41-48 Hair cut, questions before i get myself in to deep
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kristopher hop.
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February 28, 2023 at 16:00 #74406
kristopher hop
ParticipantSo the guys at Gas Axe garage had a weekend top chopping class with a 41 Ford short door that they did over the past weekend. They did it in a way so that the “average joe” could chop his top at home, and the handful of pics that I found on instagram make it look waaaaaaaaaaay too easy.
-First question I have a long door, and the car they used is a short door. Is that going to differ much?
-Second question: I know this involves a fair amount of work but, and I’m sure he didn’t include a lot of pics, but from what I post does this look like a fairly good idea of what needs to be done?Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.February 28, 2023 at 19:08 #74413Tinwolf
ParticipantHi Kristopher !
Chopping a -41 Ford club coupe , an icon custom body , can you show any pictures ? I chopped one together with a friend who owned the car . See the pictures at: Fredrik Westergren’s ’41 Ford Club coupe , since he wanted a hardtop version we didnt get into using the stock posts which would be possibly easier but I dont know , -41-48 Ford club coupes need a resize rear sidewindow since the top follows the A-pillars , -41 Ford Club coupe is also unique since it has a sharp top to “catwalk” mating , not a smooth radii like the -41 business coupe , if I remember right we made that shape in sheetmetal . I see the pictures you posted from the chopping class , it seems to be a mild chop , not something like Jesse Lopes so it depend on what you want . Ofcause its personal taste and the lower chop you want to do the more rework is needed to make the lines work . Another big thing when it comes to FoMoCo cars of the era and specially -41-48 Ford club coupes is that the tops slant forward in a crazy angle which opts for chopping much more in the rear then in the front , my personal rule of thumb is that the side window opening and the top skin needs to peak around the center of the door , looking at the traditional builds of the era looked like that was a goal . I suggest you study pictures of those custom car builds thoroughly , see them in Riks Fotki archive: 1941 Ford coupe Jesse Lopez – Barris  , 1942 Ford Marcia Campbell – Barris , not easy to see how to achieve the end result shown but you need to take it slow and in an orderly fashion deal with one problem at the time . Another good idea is to roll out the car and see it from a distance , I go 8-10 yards away , line up the B-pillars and bottom edge of the door window openings , to see the top shape and side window openings in that angle makes it easier to imagine the top shape of the chop . Besides the actual topchop there is several things that needs to be done before cutting the top of , lining the doors , bracing the door openings and B-pillars , making a fixture holding the rear window frame , not easy to work inside but crucial to hold the body in place during the chop … Then there is the shaving of the driprail that seems to upset alot of people , all trad kustoms (meening those built back in the 40ties and early 50ties) seems to have them removed , I love that modification , but maybe not for everyone , lol ! What was the rear window in the chop-class -41 Ford business coupe ? chopped -37-38-39-40 Ford rear window ? I chopped down the rear window frame in Kent Vikmos -40 Merc before it was inserted into the chopped top , still on a -41 Ford I like the round shaped stock rear window and easier to fit into the round rear shapes of the chopped top .
Wolf
February 28, 2023 at 21:38 #74414kristopher hop
ParticipantThis is what my car looks like right now.
I didn’t want to do anything more than a mild chop, I still need to fit in it, just enough to smooth it out a bit.
I know either way I swing it, it’s going to be an involved project, but if I could avoid turning this into a total hack job.
A chop isn’t a make or break for me but what ever I can do to make it kool.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.February 28, 2023 at 21:45 #74417kristopher hop
ParticipantMarch 2, 2023 at 15:20 #74420Tinwolf
ParticipantThanks for the pictures , they doesn’t look like a -41 Ford thou ? Front fender is -46-48 , the smooth radii from the top skin to the catwalk is not -41 Ford , see below picture which have a fairly sharp meeting between the two ? Your front fenders are one piece where -41 Ford either have a two piece or even a three piece version of front fender where the side crease is different to the -46-48 front fender ?
Wolf
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This reply was modified 6 months, 2 weeks ago by
Tinwolf.
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This reply was modified 6 months, 2 weeks ago by
Tinwolf.
March 10, 2023 at 16:58 #74427kristopher hop
ParticipantThanks for the pictures , they dosent look like a -41 Ford thou ? Front fender is -46-48 , the smooth radii from the top skin to the catwalk is not -41 Ford , see below picture which have a fairly sharp meeting between the two ? Your front fenders are one piece where -41 Ford either have a two piece or even a three piece version of front fender where the side crease is different to the -46-48 front fender ?
Wolf
-Definitely a 41. There are a few pics of it at the Auto show
-I know the body styles have their differences but are they the same enough to use a lot of the same cuts? I’m guessing that the crown is going to take a little extra to get down.
March 12, 2023 at 09:57 #74438Rik Hoving
KeymasterKristopher, are you on Instagram?
If you are, you might want to check out https://www.instagram.com/brucedonelan/
Bruce did a really nice ’47 with ’41 front. He did not share too many photo’s of the chop, but those that are there are perhaps helpful. His chop looks really good.Enjoy the beauty of Customizing
March 14, 2023 at 15:44 #74449kristopher hop
ParticipantI’ve been ogling that one on the HAMB.
If I had a short-door coupe, like the pics I posted, I probably would have done it that weekend. Looking at long-door chops looks like a lot more work than I can handle right now.
March 14, 2023 at 20:42 #74450Bickford
ParticipantSome would say the he longer door cars are easier to chop since there is a longer roof and can make them flow nice into the deck lid. The chop on that short door in my opinion is just ok. For me it doesn’t flow into the deck lid effortlessly. They followed the original swoop from the roof. If you look at the 41-48 ford/mercury short does chopped back on the late 40s through early 50s you will see how they flow way better then how some have been chopping them in recent years.
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.March 17, 2023 at 03:30 #74453kristopher hop
Participant-I’m a mild chop fan, that and I need more headroom.
-The long door chops that I’ve seen look like a lot of extra work compared to the one from the original post.
-I found this pic of a chop, I think it was a 3″ chop. To me, it’s a nice balance.
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.March 22, 2023 at 16:20 #74480Bickford
ParticipantThe photo you posted of a long door in the process of getting chop looks like it’s more inches out of the front than the back. Looks like you are not into chops on those cars that look like this one.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.March 27, 2023 at 14:13 #74491kristopher hop
ParticipantYou are correct. I would want something a little more subtle.
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