Achieve your goal with minimum fuss and maximum results! Few modifications change the appearance of a vehicle as much as a well executed top chop. In this information-packed guide, Larry O'Toole shows you how to prepare, mark out and accomplish a top chop on a range of vehicles, from early hot rod coupes to classic American Chevys, and even a Falcon sedan delivery from the sixties. Learn how and where to measure for the chop, how to build an internal frame for the vehicle so that everything stays in alignment while the roof is off, and how to modify the windshield glass to suit the new roofline. Hundreds of step-by-step photos lay out every step of the process.
Get the lowdown on building the rod of your dreams with direction from the experts. Here's everything you'll ever need in one information-packed volume: finding a donor car, design, body and paint work, chassis and suspension modifications, selecting and installing engines and transmissions, interiors, accessories, hot rodding events, clubs, and collectibles. Contains insider tricks and tips from veteran hot rod experts.
Learn how to chop tops with advice from the experts! Today, the purpose of a chopped top on a hot rod is mostly to make a visual statement, but that wasn't always the case. In the late 1930s, roadsters were considered to be real hot rods, while sedans and coupes were not considered to be race cars. Over time, sanctioning bodies began to accept sedans and coupes as race cars, which created the need for chopping tops. When competing in dry-lakes racing, the tall birdcages of cars that had not been chopped created an excessive amount of aerodynamic drag. Chopping the top increased the aerodynamic efficiency to the point that the coupes were competitive with the roadsters. Tops aren't often chopped for those reasons today. However, when viewing the works of art that have been created by the best chopping masters, it's clear that enhanced aesthetics is the only reason that is needed. Chopping a top may seem simple at first (especially if you think that old tops are mostly square), but it is not. The process of chopping a top severely alters the angles of the A-pillars, the intersections where metal meets at the C-pillars, and the rake and fitment of the glass. In How to Chop Tops, hot rod expert and historian Tony Thacker takes you through the process of chopping a top. Individual chapters feature a variety of chops that have been performed by the industry's most talented fabricators. The most popular candidates for this modification are covered, including Ford Model As, Model Ts, 1932 3-window and 5-window coupes, 1933s, 1934s, 1935s, and Shoeboxes. Featured industry experts include Rick Lefever, Evin and Justin Veazie, the Kennedy Brothers, Bobby Walden, Troy Ladd's Hollywood Hot Rods, Rolling Bones, Roy Brizio, Cornfield Customs, Max Grundy, and more. Whether you want to give chopping a try or you just want to see how it's done before hiring a professional, this book is a valuable addition to your library
"Cutting and draping : a practical handbook for upholsterers and decorators" by John W. Stephenson. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
A comprehensive guide to designing and building street rods, customs, and lead sleds. Includes hundreds of photographs and practical tips, plus safe working and design factors. It covers all areas of the car, including chassis, suspension, frame, engine, bodywork, paint, and drivetrain. This guide also details how to choose a car and make critical planning decisions. It shows how to properly equip a workshop and lists tool and parts suppliers.
Every hot rodding magazine ever published (not to mention numerous books and countless web sites) has taken stabs at creating comprehensive glossaries of automotive enthusiasts terms and phrases. Finally Motorbooks has done it right with the publication of The Ultimate Hot Rod Dictionary. The title says it all. This book is 243 pages thick and includes more than 1,600 words and phrases, with definitions, phrase origins and examples of usage. In addition, the dictionary includes more than 225 line-art illustrations."If you never thought you'd find yourself reading a dictionary, this informative and fun book may surprise you. - Rod and Custom, October, 2004Perplexed about Peg Leggers? Curious about Crazy Stacks? Every enthusiast group inevitably spawns its own slang, but few are as rich as that which has evolved around the world of hot rods and customs. Once a unique American sub-language, the gearhead vernacular has long since gone global. Containing some 1,700 entries, this first-ever dictionary of the colorful language and phraseology that has developed in the world of hot rodding and customizing features not just terms used to describe the technologies and designs, but also those pertaining to the culture itself. In the end it's not just a dictionary with something for everyone from newbies to vets, but a book that reveals how the customizers have, in fact, customized their lingo. Includes specially commissioned line-art illustrations and cross-references for related or like terms.
