The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Chop a 5-window

Anyone ever choped a top on a five window?? How did you work the rounded rear corner glass??

I did mine out of plexiglass.

I haven't tried it yet, but I would think that if the chop is done properly, taking your original glass ones to a good auto glass place and having them cut them down should work. Giving them access to the truck would be best, so they can be sure of proper fit up.

Gear, those corner glass are tempered and can't be cut. Tempered is the glass that basicly "explodes" into tiny 3/16" fragments when it is broken. Ir will do that when you try to cut it. Now I have heard of magical shops that cut it with laser or sand blast it, but that is just in the comic books as I have never really seen it happen to tempered.

If you have a bad one to experiment with, try using one of those very thin cutoff discs in your grinder. If you have a "soft touch" I would bet it could be done.

Not so--it's plain old glass with the plastic between layers. Tempering came much later. I would think they could be cut--I've even seen it done by adventuresome spirits on a windshield.

Guys, maybe I should make myself clear...I have did it. I chopped my truck as my signature says in 1975 and those windows are tempered. If you want to put a dollar on it, I'll bet ya.

Gear, you COULD NOT cut one with a die grinder. It WILL explode. I even tried wet belting it at a glass shop, it broke.

The curved glass in cars had been tempered for many years before '48 even. It was the cheapest way to do it. Heck in Europe the WINDSHIELDS were tempered up till only about 15 or 20 years ago!!!

I've seen a chopped top 5 window at Gatlinburg, TN "Shades of the Past" show where they sunk the glass below the lower lip. In other words the top was cut and rewelded and the glass was not cut it sank below the glass opening and rested on a lip and was hidden with upholestry. I didn't ask if it was weather proof though. Has anyone else seen or done that? It looked good.

I was stearing at mine last night pongering it. Thought about taking two inches out of the back of it way below the windows then taking two inches out of the window posts so the cornered windows wont change at all. Anyone tried that before? Thanks

BBBowtie, I have seen dropping the glass into the body, it is an old trick. I don't like it at all, just seems hokey to me.

mallard, I am not sure I understand you, there is no room below the quarter windows. Not unless you go below the body line (seam)and that wouldn't be chopping, it would be sectioning. You couldn't change the door windows, you would be below the bodyline.

You can chop one and leave the center rear window stock, it is done all the time and was done on the Rod and Custom dream truck in 1954.

I just re-read what you wrote. You are talking about going below the body line but only at the quarter glass while still lowering the top. I thinkif that line was disurbed it wouldn't look very good. Just make the windows out of plexiglass, mine lasted for 20 years till I sold the cab. They still looked pretty good.
I think I have decided to not use them at all when I finish my chop (been sitting for a few years, while I work on other projects).

One of the primary problems with doing a chopped top is finding a place who will do the glass for you. Almost everyone who does a first time chop NEVER thinks of this. The problem is even greater when it comes time to do the windsheild with safety glass.
I highly recommend finding a specialist to do this for you. You will not do it yourself without severely screwing it up. Get a professional. You can search the web or talk to local custom shops to see if they know anyone who can do it for you.

Just about any glass shop can do the AD glass. It is all flat except the quarter windows. I would never do what I did back in 1975, use the old glass (the guy charged me $6.00 and change to cut the glass!!) Anyway, just have new glass cut, it really isn't that expensive.

Glass is pretty cheap. I had all new cut for my 37. Front, two side, and the rear were right at $100. They were all flat glass with slight tint. Joe

I have only seen the corner windows cut one time.The guy told me he sandblasted and wet sanded them.(yep they were real glass) He also left the back window stock and lined up the bottoms of all the windows .It looked(i will look for the pix of it) great. He said it only took him 3 windows and about 5 months of tinkering to get them done. Plex would be the way to go.

How do you get the plexiglass curved to the correct shape of the corner windows?

Mallard, I did it in my moms oven in '76 I put the plexiglass in the oven on a large bread pan and for just a little while. I then set it on top of the glass window and as I remember I used a book of matches laying on the bottom to raise it up just a little so it would be the same curvature as the glass. If you layed it right in the window it would be a tighter bend, being you are on the inside of the window. If you layed it on the outside you would have a plexiglass window with a larger curve.

I DO NOT recommed using the match book! Thinking know that was really stupid, the book MUST have been empty I just remember the book in there. It did leave a few tiny little dents in the plastic. I would use something else now. Maybe even nothing at all and see how it goes. The plexiglass is cheap so experiment. Back then, I was given a couple of sheets and I really didn't even know where to get it. Today I would go down to OSH or TAP plastics and just buy some more.

Well Martin, if I can find a suitable piece of corner glass to experiment with, I'm gonna try cutting it my way just to see if I can do it. What I have in mind isn't exactly what you described. Of course, if I'm successful, it's gonna cost more than a buck to find out how I did it

Gear, I don't know how old you are but people have been trying to cut glass like that since before I was was born. If you can do it (and you may) then I want to know how!!

I broke about three of these windows trying myself.