Bill Hines has chopped more Mercurys in his 65 years in the customizing business than he can remember. Bill is now 86 years old and still works every day with his favorite old cars.
This project got started when Bill got his hands on a very nice '51 Mercury from a relative in Michigan. The Merc was nearly rust free and the small pieces that needed fixing were no problem for Bill. It was brought out to California, where he decided to do all the modifications on it and build a custom that one of his customers might like to buy with the bodywork done. "We'll do what I call a mild top chop," says Bill.
Bill's right-hand man Brad Masterson has his own shop today but he still helps Bill when important projects come up. Both Bill and Brad like to use the early methods, and Brad has been given the nickname "the Lead Slinger", thanks to the fact that he does a lot of the lead work on the custom cars like they did years ago. Both also like to use the gas welder as much as possible and only use the MIG to tack-weld pieces in place.
The '49 to '51 Mercs are pretty much the same car, but the '51 is a bit different, with a bigger rear window and longer rear fenders, and Bill wanted to keep the rear window intact.
Before Brad started to make any cuts, Bill marked the cuts across the roof and along the rear pillars. Many might think that Bill just gives orders and will let Brad and the younger guys do the work, but that is not the case--he is very much involved in the work as you can see in the pictures. After the top was cut, the 86-year-old Bill climbed up on the roof, cleaned it up with a big grinder and welded it together.
We asked Bill, "How are you going to cut the pieces here to get the pillars together?"
"I don't really know," he said with a smile. We had the feeling that Bill knew exactly what he needed to do, so we stood back and started shooting photos.
Before making any cut marks...
Before making any cut marks or modifications, Bill starts by welding a "line-up pin" to the lower edge of the windshield opening. This pin will show if the middle of the roof is in the middle as well as the tilt of the windshield. During the chopping process it will make it easier for Bill and Brad to make sure the roof did not move in either direction during the welding.
Although Bill might have cut...
Although Bill might have cut more than a hundred Mercury tops since he started chopping, he still plans all the cuts and measures more than once to be sure. This one will be a "mild" 3-inch chop.
Before any cutting was done,...
Before any cutting was done, the rear window was supported with some tubing to make sure it would keep its shape. The roof was also given some extra support inside for the same reason.
Brad began by cutting the...
Brad began by cutting the door tops, so there was nothing in the way when the pillars were cut and the roof was put back on.
Brad uses the big reciprocating...
Brad uses the big reciprocating Sawzall to get straight cuts that won't need much work when the pieces are fit together again. A support piece of tubing was welded in across the roof over the B-pillars (arrow) to make sure the roof did not change shape during the cutting and welding.
Bill put tape across the roof...
Bill put tape across the roof where he wanted it cut 12 inches up from the rear window. The side cut was done along the chalk line and over the driprail so they could use as much of it as possible.
The B-pillars will be chopped...
The B-pillars will be chopped 3 inches, so Bill knows that he needs to cut 2 inches out of the tilted A-pillars to fit when the roof goes back on the body. He makes his cut in the middle of the pillars where they have the same diameter. Cuts were made up in the roof (arrow) and at the bottom of the A-pillar to get them to tilt back properly. Both Bill and Brad are very accurate with their cuts, because they know that the final result will be much better if the fit is perfect before welding.
Once the A- and B-pillars...
Once the A- and B-pillars were cut, the roof was held in place with two pogo-sticks until the final cut across the rear of the roof was done.
Brad used a thin disc cut-off...
Brad used a thin disc cut-off wheel to make the curved cut on the C-pillar.
The cut-off wheel was used...
The cut-off wheel was used again to cut an access hole through the roof skin making it possible to get the blade of the Sawzall through to make the straight cut across the roof.
The roof was lifted off and...
The roof was lifted off and Brad started cutting the edges around the rear window. The window will be tilted down to meet the lowered roof. Brad separated the rear window from the package tray by cutting it an inch under the inside rear window edge.
Brad used the Sawzall to make...
Brad used the Sawzall to make some cuts from the previously removed C-pillar section around to the body line in the rear sail panel at the corners. Brad cut a little at a time, going from side to side and testing periodically to check when the window would tilt forward with the least amount of sheetmetal deforming.
The roof was then placed back...
The roof was then placed back on the body and a pair of pogo-sticks was used to hold it up at the front.
Brad cut the lower part of...
Brad cut the lower part of the B-pillar (arrow) at the beltline to allow it to tilt slightly to meet the roof pillar. The B-pillar was then clamped. Brad checked the measurement of the roof at the B-pillars and checked the "line-up pin" in the front window to make sure the roof was centered and even on both sides (Bill was happy with the result, and he can be picky with 1/8-inch or less sometimes). Once Brad and Bill were happy Bill tack-welded the B-pillars.
When it was time to weld the...
When it was time to weld the edge of the two roof pieces together, a couple of pogo-sticks were used with a piece of steel to keep the roof's original shape. Brad was inside making sure that nothing moved under the roof while Bill tack-welded on top.
Bill cut the lower part of...
Bill cut the lower part of the A-pillar to make it easier to shape the sheetmetal before welding. The A-pillar was tacked in place and the sheetmetal at the bottom was worked a little so that both edges were on the same plane. The top part of the pillar was cut slightly into the roof to make it easier to tilt it a bit before welding.
Brad gas welded all cuts....
Brad gas welded all cuts. The inner edge in the door opening also needed some adjustments to get everything to line up.
The lower part of the A-pillars...
The lower part of the A-pillars was welded with an extra little piece of sheetmetal to fill the gap between the two pieces.
Brad marked and cut the door...
Brad marked and cut the door top piece a bit at a time to get the best possible fit before welding. After each cut he test-fitted it until it was perfect and then tacked the door tops in place.
One of the extra boys at Bill's...
One of the extra boys at Bill's shop helped out with grinding the rear pillars before Brad started cutting off some of the overlapping sheetmetal on the C-pillars.
The most time consuming part...
The most time consuming part of the chop was the lower edge under the rear window and up the C-pillars. Bill used the gas to heat the metal, formed it with his hammer and cut it down to get the two edges on the same plane.
Bill then spent a few hours...
Bill then spent a few hours with the gas welder, hammer and MIG welder while he managed to puzzle the rear pillars together with the body edge. He shaped the sheetmetal bit by bit before everything was welded together. Now all it needs is some more time with the grinder to smooth the welds and some old-timey lead to make it perfect.