Supernurd Posted February 2 Posted February 2 It's hard to find complete information on how to do this so I decided to just go ahead and try it. I looked at Gene Winfield's how to video on YouTube on the real car with great interest. He started with marking off 4 1/2 inches on the posts. I decided to start with scale 3 inches at first and go from there. 1
Supernurd Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 (edited) Winfield uses a sawsall to cut out the rear window and a hacksaw on the A pillars. Let's try a hacksaw on the roof! The rest of the rear window was cut using an xacto knife along the lower crease. The A pillars are cut at the top line, and we can start with a conservative chop on the posts. Better to remove less than too much. Edited February 2 by Supernurd 6 1
Zippi Posted February 2 Posted February 2 Looks like your coming along pretty good on chopping the ole 49 Merc L M. I built this kit but didn't chop mine. I'll be checking in on the build. 1 1
bobss396 Posted February 2 Posted February 2 Scale Auto did an article years back, I have seen it online too. It was maybe my 2nd NNL East, someone did a clinic and chopped one in all of 10 minutes. The body was marked up already. 1
Supernurd Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 1 hour ago, bobss396 said: Scale Auto did an article years back, I have seen it online too. It was maybe my 2nd NNL East, someone did a clinic and chopped one in all of 10 minutes. The body was marked up already. The scale auto article seems to have disappeared.
NOBLNG Posted February 2 Posted February 2 (edited) Nice start on this one. I haven’t chopped a Merc yet but it is definitely on my to do list. I think less is more on most chops. I don’t care much for the really “hammered” look. I’m interested to see how yours turns out.😎 Edited February 2 by NOBLNG 1
Supernurd Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 The chop at 3 inches is looking good. Let's roll with it. 4 2
Supernurd Posted February 3 Author Posted February 3 (edited) With the roof chopped it will naturally slide forward making the new landing point wider than the original. Gene compensates for this with relief cuts to "flatten" the rear of the roof. In my case I simplified the job by heating the rear corners with a blow dryer and tweaking them to fit. The same was done at the A-pillars. The roof was then tacked into place. Edited February 3 by Supernurd 1
Supernurd Posted February 3 Author Posted February 3 (edited) With the roof in place the rear window will slide forward also. This gives a nice transition at the base where it meets the Dutchman panel. The window is tacked in place at the rear roof centerline. The angle is then adjusted with pieces of sprew and then tacked into place. Edited February 3 by Supernurd 9
Supernurd Posted February 4 Author Posted February 4 From here the gaps are filled with sprew. Once filed into shape, the whole area was flooded with CA and sanded out. 5
Ace-Garageguy Posted February 4 Posted February 4 Yup, good proportions, the flow of the roofline looks good, and it appears to be symmetrical in most of the shots. Those three areas are where chops go bad, on real cars as well as models. 1
bill-e-boy Posted February 4 Posted February 4 What they all said. I did one years ago based on an article in one of the hot rod magazines and it is exactly as how you have done yours. Good work 1
Supernurd Posted February 5 Author Posted February 5 I've roughed in the C pillars. In Gene's tutorial he converts it to a hardtop but shows the process for adding them back in. Most customizers delete the locks and door handles but I'm leaning toward keeping them just to be different. I may keep the stock grille too. And the flathead. I'm more concerned with thinking about what to do about the headlight bezels. The ones in the kit are horrible. 6
Zippi Posted February 6 Posted February 6 Looking really sharp there L M. Looks like most of the hard work is done. 1
Supernurd Posted February 7 Author Posted February 7 (edited) The vent window pillars have been added back in. Now on to the headlights. Let's weld in some pie plates and get to work. I may go with the chrome bezels, or may go frenched. Yet to be determined. Edited February 7 by Supernurd 2
gman Posted February 7 Posted February 7 1 hour ago, Belugawrx said: 👍Looking great ! Agreed- excellent looking chop. 1
Bullybeef Posted February 7 Posted February 7 Chop looks well thought out and carefully executed. I’ll follow along to see more 1
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