Looking at a chopped 51 Buick and was hoping to get some thoughts on how it was performed. It's been about 10yrs by what I've been able to find and was done by a shop in Burt Iowa. Any feedback would be appreciated. https://photos.app.goo.gl/yKKVKRReeapmygpBA
The pictures in the album pretty much show where it was sliced and diced, what else is there? You could always call the shop if they are still in business.
Judging by the cracks in the paint and that seam, the prep work and cleanliness was nil. Maybe even poor fab work like not welding completely, or slathering on a ton of bondo instead of good metalwork. Could you live with that?
Is there any pics of it fully welded ? All I see is pics with tack welds. Makes me concerned it's not finish welded. They may have just bondoed over the tacks. Moisture gets in & it cracks that body filler. Otherwise the profile looks good enough. I type slow, @alchemy said it.
I heard from my Pa just last week that there is no shop in Bert any longer. You’ll have to make decisions without any help from the chopper. I do remember that car from a few years ago. Had a diesel for motorvation.
bring a magnet,,if it doesn't stick....not desirable...or you could just assume strip the car and redo some of the work...
This last picture tells a story . Lots of filler !! the chop profile looks good , glass looks like it’s sitting right . Car has been driven so doors open and close etc. If you willing to strip the car , by the looks of it do a ton of metal work to finish it correctly . Or just “ repair what’s there “ and by repair I mean slather some filler on it and paint it . If it has lasted 10 years does not sound horrible , depending on price and what your final level of finish you will be happy with is .
Meh....... Personally I think it’s goofy. What’s a 1951 Buick doing in OD green with an Occupation Star? The choice of that theme makes me think....did they do that to hide rough work? Buick’s were loaded with chrome. Chrome is expensive. Maybe that’s another reason for the blackout theme? I’m kind of funny, a Buick without port holes is like peas without carrots. To me it looks kind of rough.
Go over the body, decent color, fix the grille, chrome bumpers, different tail lights, lose the diesel if it's still there, and it could be OK. Chop profile flow isn't bad. Is the price right considering the body work needed?
@CounterReset are you looking at the Buick to purchase? Or are you asking about techniques, used in chop, that you might apply to another car?
Looking to purchase. Personally, I think the diesel is cool as hell. But I would want to repaint it. The asking is $21k. Talked to the guy who built it. Cool dude who's done a lot of chops. This was his personal ride for a while and it is fully welded (managed to see the welds inside - didn't grab photos). Not sure which way to go. It might be fore that I can tackle right now as I've got a bit of a full plate... But, there's always room for just 1 more car, right?
What about what looks like enormous cracks in the sail panel area with rust coming out of them? Those kind of cracks are usually caused by the bondo being way too thick
^This. Plus, you can tell water got inside those cracks...not good. I would walk away. There are better options.
The factory tailpan seam failure that @VANDENPLAS posted isn't from torque, but rather a cancered out factory seam that was not properly mitigated, but rather bondo'd and painted over-look at the rust hole in the tailpan below the seam. Even thick bondo will sometimes last for years w/o cracking. The sail panel cracks, etc speak to poor welds and or poor metal prep. Possibly it was chopped, then ran bare or in primer for awhile, got rusty, then bondo'd and painted? It's a shame because the chop has nice lines. At that price, I'd pass. Unless you're in love with the diesel and are planning to grind out/repair the affected areas and reprime the car and run it as a driver. A proper treatment of taking the car back down to bare metal for repairs, couple of grand in chrome work, etc would really rack up the total price.
Of course it will be a driver, right? Has NO one noticed how rare a car that is? Also, trunk lid appears to be a 1952. Ben
I don’t understand. Is it something special? Was it some short officer in the Korean War’s personal vehicle?
Totally agree. There are lots of red flags on this build. Dorky theme, sliced and diced chop metal work, big cracks in the body work, goofy choice of drivetrain.... looks like a rat rod, or in this case rat custom, to me. So regardless of how decent the profile of the chop looks, the truth is staring you in the face. Big cracks in the filler over the sail panels are telling you the filler is either too deep, there is poor surface prep where there is no adhesion between the filler and the substrate, the panels are not fully welded, the body/roof is twisting up from either torque or lack of body bracing/structure, or some combination thereof. None of those options are appealing. If you're looking to purchase the car, I guess the ultimate question is what the cost of acquisition is. If you're buying for finished chop price, I can tell you I'd likely pass. If you're buying it as a project car and for project car price, then there could be a justification. That diesel still sucks tho. Some redneck shit.
I love pie. ...but I hate pie cuts. It was cookie-cuttered together where a more skilled fabricator would have metal shaped large panels to fit instead of welding in small chunks. pass
Moriarity's pics sealed the deal. Hell no. No offense intended, but that car is a disaster. Keep looking!
LOL! Probably only Buick guys would know and notice. 1950 Special was the last split windshield. EXCEPT for this Model in 1951 and 1952. Only the Sedanette and this Model had one piece BACK glass. This Model, and I don't recall the Model #, was a low selling 2 door coupe , slightly different than the 2 door sedan model. I have never seen one. Only pictures. Some unnecessary trivia I suppose. Ben
Badass. Needs a little love. Just proof that it's been driven in my opinion, and not stuck in a building. Instead of oil, it needs a body filler change
I like the lines of the chop. I don’t like the red flags. if this car had no chop, and bondo blowing out everywhere like this… would you consider it then? I would imagine it’s easier to fix rough original than rough “custom”, but even then most of us would still hard pass.
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