[ahump]

I've got an 91 sierra with and 84 body that ill soon be chopping and making it a tuff little ute .. Has anyone chopped there hard top? Anything i need to be carefull about? Id love to hear feed back if anyone's done it

[Gwagensteve]

It's not hard to find photos of chopped cars. It's the hektikest mod ever.

Here's a thread with some hektik ute chops:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=41696

My feedback? It's a terrible idea that doesn't improve the car in any way.

Steve.

[atari4x4]

don't do it

[ahump]

Why not ?

[Gwagensteve]

OK....you asked. This is going to sound arrogant and patronising. Meh. If this post makes you angry I don't reckon you are ready to finish a ute chop.

Here's a reason or two not to do it. Most of them are already in the thread I linked, but anyways, it doesn't hurt to refresh the topic.

It's extremely unlikely to be legal. Regardless, it might not be safe. Have a look at the photo in the link of the cut high top. I reckon it wouldn't be hard to bend the sides of the cab inwards by pulling on the seatbelts. That's because the hardtop was made to work as a unit, and cutting it up makes it really weak. Welding stuff back in there that's neat, clean, and adds strength without sharp edges, tekscrews, plywood and hope is apparently harder than it looks judging from most of the "ute chops" I've seen. You need to be very good at designing and building things to make this safe and effective.

How are you at designing important, structural replacement body parts?

Ute chops are far more work than they look. It takes a about 6 beers, and afternoon, and a grinder to cut the back off. Closing the back of the cab off is freaking hard work. There are lots and lots and lots of unfinished ute chops. There are also even more that are finished but really badly because it takes more talent to build a cab back than it takes to cut the back off.

How good are you at finishing complex, time consuming fiddly projects?

Lets assume all that that's all good. You're a talented fabricator with access to all the right tools.

So, lets look at what makes a ute chopped sierra awesome.

I'll have more room for shit

No you wont. You're going to have a whole heap of wasted space under the tray. You were going to build a tube tray right? And it was going to be full comp spec? I bet you were planning a flat tray? Have a look at these photos







Here's a few observations.

The first one was made from a soft top, so at least the B pillar is safe, but there's now no room in the back for anything except a spare tyre. I guess you could squeeze a small esky in there.

The second one is pretty typical. I'm sure it's good to roll on - that cage looks super strong, but there's now a huge fuel tank 6" higher than the original fuel tank, and no room at all for wnything else unless it's on the top of the deck. That car was also made out of a soft top though, so again, the structure is safe.

GRPABT1's car is the last photo. Also made from a soft top, it's exactly why I hate ute chopped sierras. There's room in that car for...... a spare tyre. Awesome. And masses of empty space underneath it. Which you can't get to or do anything with. If you put anything on the tray, it's way, way higher than the same weight in a standard sierra. SO you've lost space, and the weight you're carrying is now higher up in the car, so the centre of gravity has gone up, the car is less stable. That's not awesome.

But look at all the tyre room!

Awesome. But there's still no room for big tyres in the front of the car. I'm not sure what tyre size you are planning, but if you need a tray to clear the tyres in the rear, they're not going to fit in the front.

But I can build a roll cage so I can drive the hard tracks!

Yes you can, but unless you run an exo cage down the front pillars you're still going to wreck the car in a roll. You can build an exo regardless of what the back of the car looks like.

But look how awesome they look!

Well, that's in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I think they normally look terrible. If you stretch the wheelbase and do something to box the back of the cab to remove or cover what's left of the wheelarch, they look better, but that adds heaps to the work and you're really just building something suzuki already built.

So what are the advantages then?

There's less bodywork to damage.
There's room for long rear shocks.
It's a lot of work
And that might be it.

However, if you are willing to stretch the wheelbase and build a strong styleside style tray that allows you to load the car just above the chassis, the way suzuki intended, then a ute chop might be fine. That's not really the same question though, I think, because the chassis stretch is by far the biggest issue, not the ute chop.

It's your car, and you can build it anyway you want. You asked why not to do it though, and those are my reasons.

Steve.

[atari4x4]

Gwagensteve always brings the well written, grammatically correct, smackdowns!!!!

[Marko_SJ]

atari4x4 wrote:

Gwagensteve always brings the well written, grammatically correct, smackdowns!!!!

Today, I have wished there was a 'like' button multiple times, not so much because its a smack down but because of the logic in the posts.

Edit: I'd like the first one with a wheelbase extension, a real tray and a proper roof. Is that bad?

Double edit: and filled in arches.

A bit like this, but with a tray thats less 'comp'

[ahump]

Hahaha Steve you are a very funny man (being serious too), my mate hes has fully chopped his sierra no problem but then again he went crazy on his build with a 3 litre turbo Diesel engine with huge lift and big ass tires . My mate is a welder and sheet metalist by trade and is very precise and has all the proper gear so that side of things wont be an issue the only issue i am seeing is that when i chop it is how we will brace it properly and weld in supports. The space issues arent a problem thats what a trailor is for lol . And yes was going to make a " fully sick" comp style tray also put 33's maybe for mucking around on the weekend, and yes they wont fit in the front guards but thats what a grinder is for and it will be getting a lift and the diffs will be moved

[alien]

mate, leave it as a full hardtop - theyre pretty rare now, and its way more different to have a hardtop sierra than a trayback or a softtop.

chopping a hardtop will make baby jesus cry.

