mighty boy roof chop diary.

[ALMIGHTY BOY]

day 1: yesterday.
first of all remove f+r windows. the doors and windscreen are not going to be modified for this chop only the roof skin itself. i`ll also have to modify the cant rail on both sides to allow for the new roof skin and extended roof . the rear window panel has been removed to just below the ally rail so as to retain some rigidity. next a brace is welded in just above the seatbelt mounts, side to side. measurements taken from side to side at several points for future referance.

day 2: today.
so far remove tailgate, obviously seats seatbelts, rvmirror, any wires etc removed from pillars and cant rails. next remove roof skin, leaving gutter and rear roof support. next job will be to modify cant rails from the top so roof skin will sit lower. the whole idea behind the project is to create a "fastback" or "low" hatchback. eventually i`ll have to fab a rear door and do away with the tailgate, ultimately doing away with that ugly area beneath the rear lights and tailgate hinge. new bumpers will be made but its all being done in stages as the car is still driven. the new roof is from an old nissan sunny wagon which gives plenty to play with, but i`ve only got one shot..... not sure if i`ll have side windows or a panel van , i think a van to start then add windows later. it`s also about aerodynamics, a few k`s from anywhere always helps... well thats it today, more later. P.S. only got this week to get it back on the road.. wish me luck.

[jono]

Sounds interesting! Are you able to post up some pics too?

[Brayden]

It does sound interesting, but the question has to be asked; why not just get an Alto and lower the roofline?

My assumption is you're trying to make something that looks like this:

[ALMIGHTY BOY]

yes, got pics, but it`ll be a while till i get them up may need to email them to someone to do that for me,(brayden?) its (or) will be quite similar to the yellow car, seen that before but the roof so far is more angular or notched at the back, less sloping maybe more "agressive" looking. i dont just want to go and lower an alto or hatch or anything else, i want to create a "very" custom mb. sentimentalism plays a part too, its been my transport for nearly 6yrs. and i cant let it go, i`m sure you all understand,..... anyway its all going well, my young son is at oosh care the rest of the week, and my wife is working so ive got plenty time... more soon.

[ALMIGHTY BOY]

day3: lunchtime. things are going well, the cantrails are now lowered, roof gutter is still in the same place but the cantrails are more "square" or level as apposed to being angled upwards to accomodate the higher and more angled (from the rear) roof line. the new roof will be low to the gutter like the more modern cars so giving the imression of a lower roof. the rear sections to be grafted on are lining up very nicely, and have the same angle from the rear quarter panel to the roof, enabling the side windows to have a nice rake on them. with the windows i`ll do them like the modern cars : larger bonded glass on the exterior bodywork rather than with conventional rubbers, i`ll try and source an existing window otherwise they will have to be flat laminated unless i can get someone to put a slight roll in them, maybe expensive.. should have the two rear sections ready to weld up tonight. it has a longer roof than the yellow car (whats it called again?) and a smaller window (mb rear) but a reasonable oppening of arround 750mm(h). for the rear opening for now it`ll be two piece, tailgate with a top hinged section, i should have got the sunny tailgate to chop up, i`ll worry about that later.. thats all .

[Brayden]

The car I posted is a Cervo. All Suzuki did was chop off the rear roof section and take out the back seat to make the MB.

[JohnnyB]

with the windows i`ll do them like the modern cars : larger bonded glass on the exterior bodywork rather than with conventional rubbers, i`ll try and source an existing window otherwise they will have to be flat laminated unless i can get someone to put a slight roll in them, maybe expensive...

I would source windows first before doing much more body work. as custom bending is very expensive and not many people do it, make the body suit the windows, cause if you break the glass installing/vandals it is easier to replace when you have got it from a donor car rather than forking out $800+ (if not more) for custom made bent glass.

PS. Flat glass on sides of cars look really really bad (trust me done it 1000's of times)....wish i had the time and nerves to do something like that should look sweet!

[mowog]

are you doing this with an engineer's supervision? would be a shame to do all the work and get it rejected because no engineer.

