Comlicated chop on a 55 ford

[disconovaman]

Anybody have any insight on how to properly chop the top on this kit... I've ruined 2 cabs already with no success.

I need any feedback, what I should've done and what I'm doing wrong whould be ok. Through in a couple "you knucklehead!" 's too because I deserve it at this point! Lol! before I cut up another because that's probably where I'm headed agian!

I was trying to replicate a 53 ish ford truck that sat in the Highschool parking lot when I was in school. A Kid named William drove this midnight blue chopped Ford pick up with Pro stars. I loved it and was wanting to build it. I haven't seen any resin cabs but I'm open to that... and any  other ideas you guys have too Thanks and sorry for the cringe worthy butcher job pics.

[Oldmopars]

This is going to be a hard cab to chop, but not impossible. I don't know what you are using for a saw, but I would use a quality hobby razor saw, hard back and thin blade. This will give nice straight cuts to work with. 

I would cut the top off, remove the wanted "Chop" and then cut it into 4 parts. As you go down, the top needs to get wider and longer to cope with the angled A and B pillars. Here is where an extra cab would help with the needed sections to fill the gaps. 

No matter what you do, this is going to be a lot of work, lots of reshaping and a ton of time. 

[Tom Geiger]

How about the chop on the Foose pickup?   Maybe work off that body?

[disconovaman]

I have a razor saw but I only used it to make the initial cut. Then I just started winging it.... cuttin as I went, gluein peices together. It's a mess. nothing lines up and I don't think I'll be able to use any of the roof now. May think about a car roof of some kind...50 ford maybe?

[Spex84]

"Just winging it" There's yer problem   I've only chopped one of these, and I don't know if it worked yet because it's not finished, but here's what I did, for what it's worth:

-removed vent window post.

-split the A pillars at the door cut line, cut the windshield header under the drip rail to remove windshield header and part of the A pillars as one piece.

-back window cut out entirely.

-determined how much vertical chop I wanted and cut strips of tape that width; applied the tape strips to the roof as cutting guides.

-chopped the windshield less than the rest of the roof; took the remainder off the top of the header above the windshield (maybe a bit too much, haha). This reduces the "forehead" effect these trucks often get when chopped.

-Now the vertical distances were sorted, but the top of the roof was too narrow to fit the bottom/body and had to be quartered and widened. To help with this, I laminated a small square of flat sheet underneath the intersection of the 4 roof quarters. I tried to make sure it wasn't sagging too much at this point, and that the quarters would all line up with A. the pillars and B. each other.

Note: the rear quarters were aligned so the door cut lines would remain straight.

-styrene stock cut to fill the gaps in the quartered roof, glued in while carefully checking to make sure roof is not sagging.

-the hole in the back was enlarged and the rear window re-installed (with no chop).

Note: this method makes the top of the windshield unit very fragile, and is prone to sagging. Using a second body means you could have single seams in the roof instead of the double seams seen here--and sagging might be less of an issue because there would be no gap to fill.

Body filler is used to re-shape the B pillars/rear cab corners because they're quite misaligned. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Chris (Spex84) has the right idea.

It's also good to remember that it's not always necessary to cut the roof into sections. If the top is brought straight down over the rear pillars, the windshield pillars can often be slanted to give more rake, and eliminate the need to lengthen the roof panel entirely (this goes for widening the roof too...the pillars can be sloped to eliminate the need).

With many chops, the proportions are spoiled by lengthening and widening the roof panel to align the pillars.

The chop below shows the front pillars sloped to meet each other, after the roof has been brought straight down. The rear of the cab needs to be re-worked somewhat, but that's a relatively simple operation.

 

[disconovaman]

Wow! These are some great explanations and steps to chop this cab. I should've posted here before cutting up the first one! I sectioned the doors on the first Cab and quickly learned that was not the way to go as the cab would no longer fit the chassis or match the bed (large gap). I have another idea I'm wondering if I can shave off all the lines and resculpt everything with contour putty? In an effort to save the cab obviously because I hate the idea of wasted plastic.

[Lordmodelbuilder]

Here is an MPC 53 f100 that I chopped without adding any material to the roof.

I just cut the A-pillars at the bottom and leaned them back. Still needs some work,but you can get an idea how it was done.

[disconovaman]

 I dumped all my old photos by accident last year But I did find this photo of the first chop. Where I sectioned the doors as you can see the chop on the top wasn't drastic enough. Some of the club members stated that it really didn't look chopped at all that's why I started over. Not to mention the cab and frame would not fit with the sections out of the doors. So do not cut the doors. 

 

[disconovaman]

Choppin, cuttin, and grindin on this turd... l filed off all the mold lines, driprails, rubber moldings, and bodylines. I have to say I am satisfied on the height of the top and windows overall it's not too bad, if I can get the bodylines and details re-shaped I think I can save this cab... 

[disconovaman]

Oh wow! It looks terrible in the picture... freakin hi def camera phones! Lol! I didn't look at the photo until after I posted it... It really doesn't look that bad...

[Darren B]

I think it looks awesome. Top chops are the hardest thing to do in my opinion in this hobby and I have been modeling for decades and want to try a chop top but waaayyy to intimidated to try it. It is looking awesome in my opinion keep up the good work I like it very much.

[misterNNL]

There are several "how to" things posted on the internet which can be accessed by typing In " how to chop the top of a '55 Ford pickup truck".Some are videos so those might be of assistance. Good luck.

[prostreeter69]

I think it looks really good! What did you do with the back glass?

 

[disconovaman]

 I wanted the "mail-slot" back window on it so what I did was cut the back window out... then I sectioned it  seperate from the cab then I made the chop on the cab to fit the back window...well kinda. It's rough... I hope I can salvage it... my regret is I wished I would've googled how to chop the cab before. Thanks for the encouragement guys. More later...

[DumpyDan]

Good looking chop, my want to try this myself.  Keep it going.

[disconovaman]

While waiting on filler to dry on the dodge, I added the drip rails back onto the cab. Slow goin but I think it made a big difference... They're a little heavy but it was the only size tubing stock I had. Moving on...

[disconovaman]

Pardon the mess on the bench, I'm gettin my fill of body work... I have two Blazer conversions, a crew cab dodge, and this chop top job goin...

Not too bad for a hack job, I'm might be able to get this one done. My original plan was to build the truck in my Highschool parking lot, however every time I work on it I get this vision of it being Pearl white (White lightning) and a Pure gold top with black pinstripes. I'm thinking wide whites and chrome steelies... we'll see, I still want to do the original plan too but but I'm afraid midnight blue will show too much of my bad filler work...

[Spex84]

Hey, nice save! Looks like things have pulled together nicely. The re-built drip rail is a welcome change. I think the drip rail is a big part of these trucks' personality.

[disconovaman]

I completed the bodywork and laid down a pearl white, gold top, and purple lace paint job. Things will start to come together quicker now. Thanks for looking, more to come...

[DumpyDan]

Real nice work on the Ford truck Anthony, lot of work but looks good.

[TarheelRick]

Good looking chop job and I like your overall vision of this build.  One thing I may suggest is to open up the top of the windshield area, it appears to be too wide below the drip rails (just my thoughts).

[disconovaman]

Hey folks! I randomly got this thing out over the weekend and built a Chevy small block for it. And I desided it needed some matching panels on the hood too... I'm updating this thread so maybe it will inspire me to finish it. ?

[NOBLNG]

Looking Good there.

[Intmd8r]

Really diggin the custom lace paint!