Projects T&A Flathead Builds a '48 RagTop

Here, I straightened the car out.

 

Madfish, put a more gradual slope in the quarter window, more like the original illustration in post 49. And can you turn the top white? It will make a huge difference in the "look".

 

Chris and Alchemy, I see you points. Although the illustration is slightly going up hill to the windshield, I went too much.
I agree based off of photos I've found parallel will be more trad.

Madfish, can you change the curve of the rear window to begin at the very front of the window? The rear quarter window should be one large radius.

 

I think the illustration appears like it is going uphill because the side window frame is slightly crowned. But a rule of thumb is tops should never run uphill...it's gotta "flow"

 

I agree with Chris and Alchemy. Here is another of Janne's illustrations without the top but with the windows up. You can see the door window frame is pretty parallel with the top of the door and just slightly starts to taper down towards the very end of the frame.

 

Here´s a photoshop i did years back. Bit more curve to it.

 

Thanks for all the feedback and Thanks Madfish for the Photoshopping.

Well, I have more work to do.

Too much chop will make the door appear even longer than it is. Madfish's last image shows that pretty clearly. I think the chop is too severe.

On a bright side, changing the curve in the top bow above the rear qtr window will easier than originally anticipated.

 

I've never chopped a convertible... but the way I did my coupe was I chopped the A pillars to my liking then moved back. I would get your stance knocked out first cause that can make a huge difference on how a roof line looks. Then windshield and then get the flow that looks best to you. At the end of the day it's your car and you need to be satisfied.

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Spent more time with the ragtop today. Studying, planning, scratching my head, more studying....
I made some adjustments to my conduit pattern. Used all the good feedback. I'm happy with it.




My plan for the chop is to separate the bow above the rear window from the pivot arm, rotate it forward, and then re-arch the channel by making 4 cuts.

Based on the patterns I made, the bows should still fold as designed.

 

Just looked for an article in an old hot rod magazine here but couldn't locate it where they chopped a similar car by lowering the mounting points of the rear mechanism in the body essentially retaining the top and dropping the entire assembly down into the OEM body mounting bracket. I recall they extended the front bows to compensate for the additional length due to dropped windscreen and it moving forward during the chop. I think they then reshaped the rear glass frames to match the dropped mechanism and then did the front 1/4 glasses.

 

I have seen an article like that as well for a 46-48 ford. I'll admit I considered doing this one that way but when I layer it out I didn't like the look. It shortens the rear qtr window a bit and makes it look chubby.

 

My dear old dad built a '39 Plymouth convertible with a manual top and it looks/ work great. As for the top itself he checked and double checked the fit of the fabric at least a dozen times before the car was finished. He also made sure to leave the fabric a little longer than normal (maybe 3 inches)in case he had to recut it . Hope this helps


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I helped with a Buick convertible. We lowered the rear mechanism down (cut into the top of the wheel tubs) widened the rear cross bow a bit. Worked great. The more the chop the harder that roof will be. Sorry for the crappy pic.


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That looks like a really nice car to start with. Gonna be awesome once you nail down the proportions that your comfortable with. If it were mine I'd be tempted to build a chopped swoopy 2 door hardtop myself. Good luck

 

Some real progress today.
4" chop, re-shaped the rear bow channel, and it still folds. More adjustments are needed to get the front bow to align properly. I've only re-shaped the left side, so on to the right, then the windshield.





This one shows the comparison to stock.


I'm pretty happy with it.

 

I think you're right on the money! 3" chop on the Buick. I'm a less is more kind of guy on chops!


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Looks much better than the conduit, smoother.

 

Very nice!!!

 

Cool

 

I haven't been able to spend much more than a few minutes in the shop over the last few weeks. So with the little time I've had, I made a few adjustments on the top irons. The angle of the front section near the windshield is much better. It is giving me the confidence to start chop on the other side.
What do you think?

 

I see that you have the obligatory left front snow tire for authenticity ! Thanks for documenting this build. I am sure enjoying reading along.

 

Looks great Tim!

 

James, that looks fantastic! Especially for us taller folks. I'll be interested in seeing how Tim's chop comes out, as I'm sure it will look incredible too.

 

Looks good the straighter line you have with the top rail looks much better than when it was dipping down at the front.

 

Thanks Guys!

 

Thats looking killer!

 

Finally got in a little shop time today. I was able to get the right side top irons chopped. Both sides are equal and time to move onto the windshield.

 

Here is a more classic chop on a 48 convert. He took 2" out of the front post and cut the irons to match. I just showed the irons and how he cut them. Probably not HAMB friendly but shows the chop process. Not difficult.