I once read on the back of a pizza box that said, “No task ahead of you is as great as the power within you.” To be honest I was a bit shocked to see it because I wasn’t up to par on the fortune cookie style of the pizza box, yet at the same time I figured I’d rather have a morale boost than a set of lucky numbers. (Confucius hasn’t exactly been channeling the correct powers of the unknown in dealing my hand of lucky numbers distributed along a sliver of paper inside a horseshoe cookie!) For some strange reason, mostly due to a comical conversation piece, I cut the saying out and hung it in the shop. I guess you could call it my version of Notre Dame’s “Play like a champion today.” Now how does all this apply to some vintage tin? Well, I think it’s a motto we all could use when the time comes to customize your ride.
For whatever the reason, a lot of folks out there find tackling metalwork an unattainable task. Sure, most will fill holes, shave a badge or something else along the lines of basic metalwork, but actually digging into a project that will help define your ride . . . let’s just say it’s harder to convince them it’s possible than it is keeping Lindsay Lohan away from an open bar! The only fallacy to the whole scenario is that metal is one of the easiest things to work. It can be cut, shaped, welded and built into almost anything; and last time I checked our old trucks are mostly comprised of it. Good old-fashioned, thick malleable American steel at that, which is the best kind to work with. With that being said, for this tech story I want everyone to adapt the pizza box motto, because in reality this metalworking story is quite possible-as I’m going to show.
One of the greatest ways to enhance a classic truck is to chop the top. Now there a more ways to chop a top on a classic truck than you could shake a stick at, but in the end the processes are all similar: cut the A and B pillars, split the roof, add a piece of filler and then fit the jambs and glass. It’s as basic as that. Funny part is the metalwork isn’t the hardest part; the trickiest part is fitting doors and glass. However, what if I said there was a way to chop your ’55-’59 Chevy truck without ever touching the doorjambs and the only glass to be dealt with is the windshield? Now the excuse bank is running dry! By chopping just the front of the A-pillars and the cap of the roof on these trucks, one can actually end up with a 4-inch chop, without ever touching the doors, side glass, back glass or jambs.
Here are a few views of the...
Here are a few views of the top before the knife. For starters, look how the top line of the side glass is several inches below the top line of the windshield. From there note the bulbous and robust shape of the cap of the roof coupled with the gnarly overhang. That’s all about to change!
Another thing that I just...
Another thing that I just couldn’t shake was the gap between the roof and the top of the doorjamb. This too will change within seconds.
The first incision is made...
The first incision is made to the internal structure of the cap. The inner skin of the headliner, which doubles as the inside perimeter of the cap, needs to be removed.
Here’s how things will pan...
Here’s how things will pan out. The inner skin will be removed to allow for just the outer cap to be cut free.
For the most part the drip...
For the most part the drip rail surrounding the perimeter of the cap is what’s holding it to the cab; therefore I cut the drip rail flush with a cut-off wheel.
Now before any more cuts are...
Now before any more cuts are made to the top, it’s important to think things through, due to the fact that this is the real deal now. I used some tape to give me some reference lines. The tape running across the front of the roof is where I’ll cut the remaining portion of the cap. The tape running across the door is a visual line to where the new roof line will stack up—this line is more just for visualizing as opposed to functional.
Using a cut-off wheel, I zipped...
Using a cut-off wheel, I zipped across the rest of the cap and removed the skin.
The point of no return! At...
The point of no return! At this point you’re all in, so go ahead and breathe easy. Without the skin of the roof on the truck, one can really tell just how tall that windshield is; a definite no-no in my book.
With the cap’s skin off the...
With the cap’s skin off the truck I can clean up what’s left of the inner structure. I pretty much just grind the excess flat to make room for the cap to be lowered down.
These old Chevy and GMC trucks are so robust up in the cap of the roof that there’s plenty of meat to play with. Because the windshield sits so much higher than the top of the side glass, GM had to accommodate the top by adding more metal to the cap in order to flow the glass into the roof line. Beyond that they also developed the cab with a built-in sunvisor—a total departure from the early advanced design bodies. The new cap of the Chevy roofs didn’t create a flowing line from the windshield to the roof transition. Instead, there is a definitive break in the top. In fact, it wasn’t until ’73 that we see GM bring back—and never depart from again—the much more aerodynamic and visually stunning effect of flowing the windshield into the top. Because of all these attributes, it has left the perfect playground for the customizer. By simply removing a few inches from the front of the A-pillar, slicing a sliver from the cap and then deleting the overhang, the roof of the truck will be drastically altered. What one ends up with is a chopped top without all the headaches of glass and fitment. It’s actually quite genius and very simple to accomplish. But don’t take my word for it; just follow along as you’ll see how Star Kustom Shop shows you, “the proof is in the pudding”! By the way, don’t limit this method to only the ’55-’59 Chevy trucks because it can also be applied to other various makes and models of trucks. CCT
Here’s one cool thing about...
Here’s one cool thing about chopping the top in this manner, it takes seconds to fit the upper door gap to more appropriate tolerances. Using a hammer I lowered the roof line to flow an even 1/4-inch across the door.
Ok, here’s where this chop...
Ok, here’s where this chop is really going to break free from a traditional chop. Instead of cutting the entire A-pillar I’m only going to remove a chunk of material from the front side of the A-pillar, which is illustrated between the two fingers. By doing this the side glass nor the doorjamb will be touched whatsoever.
Using a level I drew a line...
Using a level I drew a line across the entire A-pillar. From there I measure two inches down and drew a parallel line with the level. It’s important to make these cuts level with the world, so mark accordingly.
To aid in a clean cut I also...
To aid in a clean cut I also taped the pillar off. This is definitely a time to live by the “measure twice, cut once” dictum. Also at this time, measure the distance between the dash and the center line of the roof overhang.
Next up, the area between...
Next up, the area between the tape was cut free, but I was sure to leave the rear of the A-pillar unscathed.
At this point, the upper portions...
At this point, the upper portions of the A-pillars are still attached, so a vertical incision is made up from the back of the upper cut. The beauty of this is once things are cut free the front half of the pillar will slide down and butt up against the two cut marks, which means no filler material will be needed.
With the cuts made the entire...
With the cuts made the entire front section of the roof can be removed.
Being that the posts are now...
Being that the posts are now lowered, the horizontal length of the front of the roof isn’t going to be long enough. For that reason, the front section of the roof, which was just removed, will need to be split and lengthened to the new opening. At this point all I have done is tacked a filler piece in position, however, be sure to keep the correct radius of the windshield line because this is crucial to windshield fitment! Remember the markings made from the dash distance? The center line should now measure roughly 2 inches lower.
As mentioned before the front...
As mentioned before the front of the A-pillar will slide down into place, which means all you need to do is weld things solid.
Because things have been so...
Because things have been so squished inside the post, it called for a filler piece to be made to mind the gap. At this point the truck’s roof is structurally stable, and all that’s left is to fit the cap, which we’ll get to next month.