Anyone ever chopped the top on an A-Body?

-
johnparts

johnparts

Slammed 1
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
2,429
Reaction score
52
Location
Lisle Illinois
So my weekend has been spent cleaning up my new Scamp and we were sitting there Saturday night and we were discussing how the car would look with 2 inches out of the top. Then last night my buddies neighbor came by and said "I bet this thing would look bad a$$ with 2 inches out of the top" we hadn't said a word to him about our discussion the night before so this caught us off guard. How is it we could all be thinking the same thing. So would you be willing to cut a top on an A-Body? have you done so? have any pictures? did you use another car for the roof fillers?
 
There was a '69 Dart factory show car that had a chopped top. It was in an ad back in the day. It had rectangular headlights and a scoop of some sort sticking out of the hood. Car was maroon. I don't have any pics but someone on here might remember it. I think it looked really good myself.
Dallas
 
MOBodyman said:
There was a '69 Dart factory show car that had a chopped top. It was in an ad back in the day. It had rectangular headlights and a scoop of some sort sticking out of the hood. Car was maroon. I don't have any pics but someone on here might remember it. I think it looked really good myself.
Dallas
Click to expand...
I'm seriously considering this for a winter project on my scamp but I wanna make sure I wont ruin it
 
Don't do it. Leave that to the traditional hot rod crowd. You will regret it in the end. Muscle-era Mopars are not meant to be chopped.
 
rmchrgr said:
Don't do it. Leave that to the traditional hot rod crowd. You will regret it in the end. Muscle-era Mopars are not meant to be chopped.
Click to expand...
See and thats where I was thinking just dropping the suspension would gt me the same "Look" I'm after. I saw a 69 Mustang at a show this weekend with Lambo doors and I thought God is that ugly but he had all the new school stuff too the stereo the big 20" wheels and it just looked wrong.
 
OOOOHHHHH PLEASE DO IT!!!! I have thought about chopping one for years. I also thought about turning a 72 into a 2 door wagon.

If you chop it I think the biggest obstacle will be the back window, that is where all the "ugly" is.
 
johnparts said:
See and thats where I was thinking just dropping the suspension would gt me the same "Look" I'm after. I saw a 69 Mustang at a show this weekend with Lambo doors and I thought God is that ugly but he had all the new school stuff too the stereo the big 20" wheels and it just looked wrong.
Click to expand...

The sad thing is that if they are done right most of the "Donks" are worth more than most of our A-bodies.
 
I think if it is done right it would be so subtle you would only notice it if you were next to one that isn't chopped.
 
johnparts said:
See and thats where I was thinking just dropping the suspension would gt me the same "Look" I'm after.
Click to expand...

Waaaay better idea. Don't listen to any lunatic who thinks chopping a Mopar is a good idea. If you ever hope to/need to sell the car, you will not be able to.

Think about it - if it was a good idea, guys would have been doing it for a long time.
 
rmchrgr said:
Waaaay better idea. Don't listen to any lunatic who thinks chopping a Mopar is a good idea. If you ever hope to/need to sell the car, you will not be able to.

Think about it - if it was a good idea, guys would have been doing it for a long time.
Click to expand...
Yeah I have all summer to think about it and I want to see one done to see if I would even like it. As far as selling the car well I sold my Dart and I regret ever doing it so this one will go to my son before I'll sell it(unless the offer is to good to refuse)
 
I'd photochop a lot of samples before deciding. Remeber it aint all about the outside appearence either. Lowering the seats is no big deal but lowering the dash and such might be a major headache.
You might be better off to buy a 300. Tall door skins and short glasses make it look chopped. :)
 
take a good pic from the side and put it in photoshop or a paint program and chop away. you will get a decent idea of how it will look. at time same time you can make other "mods" like lowering, etc to get a general idea if you want to go through with it.
I see lots of pics of other 60's era cars with chopped roofs. if its done right it will look good especially with other mods like lowering and paint that accentuates the lines. really a good chop is only part of the whole of the modifications that make a well-thought-out custom.
in the end, its your car. do it if you want to.
-Tim
 
There is ome one on here that put up a pic of his Dart with a photoshoped choped top. Don't remember where though. I did not like the way it looked my self but to eatch there own. Mabby if you put up a good side pic of your car one of the photoshop pros around here can chop it for you.
 
johnparts said:
See and thats where I was thinking just dropping the suspension would gt me the same "Look" I'm after. I saw a 69 Mustang at a show this weekend with Lambo doors and I thought God is that ugly but he had all the new school stuff too the stereo the big 20" wheels and it just looked wrong.
Click to expand...
Here is a pic of our 67 with 18" wheels & lowered, when we first brought it home. Have went back to 13" with original hub caps, and stock height adjustments. See Pics.............Before & after or vise versa!:supz:

67 big wheels 01.jpg


dart 67 0101.jpg
 
Yeeeah, I gotta say, best not to. Once you hack into that, you'll never get it back. Seriously, I was looking at the pic of your car now, and it looks awesome as is. I like subtlty, and doing something different, but I really do think that you'd regret it, and possibly be in way over your head. there are a ton of articles on doing traditional chops, but none on a bodies. The first time you hit a snag, you'd have no info. Just my two cents.
 
This was on one of the photochopping threads but this would be what my Dart would look like chopped:

chslcopy22.jpg
 
Huge amount of work to chop one....and then there is the issue of all the glass that needs to be cut. Chopping 20s thru early 50s cars -yes.
Anything newer-NO! Ever seen a chopped 57 Chevy?? It throws the proportions of the body all off.
 
yellowdartdave said:
Huge amount of work to chop one....and then there is the issue of all the glass that needs to be cut. Chopping 20s thru early 50s cars -yes.
Anything newer-NO! Ever seen a chopped 57 Chevy?? It throws the proportions of the body all off.
Click to expand...

...but it sure makes those ugly tri-fives look way cooler!

This is a local car...
100_2117.jpg

100_2118.jpg

100_2119.jpg

100_2121.jpg

100_2123.jpg

100_2124.jpg


The only thing wrong with that photoshop Dart is that they need to shorten up the lower roof section, it makes the top look too long. Other than that I think it looks cool. As for the back window you can build a pocket for it and drop it down into the trunk/backseat area. I have seen that done before on later model (late 60's and 70's) cars before and it saves you from laying the rear window forward or cutting the glass.
 
Damned scamp...we think too much alike!!!! I been thinkin bout the scampi waggin for years......you couldn't come up with a better lookin waggin as that !!!!as far as the 2" top chop ....I put a scamp on a lefthander oval track late model car years ago....it looked awesome!!!! car was sold before it got finished....i'm lookin for pic's....back to the subject though....you will need a section of roof to fill the gap or lay the windshield way back...I'll try to find pic's to scan and post but no promise on it......if you chopp it...we will send you bacon!!!!!Oh Hell we'll send scamp bacon!!!!
360scamp said:
OOOOHHHHH PLEASE DO IT!!!! I have thought about chopping one for years. I also thought about turning a 72 into a 2 door wagon.

If you chop it I think the biggest obstacle will be the back window, that is where all the "ugly" is.
Click to expand...
 
I have to put my 2 cents in. I think the "chopped" dart looks DOG-S#$T ugly !! Gives me a shiver .... And as for the chebbys, ahhhhhh, who cares, never liked them anyway. Don't ruin your Scamp. Maybe if it was a 4 door,,,,,,, Nah, I wouldn't even do it to a 4 door Mopar.......Just my opinion.. and I didn't think you could make a '55 chebby look worse than it already was ! That's a look only a mother could take.,,,,,ehhhhhhhh.........................
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top