I posted this beastie in the "When you're not on the CBR" thread, and had some people ask me for more details on it. Instead of totally jacking that thread, I figured I'd just post up a new one for you folks. The car is a 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook, I bought it at an estate auction a couple of years ago and became the 2nd owner of a damn time-capsule. It had been purchased new by a40 year-old lady, who drove it until she was in her 70's and parked it. It then sat in her garage for almost 30 years until she died--I swooped down like a vulture to ****** this thing up...this is what it looked like when I got it home.

Then, I did what every self-respecting motorhead should do and went through the mechanical end of it. The engine/tranny was fine, so it was left alone. I tore out all of the old brake system, and replaced it from one end to the other--$1000 worth of parts later the car stops again. About this same time, my wife and I bought a house, so the car was put on a back-burner until we got in and settled. The following spring, the work started in earnest with a top chop. I removed 6 inches from the top to get the profile the way I wanted it.





The rear window was left unmolested until the roof was re-attached, then removed and laid forward to meet and flow into the roofline


You'll note that the door/window pillars were also removed to turn the car from a sedan into a hardtop--you can see the chunks on the ground in the above pic.

I then decidedI didn't have enough work in front of me, and I should remove the rear bumper and fabricate a roll pan...but just to raise the stakes I should also french (recess) new Maltese Cross taillights into it--so I did. Here's the mockup


I then had to cut out the stock taillights and the metal cancer that surrounded them, and fill those holes


The left side is filled, the right side is still a gaping friggin hole. And yes, those delicious adult beverages are what helps the creative juices fly. Below is after the rough weld-in.

After all of this, I decided I still hadn't done enough and turned my attention to the front end. I felt thatI should french the front headlight bezels and shave, then peak the hood. While I was at it, I also peaked the fenders and flowed that body-line into the newly frenched headlights.


I've since made a bunch of progress on the body work, and have the entire front of the car in primer, and am almost done with the seam where the rear window meets the roof.



There's a lot more to it that just this, but that's the general overview.

Thanks for looking,
Jack

 

Haha THANK YOU! lol

Dude this car is gona be SOOO sick when you get done! Love the chopped top and tail lights.

 

Nice car!!! So where do you get the glass for the windshield and doors after it's chopped? Does it have to be custom made?

 

I was at this gas station the other night and some dude was rebuilding what looked like a model T or something super old. There was no roof or hood on the car. Then it started to storm like hell right after I got to the gas station.

 

You used bondo instead of lead. Whats wrong with you. LOL

 

omg you took what looks like pristine condition '51 classic and made it into a hot rod.......what a waste of history

 

Actually he took some of "HIS" property and is customizing it to "HIS" liking. Not a waste of history. Just and old boring car. Other cars I would have agreed with you on. But not that one.

 

1st off, thanks for all the kudos...much appreciated. I used bondo instead of lead for two reasons...one, i can't find a GOOD supplier of quality body lead that won't charge me an arm and a leg for it. And two, while the pics look like there might be a lot of bondo down on the car, by the time sanding is done most of it is on the floor in a fine powder (or sucked into my lungs to be blown out in the shower--but that's another story).A magnet will still stick to the underlying metal, that's how thin the final coat of bondo is. The windshield and side window glass will be custom cut by me, using the old glass and foamcore board as templates.
As for the waste of history part--maybe so. My way of looking at it is "Another one saved from the restorers", and there is an old rodding saying "Anyone can restore an old car, it takes a real man to cut one up"

 

Percentage wise how far do you think you are with the build?

 

I'll never be finished with the build. When the car is "done", I'll then find something else to do to it. I'm about 75% done with the bodywork, then it'll get paint, then glass, then I'll do the interior, then I'll fabricate a performance intake and exhaust (yeah, I'll do that myself...not too hard, just tedious), then---well, you get the idea. I hope to actually have it to a spot that I can tagand insure it this coming spring--everything else can be done as I play with it.