When we left you last month, veteran metalman Scott Guildner had cut the roof off of Carl Tucker's perfectly good Shoebox Ford in an effort to obtain visceral excellence. With 3 inches taken out of the back and 4 hacked off the front, the freshly lowered lid was tack-welded into place and starting to look really good. Of course, cutting off metal is the easy part when it comes to chopping a top. Getting everything lined back up again is the hard part, which brings us to this month's installment.
Because a car's roof tapers outward as it gets closer to the doors, the top was too narrow after Guildner cut off its foundation, so everything needed to be stretched, widened, and cut to fit. A few strategically placed nips and tucks had everything lining up like little kids in a lunch line, and a few bites with the tin snips provided filler panels for the edges of the quarter-windows, which restored the compound curve that existed before the chop.
Things are starting to get a little more tricky in this stage of the game, as a little bit of fabricating is required, but have no fear. Take on each step as a project in and of itself, and don't forget to tack-weld everything together with as little actual welding as possible. So, if there's a problem, a few touches with the grinder will start things over at step one. Now follow along as we widen the roof, suck in the tops of the doors, stretch the window frames, and patch the quarter-windows. Next month: the back window, finish-welding, and Bondo!
Last month Scott put a few...
Last month Scott put a few slices in the front corners of the roof, so the posts could be stretched to fit using a Porta-Power. Now that everything has been tackwelded into place, notice how wide the gap is.
Using the Porta-Power again...
Using the Porta-Power again to push the front lip of the roof up, we then welded up the seam in its new location.
Here, Scott is holding up...
Here, Scott is holding up the top of the window frame to illustrate how much it overlaps now that the roof has been lowered. Since it's easier to cut pieces off the car than off a loose piece of tin, he marked off the overlapping sections on the door for removal.
Using a Sawzall, the extra...
Using a Sawzall, the extra pieces were removed and saved for later use.
Because the lowered roof is...
Because the lowered roof is slightly narrower, the window frames need to be tucked in to line back up with the car. Scott uses a cutoff wheel to notch the base of the window frame with a pie-shaped slice that will allow the frames to be pulled in and welded.
The front of the frame was...
The front of the frame was notched just like the back. Notice how the cut gets narrower as it gets deeper. Start with a shallow cut and make it bigger as necessary to achieve the proper fit with the door closed.
The top of the frame is now...
The top of the frame is now too narrow to fit the chopped roof, so Scott cut it in half right down the middle, where a filler piece will be added.
Line up the two halves of...
Line up the two halves of the window frames and tack-weld them in place like a jigsaw puzzle. Everything should sit flush and line up correctly. If not, you may need to grind off your welds and alter the notches at the base of the window frame.
Here we see how everything...
Here we see how everything fits pretty well and is tack-welded in. Don't forget: if all the pieces of the puzzle look like they should line up correctly but don't, the door could be sagging. Check to make sure the hinges are properly hung and aligned.
Holding the frame segments...
Holding the frame segments in place, you can see that approximately 5 inches of metal will need to be added.
While the pieces that were...
While the pieces that were removed from the sides of the window can be used with some modifications to fill the gap, Scott recommends finding a donor door and taking the slices from that. The top pieces will line up perfectly and weld right in, as you can see here. Otherwise, some serious metalwork will be needed to get the contour correct.
This is where the roof meets...
This is where the roof meets the body at the corner of the quarter-window. Since the bottom of the window that had a compound curve was cut off, a new corner will need to be made.
Scott uses cardboard to make...
Scott uses cardboard to make a pattern for the shape of the filler panel he wants to construct. Use pictures of the stock window to get the shape right.
Next, the shape of the piece...
Next, the shape of the piece is traced onto sheetmetal.
Rather than breaking his hand...
Rather than breaking his hand with a pair of tin snips, Scott uses shears to cut out the piece, leaving extra material in case it needs to be trimmed.
Tack the new part in place...
Tack the new part in place and step back to make sure it looks right. We think its looks pretty good, so the next step is to construct the channel that will hold the window and stainless trim.
Cut a strip of metal about...
Cut a strip of metal about an inch wide and 5 inches long, then bend it in half lengthwise on a break. This will form the basic channel, which now needs to be contoured to the curve of the window.
A metal-shrinking machine,...
A metal-shrinking machine, which makes tiny little bites in the metal over and over to suck it in and create a curved surface, was used to curve the new trim part into the proper shape.
Holding the frame segments...
Holding the frame segments in place, you can see that approximately 5 inches of metal will need to be added.
Everything lined up properly...
Everything lined up properly the second time around, and the new channel was welded into place. Notice that the corner now looks much better and has an almost factory appearance. Little details like this are what differentiate an amateur hack job from a professional chop. Stay tuned next month, as we finish the back window!
Guildner Kustoms
8011 Langdon Ave., Dept. R&C
Van Nuys, CA 91406
(818) 709-2139