era start to look alittle fat and sat on lookin' with a heavy chop! What are your plans for the Sail panel area cuts, step cut, relief cut?? Time spent in the planning of this area of the chop can save a major p.i.t.a. later! I've never been a big fan of doing cut layout over painted or rusted metal. You never know what you'll find under old paint and rust, and in the middle of a cut is no time to find out about it! DA back all the areas of your planned cuts and fab areas and you will have metal that is easy to ''read'' whyle forming and easy to weld.

Good luck.

S****ey Devils C.C.
"Spending A Nation Into Generational Debt Is Not An Act Of Comp***ion!"

 

all cuts will be sandblasted, before i cut it. last night i couldnt fire up the compressor and blaster, neighbors would get pissed

 

How about taking two inches of vertical out of that w/shield and stand back and see how it looks?? You can always take out more. You won't have much of an opening left with four and a sixteenth gone.

 

the windsheild will still be 10 inches tall. if i take 4 and 1/16 out.

 

Hey,

After the " Wow-Factor'' wares off, 10'' ain't much to see outa! That's probably okey, if you're under six feet tall and/or plan on sittin on the floor.

'33-'48 2dr GMs require a good deal of thought and skill to do well in a chop. The turret top has alot of changes in shape in a small area and must be handled with a good eye for flow and scale. Are you planning to add a filler strip of metal to cover the roof panel stretch, lean the A posts back or cut out the B posts, move them foward and add filler metal?

S****ey Devils c.C.
"Spending A Nation Into Generational Debt Is Not An Act Of Comp***ion!"

 

Im cutting and leaning the rear window forward. The b pillar is getting cut out of the roof section and moved back. theres a guy named chop i think on here with a early 50s pontiac that he did that to and i loved It. Roofs already cut off. a pillars are already tacked back into place. and the proportions look great with a 10 inch windsheild. Working on the rear of the car today.

 

More pics then please!!

 

heres one for now, ill post more tonight once the window and stuff is laid down and tacked in

 

I like the way you used the engine hoist..good idea

 

the engine hoist ****s. it really does
but you do what you gotta do
ive got tons of hot rod buddies. no one was free to help and i was gonna get something done no matter what.

but the engine hoist doesnt lift evenly and it pulls. it took about an hour with the damn ratchet straps to get everything to level up.

 

Looks good so far. Can't wait to see more pics.

 

heres some more shots some from last night the rear window stuff is from today


ignore the rusty *** peice of metal clamped to it. Im gonna go buy some 18g tomorrow. steel house isnt open today

 

heres a few more
the profile starting to take shape


close up of the quarter window (im going to cut all that exess pie cut stuff off. I just did that to get the right radius)


starting the driver side


over all i got a **** load of stuff done today. Not quite where i wanted to be. But i can live with it. i wanted to get the quarter windows totally tacked in place. So that tomorrow i could just start setting the rear window/roof line exactly where i want it and build that filler panel.

 

looks like its lining up good

 

looks good from here!

 

Amazing how **** gets done when you are insprired.....lol.......looking good so far I can not wait to see it outside

 

hahah it is outside.

my garage consists of a dirt floor, ez up, and a shop light zip tied to the ez up, and about 4 100 foot extension chords. Gets the job done though

 

Looks good! Everything seems to be fiting right so far. Keep up the good work. Now I think I am lazy, Thanks alot!

 

Hey that looks pretty good - I like the new 1/4 window shape.

 

thanks man. I actually used your thread for a lot of the info on doing this thing. I actually ended up going about 6 and 1/4 in the rear. But i like the over all look. I had to take a break to clean the house today. But ill be back on it tomorrow

 

Hey,

Why not hire a little spanish thing to come over and clean your house whyle you keep focus on the chop project.......on second thought, disregard that advise! My buddy did that and it wound up being pretty hard on his marriage, the chop never got finished either!

Don't kid yourself about only havin' an outdoor, simple shop! Big shops may be good for the ego, but unless you're makin' money off of every square foot of 'um, they will eat you for lunch!
The chop looks great! Good luck.

S****ey Devils C.C.
"Spending A Nation Into Generational Debt Is Not An Act Of Comp***ion!"

 

haha thanks man. I don't need a big shop but i wouldn't mind a garage of some sort, at least enough to pull a car in and have a good size table next to it. Then I would get a lot more done. A lot of the motivation loss comes from having to haul everything out there when i want to work (i live in a duplex, in the back house) welders, chop saws, tables, all that ****s heavy and a pain in the ***.

A buddy of mine helped me out the other day now hes on the prowl for a 53/54 chevy So once he finds it ill get another chop under my belt. Since this one isn't going to be a runner for a while

 

Brandon, I'm doing a little side work on Sunday, but should be done late morning. If you need some help with anything give me a buzz. The chop looks *****in! Maybe we should chop my business coupe a little huh!, andrew

 

the business coupe needs a hair cut for sure. It will be easier than the Chevy even I think.

i could use any help i can get. ill be working on it sat/sun

 

Looks great man!! Keep it up!! I'm planning on buying a late 30's early 40's chevy next! They're awesome customized...... Best example, Cleatus!! One of the best cars on here!!

Ian

 

yeah his cars really sick. I got a lot of the chop help from his build thread. It has good info on where to cut and why. I hope that when my cars done it can compare to it.

Ive got a few tricks up my sleeve too. Im going to make a build thread here pretty soon and give away some of my ideas for the build and see how that goes.

 

The chop is coming out real nice, good job. Keep those pics coming, I cant wait to see the chop finished on this one.