as of right now just came in for the night moved the back glass forward about 6 inches and layed it down the link to the first thread of other pics http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=298825
Oh ,the memories.It remindes me of the chop on my 54 i had years ago.I drove it while i finished it.I stitched it back together little by little every day after i got off work .It took a month of afternoons and evenings to get it back in primer .Good luck on yours .It looks like your doing a good job for your first time,and atleast you had the balls to do it yourself ...
One thing I learned when I chopped my car the same way was to tuck the rear window up under the roof, this will eliminate the "step" you may have by just laying it on top. Shocker is dead on! been putting back together the finishing touches for the past year.
Here is a pic of mine when i got it back together.I did the finish work on the chop in the driveway with a little welder that i carried around in the trunk for a month ,along with my hammer and dolly and grinder .When i had an hour or two or three to work .I was constantly modifying something on the body after that .55 headlights ,55 Pontiac rear fender openings ,54 Olds front fender openings,etc.I kinda got carried away ,but i had alot of fun in the process...
Lookin good! I have a shop now, but ...... I have spent most of my life working on projects outside. You wont regret doing it yourself. The stuff you learn on your own can never be taken away. Good luck on your project, this is how hotrodding got started in the first place. I''ll be watching for the updates.
Hey , have you thought of the windshield yet ?I cut mine with a sandblaster .Let me know when you get that far and i will tell you exactly how i did it on the first attempt with out breaking it .If you want to know that is ,Daniel...
You sure have a handle on that chop! those stove bolts have a different angle of chop than the Fords Keep up the good work!
it doesnt look bad - the height is right on - but that rear window needs to be laid down, no? Beleive thats what rodknocker is talkin about - 'the step' - yer still cuttin back there right? that said - congrats on goin for it yourself!!! keep us posted
maybe just share with us anyways i've got glass to cut. iamspencer, have you thought about covering the rear glass as you move onto welding below it?
Nothing to it actually .Alot of people make it out to be an art or something ,and usually its the ones that will take your money to do it that make it out to be difficult.All you need is a good sandblaster (the pressurised kind ) ,a few rolls of duct tape ,a full bag of sugar sand (dont use regular blasting sand )a tape measure ,a sharpy ,an orbital sander with 120 paper and an old tire or something to lay the windshield on as you cut it.Measure the glass off to wear you want it cut (cut the piece off of the top not the bottom of the glass)and draw a straight line with a sharpy (dont worry about the corners at this point just mark a straight line all the way accross).Cover the rest of the glass (both sides )with many layers of duct tape to keep from damaging it with the sand.Turn the blaster down to a low pressure .Working from the out side of the glass go from side to side gradually cutting a trench in the glass right at the edge of the tape .Lay your hand on the glass often to make sure you not getting one spot too hot.If you get it too hot ,it will break .It should take many fast and smooth passes to do this .Dont cut all the way through at once anywhere ,remember to do this evenly all the way accross.After a while you will cut through one piece of glass through the laminate in between them and almost all the way through inside piece .The weight of the glass will start the cut to" run " or crack in the trench .Eventually it will snap and the pieces will seperate when its ready.Do not try to assist it with your hands or anything else or you will crack it.After you cut it loose move it down and use it as a template to mark the corners .Repeat the process on the corners to cut them off.When your done with that take an orbital sander and some 120 paper and gently clean any burrs off from the cut edge.Install the windshield and thank me with a beer next time you see me...
OK. I'll bite. WTF is "sugar sand"? And why cut the top and not the bottom? Sounds like a good tech week thread. Just need pictures.
Is the sand that is really fine it's just a slang term for a finer grit.Ive seen it in pink and white.
MUNCIE... that took me a second to figure out why you were quoting your own ah...quote. ha! i'll go get your mind out of the gutter for you
I dont want to steal this guys thread ,but i will answer your questions since it may help him out to ,if he chooses to cut his own windshield .Because when you chop a top on a car ,you dont usually modify the bottom part of the windshield frame.Alot of times when you cut the top the roof will tend to move back a bit .So things will change on the fit on the top part of the windshield.Its best to have one end of the windshield that fits perfect( like it did before) in the opening.If you cut the bottom part ,now the fit of both ends have been changed since the glass has compound curves in it.Not a good idea in my opinion ."Sugar Sand " is what i have always heard it called.Its just real fine sand and it looks white kinda like sugar.If you use regualar blasting sand ,it can sometimes have tiny rocks in it.Not a good idea to be shooting rocks at glass .Plus it is too abrasive for this application .This is all my opinion on this deal and someone else may have another way ,but i know my way works because i did it a few years ago ,and the glass didnt crack .You can always pay someone to cut a windshield down ,however most glass shops wont do it and i had a few tell me it was impossible .I do know a guy in my area that cuts windshields for people and he charges $500 last i heard and if it breaks ,it breaks .It may take 5 tries to get one cut without breaking it or he may get it on the first try .He does it simular to me ,but he uses a glass cutter on the last layer of glass .There may be another way but this is how i did it...
Great info. Of course you're right about the bottom of the glass vs. a chop - didn't even think about that!. Good info. Viva la HAMB!
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