[ALMIGHTY BOY]

day4: tired. a bit more work than i thuoght, the most time consuming part is the old tape measure, checking and double checking then trying to find out where 5mm went. after hours of measuring and much brain wracking i eventually discovered that the donor roof section was 4mm out, in that the roof gutter was about 4mm higher on one side than the other (from the top of the window apperture). speaking of windows (jonny) i agree it`s a good idea to find the glass first, but in this case i wanted to get a specific roof shape so didn`t want to be tied in to a window shape. i`ll just have to pay the money for glass or think of some other way of getting what i want. as i said i could live with a van for a wee while. maybe a cut down windscreen for example, not very practicle but still possible.... once all the calculations added up i welded the two rear donor sections together while clamped in possition. this was then removed several times to remove paint/sealer etc around areas to be welded. finally it was tacked in place then measured and double checked for square. because there was no real pressure or stress on anything it stayed in place nicely. a few modifications have to be made to the rear section rails to mate in with the front cantrail, but nothing major. looking from the rear the roof gutters mate up very well, i dont like to say perfectly because well, what is perfect? there is a slight curve from the front of the door to the rear of the gutter which looks almost factory. there`s a lot more work to do to make it totally sound but the whole job is going well. with regard to the Eman he will see it, i`ll be doing a roof chop on a hotrod soon so i`ll get that guy`s Engineer to come and have a look. i`m not too worried though i`m a vehicle bodybuilder to trade and have been doing "stuff" for a while i wont drive it if its not structurally sound, and it`s only a modification, not a new build, putting more in rather than taking it out. we`ll see how it goes.

[Brayden]

This thing sounds like it will be wicked when finished. Seeing as though you're a vehicle bodybuilder have you given thoughts to grafting a later model Alto front end on, or even some suicide door action? Now THAT would be awesome!

By later model Alto I mean this shape (which I think is better looking than an MB front end):

[ALMIGHTY BOY]

yes mate now you are talking, suicide doors are an option, and the front end well first i`ll have to keep the "square" styiling, at the moment with a six y0ld son my inspiration is def "hot wheels." its got a hand made bar grille at the moment which covers the lights, and a large scoop on the bonnet, cut down holden one, but thats going to go, i`ll need a bump in a diff. spot with the supercharger, so i think i`ll make a pretty wild open front grille with integral bumper/spoiler, the gaurds will be done f+r with the rear ones poss. enclosed... sounds dodgy but might work. the car is in such bad shape at the moment everything will change. always loved gull wing doors it just depends on time and the oppertunity to do it, remember think way out hot wheels thats the aim. im looking for 6x13 rims with a big offset, dont worry about the gaurds they wil be made to fit, steel rims, any thing. 3" in, 3" out.... may contact dragway in melb. diary entry later.

[ALMIGHTY BOY]

day 5+6: two days off, 6yo b`day, so much fun putting up trampoline and tidying the back yard, picking up bits of metal and junk... sunday i`m into it, cant wait, spotted a few side windows that may work, new corrola wagon, we`ll see.

[mowog]

Can't wait to see it.
what welding method are you using? Oxy or mig? how do you minimise distortion?
I have a mig welder but I find there is a lot of spatter (using gasless wire)
is there a way around that or do you have to live with it and clean up later?

[ALMIGHTY BOY]

mowog, use gas with your mig, it`s the only way to get a decent result , if you must go gasless, then make sure that the steel to be welded is free of any paint or dirt of any kind, also to prevent distortion, tack things together first then remove the majority of the tack before you weld up fully. weld a 100mm section then quench it with a wet rag, or start at the other end and work your way arround the job. i`ll mostly be mig welding to get the job "set up" because you only need one hand and its quick, but to finnish off i will be tig welding everything up. far better penetration and less distortion. you have to use argon gas which is more expensive but worth it in the end. no spatter, but again the area arround the weld must be perfectly clean.just before you weld (15mm either side). you can get by with gasless but be clean and get a can of anti spatter to spray arround the job, that will help to. the main thing with welding is practice, before you weld on your car, just practice on some metal of a similar thickness and muck arround with the settings till youre happy, then mark the welder so you know where you were next time. dont give up, it only gets better.

[Kel]

stitch welding do a little bit skip forward a bit do a little bit and fill in the gaps later thats what they do with those massive train coal containers with 2 MIG welders set up on tracks to minimise distortion, man oxy welding that much would take sooo long lol oh and just incase u didnt think of it keep an eye on the inside surface of metal if its painted cause it catches fire pretty quick

good job i admire your dedication
good luck !!