A Little off the Top

CHOPPING THE TOP OF A ’51 CHEVY WITH HUBCAP’S HOT ROD DESIGN

YOU CAN’T SWING a dead cat without hitting a truck with airbags nowadays, and body-drops are just as common. But the one mod that almost everyone wants to do, yet is rarely actually performed, is a chop top. Why? Because it’s difficult, daunting even. It’s a quick way to ruin a truck, because if you make a wrong cut or two, then you’ve got a vehicle that’s destined either for the scrap yard or life as a permanent convertible. But when it’s done right, it’s amazing.

Nick Sinioris at Hubcap’s Hot

Rod Design in Phoenix is a master of metalwork. A quick tour around his shop reveals the amazing stuff he’s capable of doing, and if you’re lucky enough to see his tools, then you’ll know he has the gear he needs to accomplish anything he wants. Does he know how to chop a top? Indubitably. And as you saw a few issues back with our tech article on putting a big back window in a 1958 Chevrolet truck (ST April 2017, “Go Big,” pg. 84), he knows how to make things cool.

This particular project features an early’50s Chevrolet truck. They were known as Advanced Design back then, and 1947-55 (first series) trucks have been a staple of Americana practically since their release. Nick’s buddy came to him with a cab, two doors and instructions. Give it a clean chop, nothing radical, no mail slots for windows; just a good clean roof job with a super-clean finish. As usual, the results were stunning.