Now by “motors”, I of course mean your saw’s motor. It’s time to cut some metal.
The order of cuts doesn’t really matter, usually you want your most important cuts to be made first while everything is nice and solid. After you cut a pillar or two, stuff starts to get a little loose and vibrations can get wild. As I said before the goal for this chop is to take it 4″ +/- in the front and the rear 6″-7″.
Tools for this task are 1) SawZall/reciprocating saw. These are great with a fine tooth blade, but they can be too much tool for the job if you want to keep you cuts small and precise. 2) Cutoff wheel – great for this with a 4″ cutting disc, only issue is that the blade usually will not go deep enough for a clean cut all the lay through a pillar. 3) Hack Saw – yes, the kind that works on elbow-grease; this is perfect for finishing up cuts you make with cutoff wheel.
Now for the moment all of you volunteer “helpers” have been waiting for, cut the roof off. Like I said before make all cuts on the same side of the tape lines, I chose to make all of my slices above the tape. By doing this, when I cut the section to remove form each pillar its still attached to the car instead of trying to remove it from the roof. Much easier.
After the whole roof is removed, you can slowly remove more material on each pillar and test fit for the look you will need. Don’t be surprised if you have to try this several times to get just the right height and angle on the roof. You can see from the photos below we took several attempts before achieving the “right” look. Also, don’t be surprised if the pillars don’t line up laterally across the car (like the top is now too narrow), this is normal and we will handle this in another step. All we are worried about is the profile view of the vehicle and the height of the windshield. I tested and removed the roof about 6 times before I determined we were just right (see photos). If this part seems brief, that because it is. The actual “chopping” of the roof happens in minutes; attaching it back is what takes the time and patience.
