Chopped Jet

I think I remember this car for sale before. The sad thing is that this is as finished as this will ever get. Lots of folks talk about chopping a Jet, but I've never seen a drivable one.

Forget the total crappy job for a second and look at the lines of the car with the lower roof line. Kind of gives you an idea of what Frank Spring was trying to do before they butchered his design in the body engineering. Section that body and harmonize the proportions and you would have a really nice design.

51hornetA wrote:

Forget the total crappy job for a second and look at the lines of the car with the lower roof line. Kind of gives you an idea of what Frank Spring was trying to do before they butchered his design in the body engineering. Section that body and harmonize the proportions and you would have a really nice design.

It sort of has the look of a 54 Brougham to it. The rear windows have to go though.

Harry Hill wrote:

I know this isn't going to make me popular but here it goes anyway. I think the look improves the jet. I think the body needs to be channeled to bring it into proportion but the roofline makes the jet look much better. I am not capable of doing what the car needs but sectioning the body and putting in a real back window and that car would look like a 3/4 scale pacemaker.



Harry

I agree with you Harry. I think the concept to streamline this jet was an improvement over stock. Somewhere it went astray in the execution. From the pictures, it appears that it was a 4-door, or else there's shadows on the door and quarter from a reflection that make it look pieced together.

Chaz,



you are right when you look from the back and the way the trunk could flow into the roof life as a single plane you see the possibilities. The story I have is that Spring's design was a lower car the body would have been sectioned as you show and the roof line would have flowed into the trunk smoothly. Spring went to Europe to spec out the body for the Italia while gone Barit and dealer Jim Moran saw the clay mockup they made design changes that were implemented by the body engineers not the designers. They raised the roof line (The famous Barit line about wearing a hat while driving) and then raised the belt line to try and re-proportion the car. Moron wanted it to look like the 52 Ford and in a way it looks like a smaller version and in fact they used a the same rear window as the window manufacturer gave them deal using the same design as Ford.



Sum total is a car that has too high a belt line and too high a roof line. I fully plan on getting a 4 dr Jet and sectioning the body and roof line to try and approximate the Spring design. (Oh the horror of me admitting this online,, and too a Hudson as well LOL) Over at my site Hollywood308 photoshopped a Jet to make it look better here it is what do you think. I like the look.



Original





Chopped





I think the roof could go a little lower but even a 2" sectioning of the body and lower the roof improves the flow.



Sean

No problem I plan to rework the floor pans and seats as well. I have been in many a Jet. My friend has a 2dr with Twin H and that is a screamer. Well the way he drives it is.....

The thing that makes the Jet a butt-ugly car is the height of everything. Chop the car as the 'shopped red car shows, and lower the interior floors to accomodate people comfortably, and it would be a very nice-looking car, like a '54 Hornet is. That's the only thing that would make a Jet attractive.

That 700% profit he's hoping for sure belies the "not expecting to make millions" line, don't it?