Customs top choppers in so. cal.???

VVell said Del!! I vvish you guys could hang today!!!

That guy's a fucking douche!!! I don't knovv vvhy i vvas so nice!!

 

Ian...are you on a laptop or home computer? This double vv thing is driving me nuts! ha ha!

Can we start a HAMB auction to raise funds to buy Ian a new keyboard?!? ha ha!

 

take it to the lowest price you find, and see what happens. i would probably pass on this one also...

 

Something must be wrong with me, the funniest part is Ian's vv

 

better than a vw though !

 

haha!

 

HAHA!! Its a macbook!!

A year ago i spilled a cup o soup on the keyboard and it vvas 400$ to fix. expensive cup o soup!!

 

HAHA!! Sorry guys, ill stop typing NOVV!!

 

Nice One Ian vve vvish you vvell ( sounds like German )

 

LOL, this is some funny stuff. I'm glad I got that off my chest! Where IS Ruckus, anyway?

Brian

 

Nicely said!!
Ruckus, If you knew anything about chopping a top on a car, you would know that 4K is a very good deal.

 

Slightly off-topic since I don't own a HAMB worthy car ATM, so yea I'm a noob. Is that the ball park price for a decent/good chop $4-6K? Does that include glass and weatherstrip? Seriously I have no clue, I've looked at some of the threads but no one really mentions price or they are doing their own car.

At least one good thing out of this thread (at least for me) is I now know who some of the local choppers are in SoCal.

 

I think, his name should read...... Fuckus,... not ruckus.
What an insult to to me and my fellow craftsman.

 

Oh Ruckus! Ruckus? You're getting that information you asked for...

Here's a suggestion for ya, vvhy not head on down to the Goodvvill and see if they have any clues left on the shelf, that might be a good start for you. VVith any luck you'll run into Berky dovvn there looking for a nevv keyboard...

 

Just like the construction biz or whatever many people are price oriented. Look at all the substandard work there is around. Whether it's a ton of bondo or a ton of drywall mud it's easy to see the difference between good work and amateur hour.

Good work don't come cheap and cheap work ain't good.

My prices are free to very low for my friends and family. Reasonable for the select few that I will work for. The rest - prices go from high to real high depending on attitude. So if you want good work I'm in. You want cheap go pick up your workmen from in front of Home Depot hiring hall.

Same with cars, construction, ...anything. First, I never blame a guy for wanting to save a buck. Then there are some guys whose prices are way out of line. The rest of us are in between.

 

for a chop around here it's $2,500 and that puts it in bondo/primer

 

First thought I had also.

On the other hand, if this isn't a tool. it is possible to do a fast cheap chop. You see them around sometimes. They are usually missing the back window, no side window frames or glass. front glass is a piece of plexi held in place with sheet metal screws (no rubber molding).

 

That really made me laugh man!!!




still laughing!!!

 

I wouldn't lay a finger on this guy's car with an attitude like that. Getting your car chopped is not a "name your price" affair...you're not at a livestock auction. I'm gonna take a WILD guess here and say you have no personal knowledge of what is involved. I've been doing chops for seven years now, and I know that doing a Merc or shoebox for anything under $5-6K you're not making much profit, especially if you have a lot of overhead. Yeah, we're in a bad economy, and yeah this is a hobby, but people still need to make a living. YOU are the one that doesn't need a chopped top in a bad economy if you're looking for the bargain of the week. Now go get your sawzall cheap ass.

PS- you always pay for what you get...and this seems to be incredibly true with old cars and custom work. I have seen every level of a chopped top from 3" of bondo to metal-finished near-perfect chops. DO your homework and try it yourself. If you do well, great. If you fuck up, then you will really have a better understanding for why a good chop might start around $5k.

 

Just to illustrate for old Ruckus, if he's still here, what kind of time we're talking about. This is this mornings progress on chopping the T'bird. So far, 6 hours just to strip the dash (already had the rest of the interior out), trim out the w/s frame, roughly set the frame back in the hole, and propped into place. I haven't even begun to weld it together, make new vent window frames, glass runs, or start to cut the top itself. I'm going to keep this in mind as I progress.

Started a build thread on this too, if anybody's interested in how to sink a compound curved, wrap around windshield into the cowl...

Brian

 

Hold on everyone i gotta go get extra butter

This is as good as springer!!!

To stay on topic i agree with everyone else, cutting the top off is one thing, putting it back on is easy and making it all vvork is the really hard part. Not even counting vving vvindows, or garnish moldings, not to mention flovv or paint finish. And it is definitely not a 1 vveek job for a "round top" car.

Ian good luck with your vvacky keyboard vvorries...

 

Lots of entertainment value here, much of it at rukus's expense (he did earn the slagging...)
Lots of educational value too, for people who've never chopped a top. It requires lots of basic skills and some creativity and ingenuity. Stripping paint and interior takes time. Planning makes the job go more smoothly- deciding where and how much to cut. When you finally get to cutting metal, nothing ever lines up perfectly- not even model A's. "Round tops" will always require leaning posts or lengthening tops. Lots of cutting, welding, patch fitting or wheeling of new panels. Much work required to match compound curves and get the lines to "flow". Inner structures need work (whether wood or steel), the car needs to be structurally sound in the event of a rollover, and just to prevent things from coming apart over time with vibration. Package trays, garnish mouldings, headliner bows, if vent windows are removed the window mechanisms need work, new glass, new window mounting rubbers and fuzzies, door seals, sometimes there's wiring inside A or B pillars that needs to be removed and reinstalled, etc., etc.,..

 

I smell a "vv" revolution coming from this thread

 

Im gonna keep an eye out for this thread, very cool Brian!!

 

Hey Ruckus. Go down to Home Depot. When you go in,turn right,walk down three isles then turn left. Half way down that isle are the chop tops. Just below the measuring tapes and the matrix work gloves. If you go down to the Customer Service counter,you can sign up for one of the "How To" seminars. Get there early,cause the air-bag class was packed!!!!! Hope I helped you FNG's out...

 

Im sorry guys, ill get the ol' laptop fixed!!

 

haha dont do it man!!!

 

look what my macbook can do Ian W W W W W W wwwwwwwwww w w w w w w w w w w

 

Hahahahaha Flop.

 

It takes all kinds to make the world go around and I guess this clown is good for our Saturday Morning laugh.

I was just thinking that for every character like this there are probably a couple of guys on the board who are honestly trying to figure out if they could come up with the coin to buy Ian a plane ticket to their place, spring for room and board and pay him his fee to either chop a top or straighten out one that someone else chopped.

Having chopped my own top on my truck I can damned well say that there is a hell of a lot more to it than just grabbing a sawzall and a half rack of brew and going at it and expecting good results.