Chop!! Does this look right

[harleyboy]

?????????

Dawg, What do you mean that the top is going to get huge? Here are pics of the last top that my bud chopped and it's the same roof. I don't understand what you mean.
Rusty, I'll take pics of the whole process step by step. I'll probably be banned for to many pics. I wish I did have another top, but I don't. HB

 

[chopper tom]

Man thats a sharp ride!
Hears a couple pic's of mine. I love to chop tops!!!!It go's from mild mannerd to instant hot rod!!!!

 

[harleyboy]

How much

Hey ChopperTom, How much is your orange truck chopped? That's one bad ride. I'm planning on going 4" Yours looks like 6" or more. How tall are you? Thanks. Harleyboy

 

[chopper tom]

It's 6'' in the rear and 6 1/2'' in the front[my rule of thumb is all ways take a little more out of the front,or it will look like its running up hill]
The last s-10 i chopped ,i took 11'' out front and 9'' in rear in order to look level .Most people dont realize this important step,but some people like the up hill stance of the roof.I'm 69'' tall. Ilike to set under the stering wheel so i lower the seat as low as possible[ i used a 92 or so seat in mine and i fit real good]Thinkin about tuck n roll on it !
4'' is ok but its a lote of work for a little bit of change ,but some say'' less is more'' .[if i could just get her to understand that?]
Did you know that the tex smith chop top book has a step by step on that truck for a ''four'' '' chop?
I highly recamend that book for all rodders to have ![great book ]

 

[harleyboy]

Thanks

Thanks Choppertom, I just ordered the book. I was planning on cutting it off on Wed. but the book won't come till Thursday so I'll wait to cut it after I read the book. Thanks for the info. The black truck that I sent pics of has a
3" chop so mine should be somewhere between his and yours. The black one belongs to a Marine friend of mine that is in Iraq right now. The first time it was cranked was the day before he left for Iraq. He wanted me to have the first ride in it so he came to my house first thing. We were starting to back up in my driveway and it locked up tight. The guy that had been doing the final assembly had forgot to put grease in the rear end. It made it 4 miles to my house but was locked tight when we tried to leave. We got it on a trailer and back to the shop and the next morning we went for a ride. The third pic is of me thumbing in front of the truck because one of the mufflers fell off and was dragging and we couldn't put it back on or get it off on the road. The guy that did the work came and got us. The thumbing was just a joke and I've not let him live it down. He'll be back from Iraq in May and we'll go for a lot of rides. HB

 

[RUSTY50F1]

I just got the Tex how to chop last week and it has a truck in it like yours. I was told it had a 50f1 in it to but it doesn't. If any one knows of a book that does, Please let me know. Thanks. I like that black truck, but I'm like CT the more the better. I want 5 off mine.

 

[harleyboy]

A friend of mine wants to loan me a plasma cutter to cut the top with but my bud that chops them says a sawsall is all I need. What do y'all think?

 

[chopper tom]

I allways use a hack saw when ever i can [in tribute to the old timers and the chop gods ]I beleive the hack saw is how it all began any ways .
But ive used all types of stuff on chops and as long as it works for ya ''USE IT''.I dont believe in a wrong or right way.
I use a hack saw,chop saw ,saws all ,cut off wheel ,tin cutters,Porta band,singal hack saw blade broken in half,skill saw with a mason blade in it,Just about any thing you can think of,and it all works fine. Heck i even welded one back together using a stick welder one time and that worked to .
Im no pro ,ive only done about 12 chop tops so fare .but i love to do them and i beleive that its the best way to set your self away from the rest of the gang and really personalize your ride.
And theirs definatly more than one way to skin a cat !i'll be folowing in on this one for shure!
At least use a hack saw for the first cut though,in remembrance of the rod fathers of yester year any ways!!!!!!!

 

[harleyboy]

Just for you

ChopperTom, I'll make my first cut with a hack saw for you and the rod fathers. I think that would only be fitting.

 

[Wildman]

Harley, I own 2 plasma cutters and I still like the sawzall method for straight cutting sheetmetal, quick, clean and withthe least warpage if your gentle with it.
Do you have any more pics of that black truck? looks hot!

Chopper tom could you have gone lower than that 6/6.5in without much problems? I am not sure exactly how much I should do my 52 chevy, but I do like the window size and perportions on yours.

 

[Tripper]

Hacksaw!

I prefer a hacksaw with a double wide blade. I can cut a much straighter line with the wide one!

BoB

 

[chopper tom]

Ilike the doubles too but cant seem to find them around here when i need them.
Its so funny how people look at me when i tell them to use a hack saw.

 

[chopper tom]

Harley, I own 2 plasma cutters and I still like the sawzall method for straight cutting sheetmetal, quick, clean and withthe least warpage if your gentle with it.
Do you have any more pics of that black truck? looks hot!

Chopper tom could you have gone lower than that 6/6.5in without much problems? I am not sure exactly how much I should do my 52 chevy, but I do like the window size and perportions on yours.

Why yaeh ,i could have whent lowwer ,no problems.its only metal?
But i will say that if i had gone with the 4'' chop like the one in the book.that it would have been alote less work.I had to cut 11 differant ways befor i was finished.[but i had to replace a rusted out section of the rear window too]
I like when you see me driving down the road ,that there's no dout that it's chopped.Its just too much work to make people wander if its chopped or not.
but i do them my way ,if i litened to every one els it would have got chopped lote less.
I like at least 6'' chops on old cars and at least 8''or more on newer cars.the roofs run uphill bad on newer cars.

 

[harleyboy]

Wildman

Here's a few more pics of the black truck. It's got a 565 Dart motor pushing around 625 HP. He was fixing it up for a pro street, but I think it's going to be a drag truck only. I almost messed my pants up when he kicked it for the first time. No kidding it's scary. HB

 

[harleyboy]

And last but not least the Harleyboy!!!

 

[bigbubba]

Did you know that the tex smith chop top book has a step by step on that truck for a ''four'' '' chop?
I highly recamend that book for all rodders to have ![great book ][/QUOTE]

not to hijack but where can i find this book??

 

[harleyboy]

I bought this book from Amazon.com. We have a books-a-million but they had to order it at 19.99 and I ordered it myself from amazon cheaper but with shipping it was about the same. My chop has kinda stalled because the guy that was helping me checked himself into the nervous hospital. He's out now and I hope this weekend we can get it finished. I had originally taken the doors off and braced the cab up. One of my braces came loose and my cab got a little funky. I also had a rusted piece on the bottom of the cab that sagged while sitting on my dolly and that kinda thru it off too. I just ordered new door hinge kits so I'm going to fix the hinges and get the doors back on and the correct gap and go from there. If we work on it this weekend I'll post pics. HB

 

[bigbubba]

ok thanks i'll be working this weekend but will check in as i can

 

[YoungBlood]

Not to steal, but I learned a lot from Tex Smith's 'HOW TO BUILD HOT ROD CHASSIS' too.

 

[freakdude]

Does this chop make my ass look big?