Trying to get some idea of what the going rate for a chop on a late 40's/early 50's Ford might be? I'm talking all metal cutting and fab., glass cutting, interior fixes, and lastly body work and respray on top. The whole enchilada. Also, what in addition to the top might need to be painted due to the chopping process? Gracias por su tiempo.
The Hot Rod Shop in Denton, MD is a fairly well-known shop out here - there was a recent article about them in TRJ you might remember seeing. A while back I saw a shoebox that they chopped...starting from stock. They said they usually run around $5000 NOT including final prep and paint. That was a few years ago, too. Curt
Maybe the guys from Langley in The Vancouver area can help out. There is a guy there called Nasty that has chopped just about everything you can think of. His name is Norm and they might know what he charges. If not PM me and I will give you his number. What kind of car is it?
Fordnutz, you have a PM. This is all a pipe dream right now. Just kind of thinking about selling the Vic. and building a spooky custom. 5k is mighty spendy...but I know it's a labor intensive job. Will have to mull it over a little. This kind of makes me realize why it is that a lot of guys are going the airbag route and leaving the tops alone. It's a hell of a lot cheaper to lose height from the bottom than it is from the top
[ QUOTE ] Spooky custom, eh? GOOD! cuz we need more EVIL cars around here...yeah. [/ QUOTE ] Hah! You haven't seen the Vic. yet. It's kick ass and real nice...but it's freakin two tone bright yellow and white w/ a white and yellow checked interior! Now how big of a bad ass can one really be in a sunshine yellow and white car? Pretty low on the evil/spooky-o-meter I'm hoping to have it out here for the Coffins to check out in a few weeks. Dad is pretty sick so I'm waiting on him to get better to get the ball rolling. C-you at Lelani this weekend probably.
Had a lot of replys to this some time ago. I think it came to about 4 to 6 K, plus glass and stainless...... OLDBEET
Those numbers sound about right, prices usually change depending on how complicated the chop is. I've been spending a fair amount of time at Guildner Kustoms in Van Nuys California lately working on some paint and body stories for R&C. Scott Guildner does A LOT of chops, and he gets about five grand for a complete chop on a shoebox Ford, which is a pretty straightforward deal. He just finished chopping a '49 Chevy, which takes a little more work and costs a little more. Of course if you're talking about chopping the top on a Merc, curving the posts, fabricating a new back window and all that jazz, prices will go way up. As for paint, I know of a few different guys who were able to get the lids lowered on their finished cars without having to spray paint anywhere except the roof. These were both Model A coupes, where the rest of the car could be masked off, the top chopped and re-painted, then everything put back together again. I'm not so sure the same could be said on a more complicated job like a '50s car. Dan
theres a place here in town that charges 7 -10000 for everything glass pant chop body work . but if u have a welder and some skills u can do it your self. its not as hard as people think. ive done alot of chops alls u will have to pay for is glass that way . id say try it your self good luck
Thanks for the info. fellas. If this ever comes to fruition I will put in my request for a North West Hamb Chop and see if Ryan blesses it. Hopefully some of the NW HAMBers around Seattle, Portland, or Vancouver BC would be interested. I don't have a shop or the tools...but I've got a silver tongue and am sure I could talk someone into renting me theirs if worse came to worse Time will tell...
alot of shops charge by the hour. i know i do. i charge $30 an hour for a chop but the final price would likely be around what everyone is estimating.
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