[ahump]

Hahaha yeah got told they are pretty rare plus mine is very very tidy with not much rust at all, only a bit of surface rust here and there and a little hole... Was going to sell it

[missmyljdaze]

^^^ what Alien said,

Unless your donor sierra has a rusted out roof, or terminal damage to the rear due to an accident, it would be a shame to chop it up.

Even then- I would think very hard about doing a chop.

Good, unmolested sierras are getting harder to find- and are becoming more droolworthy everyday.

How about putting up a few shots of your mates zook?

stephen

[russgt]

Awesome post Steve!

[whincup]

if you want a trayback, buy a trayback maruti. that way all the works already been done. cabs been cut & closed in, wheelbase is long enough to make it look good, tray can be long enough to carry more than a spare tyre... few build threads here.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=43291
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=39303
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=32028
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12908&start=30

[Gwagensteve]

Exactly. There's no point cutting up a car to make another car you can already buy.

There's so much wonky decision-making around ute chops.

You don't need a ute chop to run 33's. They fit in the standard rear wheel arches.

Towing a trailer to carry the stuff you used to be able to put inside the car before you "made it better?" Not sure if serious?

You have a mate with all the tools and skills to do the chop, but he/you don't know how to brace/strengthen it? I think that means you don't have a mate with the skills to do a ute chop.

As I said, I normally stay away from these threads because apparently it's against the internet to advise someone this is a bad idea.... But you did ask.

Just to summarise, your making the car less useful and less capable. (And butt ugly, but that's subjective, and influenced by the skill of th fabricator) unless you turn it into something Suzuki already built, far more skillfully than you or I could. Thats not normally what you'd call an effective modification.

Steve.

[jonno_racing]

Gwagensteve wrote:

There's no point cutting up a car to make another car you can already buy.

unless you factor in how hard it is to actually buy a maruti or a flat tray!

i am going though the process of chopping a swb cab atm but mine is soft top so its a different story all together!
tin tops do look silly cut down unless your mate is willing to put ALOT of hours into it!

[Gwagensteve]

I dunno, trays seem pretty easy to find here. I have three at my place. Seems heaps easier to find them than straight hard tops.

Steve.

[sideways]

x2

WT Marutis alone would outnumber all the other 4wd Suzukis combined where I'm from.

[jonno_racing]

sideways wrote:

x2

WT Marutis alone would outnumber all the other 4wd Suzukis combined where I'm from.

tassie must be unlucky... there are next to none here...

[Marko_SJ]

jonno_racing wrote:

sideways wrote:

x2

WT Marutis alone would outnumber all the other 4wd Suzukis combined where I'm from.

tassie must be unlucky... there are next to none here...

Traybacks are mythical here. I doubt many people know they even built them.

[ahump]

Mmmm dont know what I'm going to do with the sierra... Might sell it in the end or ask my mate how hard its going to be

[atari4x4]

[Blkfxx]

Build it into a wicked little hardtop on 33s, bodylift, Ruf, Virtual lift and locked would go anywhere.

[sideways]

Blkfxx wrote:

Build it into a wicked little hardtop on 33s, bodylift, Ruf, Virtual lift and locked would go anywhere.

And be fucking awesome. There's not enough built hardtops around.

[Marko_SJ]

Blkfxx wrote:

Build it into a wicked little hardtop on 33s, bodylift, Ruf, Virtual lift and locked would go anywhere.

Dont forget the tube flares and roof sliders a la Highway Star.

he's been quiet lately hasn't he?

[ahump]

So does anyone know how they would brace it if it does get chopped my mate has a few good ideas of how too just some other feedback would be good

[alien]

yeh - sell the hardtop and buy a soft top, then don't chop that either =)

[SierraDan]

sideways wrote:

Blkfxx wrote:

Build it into a wicked little hardtop on 33s, bodylift, Ruf, Virtual lift and locked would go anywhere.

And be fucking awesome. There's not enough built hardtops around.

Easy to fuck. Hard to fix.

[sideways]

SierraDan wrote:

sideways wrote:

Blkfxx wrote:

Build it into a wicked little hardtop on 33s, bodylift, Ruf, Virtual lift and locked would go anywhere.

And be fucking awesome. There's not enough built hardtops around.

Easy to fuck.

Certainly with your ability to mash panels.

[kenn]

Sell yours. Buy this, or one like it and then go the hack !

Wrecking 89 wt sierra (qld nth side) with pics
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=43391 Page 1 of 1

[ahump]

So is there actually any decent feedback with the legit questions ive asked, it's my sierra i want it chopped it might happen and just want some helpful feedback for my project, thanks