Top Chop for a volksrod project

does anyone have any measurements on choppin a top? or any helpful hints before i go cutting away? pics amd ,easurements would be helpful. thanks in advance

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=345410&highlight=clark+kustoms

thanks, my computer is super slow and it takes forever to search on thesamba. not to mention those guys on there can be jerks sometimes lol

Wow took a look at the link and what f@%*king waste of a great car.

this is NOT for the faint at heart or the novice, precision cutting and good welding skills are NECESSARY!! If you got a "brass set" go for it!

hey man, easy on the hating. i believe every car should be the way their owner wants its to be. theres no need for that on here man.

He could have picked a car that wasn't a factory ragtop car esspecially one that solid

My thoughts on it are, "if the the car is really rough, sure do what ever your heart desires, but, if it's a nice car don't hack it up. Build it in such a manner as so it can be put back to original condition. Just my opinion.

Right on tim

well by all means captain if you would like to buy this car from me and give me one to chop up on top of the cash go for it. but this is my bug and what i have. ive wanted a volksrod for a while and this is what i have to do it with. im not a pureist but im not a hillbilly that cant do something tastefully. this is all i have to work with so im going to work on it to build it how i like

no one is hating on your car or you or trying to tell you what to do they're commenting on the car in the article. stop starting drama. we don't do that here

haha, i wasn't trying to start drama. the reason i got on this site is bc i heard there wasn't any. andi was just saying if they didnt want to see mine chopped they could buy it. we all own vws so theres a lil hippie in all of us. peace not war brother. no drama here

its your car make it yours do what you want good luck

thanks, sorry for the misleading post. i know tone and interpritation can be blurred online and sometimes come off the wrong way

I've driven chopped bugs and it's just not for me. Cars like that are getting harder to find, cut up a 70's bug not a mid 60's one. Cars in general that are chopped, have shaved door handles and suicide doors, I just don't get it.

bakertim2 wrote:My thought is this, "if the the car is really rough, sure do what ever your heart desires, but, if it's a nice car don't hack it up. Build it in such a manner as so it can be put back to original condition. Just my opinion.

im not going that route but mine is a 69. nothing special. if it was a 67 or earlier i wouldn't

i think everyone (or most everyone) was talking about the bug in that link, not your bug. the bug in the link is a 61 ragtop, and everyone is bummed about it geting chopped up. personally, i say do what you want, even if its a 52 split and u want it chopped, thats your desicion to make, and no one elses. even if i don't agree with your desicion, its still your desicion. people tell me that a stroker motor isn't streetable, and will run hot, but that usually comes from people who've never had anything bigger then stock, lol. i'll just let my 60K miles on the odometer do the talkin . just my .02

Anyhoo, there was a guy at bug-a-puluza last year who chopped his top, and tho he didn't finish, i liked his method. it basically involved doing several pie cuts in the metal, allowing you to bend the roof down. the result was the windshield was angled back farther. looked really good. would take a lot of welding as far as filling in the pie cuts, and re shaping the window seal areas, and door posts, but the process was pretty good. you wouldn't need to cut the roof in to 4 pieces or more like other methods require.

oh, that makes more sense now, i had forgotton about that link having pics in it. thanks for clearing that up. and that sounds like an interesting method, i dont believe ive ever seen it that way

no problem. didn't want' to see anyone turned off by the site especially from a misunderstanding.

anyhoo, yeah that was the first time i had seen that method as well. maybe someone will chime in with pics of that car. i remember it was at BAP, but the more i think of it, the more i may be mistaken on the year. i know it was either last year, or the year before. he also had an extended beam, and a connecting rod clamped to the beam on each side held the headlights. i also remember two big wrenches welded together in an X shape but don't remember where on the car it was or its purpose, just remember the wrenches, lol.

Like Turbo Mike said, it's your car do with it what you want. I've built a couple of volksrods my self and bajas in the past because that's what I wanted. I'm not trying to discourage you from doing it. I personally don't like to see the early cars cut up beyond repair. I'll be glad to help you out with anything I can.I have wanted to be involved in a chop for a while, just never had the nerve to jump in.

I was told by my Vw Guru to do it right it takes 3 roof sections to chop it right and he's always right.

thanks tim, hopefully ill be able to bring you some business. i don't do any metal work or welding so il need someone to help with that. and ive also heard i need atleast one donor roof. so im on the hunt for one. if anyone knows where i can score one around 100 bucks id really appreciate it

kokodabobo wrote:thanks tim, hopefully ill be able to bring you some business. i don't do any metal work or welding so il need someone to help with that. and ive also heard i need atleast one donor roof. so im on the hunt for one. if anyone knows where i can score one around 100 bucks id really appreciate it

Not just a donor roof, but also donor doors to lengthen the door tops

I'm pretty sure I can come up with a roof and doors for a reasonable price.

if you want to help me out with the chop maybe we can work out a deal for a single price for a beam extension and narrowing and a chop. im not rich but i do have a decent amount put aside for my beetle.