Chopped Top On 51 Chevy Fleetline

[mredjr]

Does anyone remember a post on a 51 Fleetline with chopped top and how they did it?

Elvin

[Ace-Garageguy]

That's one that is going to be challenging. Due to the fastback roofline and the multitude of compound curves, it won't be an easy one.

I transplanted that roof on to a '50 Olds a while back with the intention of chopping it too, but after looking it over carefully, I decided to wait until I first got another Fleetline to "practice" on first.

There are a fair number of 1:1 build pix online, and you'll find you will do a model much the same way.

     

  

  Here's a video of doing the real thing.      

Edited August 30, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[IHSS]

It's not to bad to do if you drop the trunk area with itThis was my first try at a chop top and it didn't turn out to bad. I had read an article in Ol'Skool Rods with Bill Hines choping a 51 and decided to try it in scale the way he did it.

[IHSS]

And a couple with paint. I still havn't finished it yet. Maybe I'll pull it back out and finish it up.

[mredjr]

Thanks guys for the info. Elvin

[Psychographic]

Here's how I did mine.

First cut out around the back window, which is shown as the yellow line. You only cut the top and sides.

The second cut is the red lines. The space between the horizontal lines are how much you will take out.

The third and fourth cuts are the green lines. These are wedge cuts, they don't go all the way through the posts, but are deep enough to bend the top part forward and and outward. The bottom goes backward and inward. You have to eyeball these to realign the posts. I drew these backwards! If you cut them as shown, you will have to fill in the gaps. Cut them in the same locations, just swap the shape of the top and bottom cuts.

The last cut is the blue line, which will realign the back window.

 

 

You should have something that looks like this. As you can see you need to bend the top of the B pillar out, and the bottom in to realign it.

 

 

 

Here's how it came out after a little bodywork.

 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2016 by Psychographic

[Lordmodelbuilder]

Steve Boutte did a chopped 51 but made it into a 1950. http://www.sbkustoms.com/