1951 CHEVY 2-DOOR
     "The Moonlighter"
     Four Inch Chop and Three Inch Body Section
    
 

This project was a cooperative effort by owner Rick Glover, Rosie’s Pati Fairchild, and Charlie Robertson of Cerritos College (Norwalk, CA). Four hours a night, Monday through Thursday,
we worked on this car for almost six weeks. That’s under 100 total hours. Not impressed? During that time we also managed
to weld up the center hood seam, fabricate and weld in a
custom roll pan, and french and lead the headlights. What did you do during your summer vacation?
   
   BEFORE:
   Plotting and Planning

Here is the stripped down body as it arrived in the shop. Rick took some side-view photos and Pati cut them precisely to figure out what combination of inches subtracted would look best. Once it was decided, Pati transferred the cut lines to the car. Precision is everything in this step.
   TOPLESS!
   Step 1: Pass the Point of No Return

The top was the first thing to go. Braces were welded into the passenger compartment and the roof shell beforehand to keep everything rigid and in place while the roof was off. A come-along was used to pull the pillars inward to meet up with the roof in its new location, and splice plates were welded into the pillars for strength.
   CUSTOM ROLL PAN
   Six Flat Pieces of Steel and a Hammer

The roll pan was entirely Charlie’s gig. He was having so much fun whacking the tar out of that sheet metal that no one dared try to take his hammer away. The result is a super clean look for this rear-bumperless sled.
   STRETCHING THE ROOF
   Chopmaster Winfield's Job is Secure... For Now

The roof needed to be lengthened to match the pillars, so we welded in some patch panels. The bigger the panel, the easier it is to warp, so you can only imagine the language we used to describe our progress on this part of the project… The complex folds and box structure of the roof sides were faithfully duplicated and welded in for strength.
   READY TO DROP
   Cutting the Outer Panels and Inner Structure

Rick’s favorite tool was a finger-guardless, spark-spraying, angle-grinder-with-a-cutoff-wheel affair. Somehow he managed to tame the thing long enough to cut all the body section lines on the car. Here, the car is shown ready to drop. Only the door pillars are uncut. The fenders, inner fenders, and doors were all sectioned off the car. Once again, precision was everything.
   FRENCHED HEADLIGHTS
   Stainless Rings Welded In and Leaded

This photo shows the frenched, leaded, and filed headlights. Apparently you can weld stainless to steel with the right welder. A silicon bronze welder, in this case. The sectioning welds on the inner fenders and firewall are also visible. Next we’ll align the hood, weld its center seam, and call it good.
 
Update: After changing out the front end for a radical drop, installing a new steering system, and dropping in a very large engine, Rick has been taking a break by grinding welds and starting the bodywork. Go Rick! Better you than me! ;) Hope to see him and the car at Viva Las Vegas next year!

Copyright 2007 Rosie's Great Body and Paint     1961 Obispo Avenue  Signal Hill, California 90755     info@rosiesgreatbody.com