Thread: 51 chop toppin'

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I have a 51 chevy 2 door fleetline I want to chop top it. How do I go about it...and most of all. I need pictures..I want to see what the finish product looks like before I do the chop top. if anyone can help please do so...

On your car, this is major surgery. You will need a good sheetmetal welder, and a person to cut down the windshield, and make some new side glass.

The very best way is to have another body to rob pieces from, because as the top goes down, the edges will spread farther apart, so if you have a second body, you can use the two cars to create a new roof, wider and longer than the original.

This probably is best hired out to someone knowledgable in major body restyling. I haven't been involved in this in many years, so I can't even tell you what an approximate cost is to have it done.

The Fleetline is one of the most difficult chops, because of the flowing roofline. The trunk has to be sectioned to maintain a smooth line, lots of work and seldom does it work out without looking bad. But it can be done!

"I have a 51 chevy 2 door fleetline I want to chop top it."

No you don't.

mr popes a smart fellar, listen to him. i've cut up a lot of cars in my time but the fleetline and oldsmobiles are one of the tuffest to pull off. i do not believe you will be able to do this unless you've done many before. your dealing with a roof line that goes from windshield to rear bumper. your looking at 5k+ to have it done and you better be sure of who cuts it. most i've seen look bad. you can cut the front 1 1/2 and lean the post back without butchering the rear lines. a pie cut at the rear qrt window will let it fall this far without messing up the rear lines. good luck...your gonna need it.

Man, I just found this thread. I seen a few chop tops on The Fleetline's. They look terrible, makes them look 10' longer than they actully are. to me, there low and sleek enough with stock roof height.

Chop it, or don't, but in the end do what pleases you, and no one else. This hobby is about personal expression.

If Roth, Starbird, Barris, or Winfield took a poll before they did anything, we would have missed out on some wonderful creations.

Chopping is only part of it. If that is the only mod you make on the car (no matter what car), the proportions are going to be off. To me if all you do is lower the roof it would be like changing the oil but not the filter, just not a good way to do it. Radical customizing is becoming a lost art. Many today think 20" wheels and shiny paint constitutes a custom!!!! Maybe I'm just showing my age and high mileage again????

I'm with you on this one Dave. One of my first thoughts was all of the other things that go with wild body mods. Heavy customs are a highly developed style, but most of the action stopped a few decades ago, and is an unknown art to younger enthusiasts.

On the flip side of that coin is the fact that many trends are resurfacing recently. Let's hope it becomes popular again.

Today we would be able to add airbags, and other new features to the recipe! It could be even better!

Here are a couple to looks at that have been chopped well, one of them is a Buick, but you get the idea

And here's the Buick

Originally posted by Stu Cool
And here's the Buick

This might be the nicest chop I've ever seen. Every line on the car is spot-on and it looks for all the world like it may have been produced by an OEM.

The Buick is absolutely gorgeous and reflects exactly what I was saying about having ALL the proportions correct. There has to be a ton of hours in just reworking the rear half of the car to get the lines to flow correctly. Thanks for the pics, Pat.

And, if I'm not mistaken, he made it a hardtop, too!

Gorgeous!

I've got a 36 chevy master sedan which is screaming for some rad metal work, after all, it is practically channeled by ol mother nature already!

Anyway.. found two articles in my Rod n Custom mags which detail a top chop. One guy builds a cage inside the car first, which holds everything together during the process. The vertial rises telescope, so they collapse down, keeping the top perfectly positioned. The cage is removed when the job is done.

Another article shows the guy just choppin' and droppin, no internal cage. It doesn't show, but seems to me it would be a VERY good idea to have the center of the car supported during the process, to prevent any body sag.

A third article is also of intrest to ya... throw the top away, and build a new 'soft top' out of metal conduit, cover it with chicken wire, burlap, canvas, cotton cloth, and top it with your choice of material.