A little back story on this car. 7 years ago my son was born. At the time I had a '34 Chevy coupe ( glass body) that I had built. Seeing how the car was a coupe and had bomber seats there was no way a car seat was going to fit in it. I ended up selling the car and buying a Shoebox. I found the car on Hemmings website, it was about 4 hours away in Horseheads NY. It was a all original 42k mile North Carolina car. After I bought it I tracked down one of the previous owners. He was in his 70's and in poor health. When I started telling him of my plans of hopping up the flathead with dual carburetors, and lowering the car he flipped out. He started telling me I shouldn't have bought that car because I'm ruining it by hopping it up. So I stopped telling him what all I had planned for this car. I ended up doing Areostar coils and 3" blocks, I redid the flathead with strombergs, duel exhaust, t5 transmission, and more stuff I'm forgetting. Over the last seven years I've put around 20k miles on this car, most of those miles with my wife and son in the car. I've really wanted to take this car to the next level for years but the whole time I've been building a Model A. Since I finished the Model A last winter it's time to really tear into the Shoebox. The previous owner died about a year or so ago. If he thought I was gonna ruin this car by putting duel carbs on it he is probably spinning in his grave boring a hole to China right now!! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Plan is to change the color, run the skirts, and '55 Pontiac side trim. I'm gonna keep it pretty simple. I want to leave most all the chrome on the car so the door handles are staying along with the hood trim. All the chrome trim around the glass will be put back on also. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Slanted B pillars That's pretty much where I'm at on the car right now. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Looks good to me. I just bought a 50 from A very nice old lady. The car was her late husbands pride and joy. I told her what a nice car it was. Didn't tell her that I was a hot rodder. I'm going to leave it mostly stock though. Sent from my SM-G920V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Well, being a shoebox lover and owner I thought it was really really nice the way you had done it before. That being said, I am afraid I'm gonna like it chopped too! I can already tell by your workmanship it will be killer. I don't think I could have cut the top, let alone do the work you do. I'll leave my '51 Coupe roof stock height. Suspension is lowered though with Aerostar springs and blocks and it has been partially dechromed.
I have always liked the customs of the '50's, for I lived through those days. I still like the streamlined look of a chopped top, or a sectioned car. BUT ...... I have a greater love for a pristine survivor that has endured the years, looking as it did when it rolled off the assembly line, as we see in this '50 Ford. There's something special about a "pristine survivor." There are many candidates out there, for the chops, sectioning, etc. Over 98%, I would guess, of those candidates are not pristine vehicles. I see this now chopped '50 shoebox, I immediately think of another pristine looking Merc, a '49 to '51 2 door that was about to lose its' immaculate appearance, a few months back here on H.A.M.B. I don't know the outcome of that Merc, I do know the thread became controversial, then the posts ceased. At any rate, the O.P. of this '50 shoebox has brought this step by step process to our attention. I can truly understand the deceased owner of the '50, spinning in his grave, boring a hole to China, as the O.P. has stated.
Those 2 door sedans actually need a chop to bring the roof into proportion. The sedan roof is too long. Chopping makes it look more like the coupe which looks so much better.
Your not a body man or a fabricator, your an artist. Nice work. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
What are you thinking for color? Good to see another new shoebox build thread, hopefully it'll give me some motivation to work on mine. Nice work so far, he sure is spinning now for sure. I agree though, the 2-door sedans do seem to need a haircut just so they don't look so dang tall. Your A build is one of my favorites on here, I expect this one will be as well. Keep up the good work!
Looking good, will be better. You own the car, and are making it even more yours. Sent from my SM-G930V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The old custom shops never died they just were dispersed over the nation...That bottom shot in post#2 is looking mighty classy @tudorfritz .
Nice car, but I prefer shoeboxes with some sort of side trim. The great expanses of sheet metal don't look right to me, especially on a '51 that retains the chromed windsplit trim. I have a club coupe as well, which I would never consider chopping, but if I had a two door sedan, I'd do it in a New York second. The rear side windows look very awkward stock, almost like a four door sedan with the rear doors filled.
Subscribed. Love a nice shoebox, all we got here were poverty pack 4 doors. Chances are his family would have sold it anyway and not really cared what happened to it or would prefer NOT to know? We walk a fine line with what we share with sellers. It can make or break a deal. Slightly OT I have a similar story. Before I bought my 46 Olds another hot rodder with a suede painted and dropped 46 Cadillac sedanette looked at it advising the owner of what he proposed to do, 'This that and the other thing'. Suffice to say the owner declined his offer. Next thing. I came into the picture through a mutual restorer friend of seller. I indicated that I would be rebuilding it to it's original condition. To establish some rapport I advised that I had a 35 Cheby that already I'd rebuilt (Careful not to say it was modified). A deal was subsequently struck and it was in my garage. Some time later I ran into the seller in my Cheby stating that I was well into the Olds rebuild (NOS parts, trim, rubbers, glass, new chrome, OEM 2 x tone paint scheme etc) but not the other modifications (V8 etc). I thought he would be horrified when he saw the Cheby but to my surprise he stated that if the Olds turned out similarly he would be happy. He even asked me to drop over and show him when it was finished. I stated that the Cheby and Olds were done in such a way that they could be returned to original without comprising anything, not that I would do it anyway. In the end I was happy that he's sold it to the right person for all the right reasons. Normal service will now resume.
Funny you should mention the side trim! I built this car in 1974, traded it off in 1979, got it back 32 years later. When I traded it off it had 1950 side trim, then next owner put full wrap around 51 trim on it. When I found it again it had no side trim. My goal is to put '50 quarter trim on it and put the fender emblem on the door, just in front of the quarter trim. It should break up the slab and still look custom. I have the pieces to do it. Dave
Nice fab work!!! love the rake on the b pillar Im still contemplating to Chop my streamliner aswel. reading topics like this make me want to ..
Its going to be way cool when done. But i do think you should of started with a car that needed rebuilding. As a low mileage surviver it was rare, unique and something that can't be duplicated. There are lots of chopped customs around. Also i would of used a 3 on the tree with o/d to obtain a 5 speed to keep the old school cool. Sent from my SM-T805Y using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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