come along as we chop this '40 Mercury oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
ooooooooooooooooooooooo following in the footsteps of the heroes of the trade
as preparation clean out the interior and brace the body to reduce possible flex
measure and mark the cuts - here we use tape and marker to get straight cuts
these are 5" in the front and 9" to be cut out of the c-pillar
then it takes a brave soul to start cutting with saw and angle grinder
cutting free the rear window, which is going to be reused as one piece
improvised roof support helps when the last pillar is cut
then the roof goes back on and is tacked at the a-posts
watch for correct width in relation to window channel when tacking c-pillar
and then it's high time for some test sitting
but beer crate seat proved too high for unhindered straight ahead visibility
next windscreen top frame is cut lose and moved up about two inches
watch for smoldering fires in noise insulation mats
rear window is cut loose and simply tilted forward into slightly bent up roof
cardboard patterns show three dimensional curve around the back of the roof
and then it's time to call it a day and stand back in awe!
next there's the task of getting the flow of the rear right
by patching in panels and a bunch of filler pieces (eventually cut out again)
because better: get your hands on an English wheel and start rollin'
a little practice will get you smooth flowing curves
the roof filler pieces are welded
vent window frame is also in the making as is the B-post
stainless steel window frames need special welder to be put back into shape
narrow b-pillar makes for slick profile
be a butcher
so cool
to be continued!