Joined: Sat Feb 04 2017, 07:45PM
Location: SoCal
Posts: 5
Hello all, slowly building a kustom. 318, 904, 4dr ht. After rebuilt motor & trans go in she'll be lowered and rims/tires, interior freshened up and lots of goodies. Future plans are chop top & 2 dr conversion.
Stock 318 coming out
Rebuilt 318 waiting paint & shiny goodies after a smoothed firewall & paint
Solid 98% complete car to start with, 1st Dodge so we're learin' as we're doin on this one!
Joined: Sat Mar 29 2008, 03:36PM
Location: North eastern Wis.
Posts: 1638
Yes, welcome aboard. Very nice ride. Have read about unit body 2 door conversions. The ones I've seen were B body and the whole car from the sill plates up was cut off and a 2 door floor pan was put in place. Was surprised to see the wheel base was the same. The 4 door wheel arches looked odd on the Coronet I saw done. this will be the 1st one on a C that I have seen. Never seen a chop top on a unit body. Got any ideas on how you might handle the glass portion of the chop? Looking forward to watching your progression.
Joined: Sat Aug 19 2006, 05:03PM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2919
I was also wondering about the planned 2-door conversion. Are you just filling in the rear doors and swapping the front bench for flip-forward seats to access the back, or something more complicated?
Given that reproduction body panels aren't made for C-bodies, you'd need to find a 2-door donor car which has good sheetmetal to do as Bboogieart describes. In that case it would probably be better to just keep the 2-door car and restore that.
Joined: Sat Feb 04 2017, 07:45PM
Location: SoCal
Posts: 5
Well.... Once I get to that step, I think I can use Chrysler doors (2dr) that have no outer frame & simply cut the glass down & surrounding metal trim to fit. If it's not as easy as I thought I may just leave it 4dr & use 4dr Chrysler doors and do the same thing, cut the glass & trim around it and it should look right like a 4dr BelAir Chevy Impala. I like the 2 door look, but not sure it'll work like I think as I need to find a donor car & study the jams, etc. Either way it'll be chopped and have functional doors/windows eventually. I thought about a 2dr car & while chopping it just graft on my roof but my car is 99% rust free and complete plus I like the roof line way better then a 2 dr Polara so I want my roof no matter what. This is my first Mopar build so I'm learning as I go so just not 100% sure what I can pull off on this one.
Joined: Sat Aug 25 2007, 11:47AM
Location: new jersey
Posts: 367
I suggest you learn on a basket case that nobody cares about. I've seen too many of these projects go awry that well intentioned car murderers start but are unable to finish.
Joined: Sat Feb 04 2017, 07:45PM
Location: SoCal
Posts: 5
I know what you mean Willie, I wont hack a car up on a maybe.. I've done a few chevys this way & over thunk and quadruple measured before anything got cut. I found my Polara for $1200 so I decided to do a budget build for under $5k, I just want a big boat to cruise town in so we'll see how it turns out.
Joined: Sat Mar 29 2008, 03:36PM
Location: North eastern Wis.
Posts: 1638
WOW that was a steal. Wish I could find a hundred of those at that price. I'd have no trouble flipping 'em. My Chrysler is not even close to the condition of yours and I wouldn't let it go for three times that amount. Of course I live in the rust belt.
Anyway nice car and good luck. Motor looks nice. What all have you done to it? I can't wait to see the finished product. Do you have any pictures of you other builds. I likes me some eye candy.