chopping my dodge roof

so i'm about to chop off the roof of my 50 dodge meadowbrook.can anyone who has removed the roof of a 4 door offer me any advice?i think we have some good placement for the braces,but the main problem is how far above the windshield to cut.heres a few pics of the car in question..thanks

 

I had a 49 dodge coronet 4door that I cut the top off of. The only bracing I did was at the bottom of the b pillars to make sure the didn't get out of wack and mess up my door alignment. I would suggest beefing up your frame rails between the front and rear wheels because I did experiance alittle flex when I jacked the car up.

 

thanks man,i wouldn't have even thought about that.any pics of that 49?love to see it

 

Looks like a nice car, how come you want to cut the roof off? I've seen it done many times and I've never seen one I liked, unless you plan on making a lift-off Carson style top.

I did a full-on hardtop to convertible conversion once and the frame flexing is true, box your frame or add some full length reinforcement to both rails before you do any cutting. That should keep it nice and square. Also, my '56 Dodge four door hardtop has extra bracing on the B-pillar to keep it square, I could take a pic of it tomorrow if you wanted to see it. Might be a good idea to copy the factory's design there to keep the rear doors from sagging or pinching.

 

yeah,a removable carson is what i'm shooting for.boxing up the frame rails looks like it wont be too hard to do.as far as the back doors,i am still debating on if they will still be functional or if we might just go for the 4 door to 2 door method.i would like to see those pics Squablow..send 'em thru

 

the frame is already boxed from the factory. you may wanna build another crossmember.

 

Just messin' around...
I don't care what anyone says, four doors can rock.

 

thanks for all the help guys.even though it's a carson top i'm doing,that photoshop pic from builtbyme has me giving it another thought.thanks again,seisxseisxseisx

 

MY 2 CENTS MAY NOT BE WORTH SHIT IN A BUCKET ........ BUT WHY IS IT THAT EVERY GUY WITH A 4-dr MOPAR WANTS TO PAINT IT BLACK WITH RED RIMS .. AND THEN CUT THE FUCKIN ROOF OFF ???

DO LIKE THE PHOTO SHOP PIC AND CHOP THE TOP & PUT IT BACK ON, TAPER THE REAR WINDOW AREA, AND LEAVE IT A 4-dr. CAR WOULD BE REAL COOL AND DIFFERENT THEN THE NORM, HAVE SOME PERSONAL STYLE AND DONT JUST FUCK UP A PERFECTLY GOOD MOPAR.

4-dr + ROOF CUT OFF + FLAT BLACK + RED WHEELS = ROCKABILLY~WANNABE

 

heres my 2 cents...just because the cars black with red rims doesn't mean its gonna stay that way.if it was gonna stay black and red(which it isn't)what does that matter to you?ever hear of a thing called "personal choice"? i have been building cars since i was 16 years old(which would be about 20 years)and never have i built anything that has looked like anyone elses car.thanks for your opinion anyway,seisxseisxseisx

 

IT DONT MATTER TO ME .... IM NOT TRYIN TO TELL YOU HOW I WOULD BUILD IT .......... JUST TRYIN TO DISCOURAGE SOMEONE FROM CUTTIN THE TOP OFF YET ANOTHER 4dr AND TURNIN IT INTO SOME PILE 'O SHIT

I WAS TRYIN TO SAY IT WOULD LOOK REAL COOL WITH A TAPERED CHOP, LAID DOWN REAR GLASS & KEPT AS A 4dr

NOT YET ANOTHER PBR GUZZLING, BAR HOPPING, TACO~BILLY JUNK RIDE.

YER CAR LOOKS LIKE A CLEAN SOLID MOPAR, JUST LIKE TO SEE OL DODGES STAY CLEAN & SOLID...............

 

yeah,i hear you on the keeping it clean and solid tip,but what fun is kustomizing a car if you dont chop it up?haha,you know what i'm sayin'...thanks again to all for the help/suggestions,seisxseisxseisx

 

Sounds like you are going to cut it but that is a fine ride as it sits.
ROD

 

Have a look at the first HAMB chop in '02. 4 door post turned 4 door hardtop.
http://www.johnsonsgarage.com/HAMBChop02/

 

nice sean,thanks for the link

 

No problems. I have a sore spot for quad-ra-ports
I thought it would be a little bit of what you were looking for.

 

what other plans do you have besides just cuttin the roof off?

 

since buying the car i have shaved all the trim,door handles,emblems, and nosed and decked it.i also have moulded in the tail lights and am i the process of frenching the headlights.last on the list is the removable carson.the car was pretty clean when i bought it so i drove it for about a year before tearing into it.i took this thing down to metal and there was not 1 spot of rust,so i guess i lucked out.maybe it does sound like i'm ruining a cherry mopar,but hey,its called customizing,not restoring for a reason

 

ya. it was my uncle that you bought the car from. that's actually how i got my '50, cause when i saw him pull up in that car... black as night and lookin so cool.. i had to get one, too. What are your plans for paint? your not gonna just keep it in primer black, are you?

 

hmmm hope you got some sealer on that other wise your zero rust policy just went belly up

 

Here is a link on topic:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66026

If I ever came across a 50 business Coupe or 2 door Sedan cheap enough, I would be hard pressed not to pick it up and add it to my stable.

I still wish I had the room for another car when C9 had his little baby blue Coupe for sale. It was a freaking steal at $2500.

*kicks self in shorts*

 

thats crazy,tom's your uncle huh?did he ever finish that pickup he was building when i bought the dodge?he told me the whole history about the truck.as far as paint,i'm not really sure.i'm kinda leaning towards a shade of red or maybe maroon,but most def. it will be suede.scallops,flames..who knows.tell your uncle i'll hit him with some pics when its done..

 

Here are the picsof my old 49(before, during, after) you asked for, good luck on the chop

 

I cut the roof off my 50 plymouth 4-door and it looked badass!! I never re-enforced anything and everything stayed the same, door alignment, very little flex...those things are stout!! 4-doors+ CUT EM-UP= Fuck everyone!!

 

yeah good thinking, don't brace anything and try to hit the first set of railroad tracks you find, don't listen to stupid people! if you're gonna chop it, do it right and brace it

 

Fuck off ROD, I drove it like that weekly for 3 years and no problems, sold and the guy who bought it loves it, no probs for him either! Rod + mouth = Shit!

 

shitty advice+sucker who bought it= HACK

 

Just another key-board jockey runnin at the mouth!! Bring it!! If you can ever stop lookin at kiddie porn and dreamin about the cars you'll never build and only buy! Pussy!

 

well even if it haven't gone out of alignment doesnt mean that it hasned taken unneccesarry stress that would have been avoided with bracing
bracing should be done in my honest opionion