Neo_Bahamut_19

yeah, the nice part about the roof is the flat section right above the front seats, a good enough metal worker could easily extend that with a piece of the proper type of sheet metal... not many insane bends on that section, mostly flat, and yes, even though it is a trailer queen, i will still just HAVE to drive it sometimes. lol, just bc i love it that much, lol

x_rayted711

^^^ It would be SO much easier to cut a section out of another roof. You forget about the doorframe and channels, plus the roof does have an arch to it...it isn't perfectly flat.

As far as the roll cage...you yourself stated it would be there to stiffen the integrity of the body. I am not a fan of steel either, but a thinner steel will be about the same weight as the thicker aluminum needed, and unless you are going to polish the aluminm, it is going to look bad due to the benders. Trust me on these issues...I 'work in the field' so to say....

Neo_Bahamut_19

well i was thinking polished... thats the thing... plus i like the overall look of brushed or polished aluminum over steel... and yes i know the roof isnt flat, thats what i was wondering though... lol, thats the thing i dont wanna do... i dont wanna have to get another roof, but if i have to i will, keep in mind though that i am going to put a sunroof up front though... I would hate to cut up a wrecked up xB's roof to do that (thats if i can find a wrecked one since mostly ony older folk drive them around here... they dont wreck very often...) oh yeah, bout 80% of the roof, if not more is going to be glass, so say goodbye to those ugly ribs on the roof (ive always hated those things for some reason)

x_rayted711

^^^Ok, with the 'mostly glass' roof, you ARE going to need a rollbar that WILL add strength to the rest of the car. What you got in mind will not work without it. Also, with this much of a chop, you are going to have to widen the roof as well as lengthen it, so I would recommend another 'donor' roof. You are also going to have to get another hatch or at least cut the upper part of the window frame out of a wrecked one. The pillars aren't straight up and down...they tilt in as they go up. You are doing to have to keep this angle in order for the doors to open properly, seal properly, windows and tracks to work properly....And in doing so, you are going to have to widen the roof.
Why not build a cage out of steel tubing and get THAT anodized or even chrome or powdercoat or ceramic coated? There are SO many options now for steel! You are asking for a deathtrap with doing it the way YOU think it will work and be ok. It will NOT.
I am telling you...STAY AWAY from the aluminum!

CREEPINGONCHROME

no more talkie lets see some pictures!put up or shut up!(i want to put a 4000hp rocket on mine)

Neo_Bahamut_19

lol, ok, well in case you didnt notice, i havnt gotten together all the money for it yet, im trying to figure out about how much its gonna cost me... as for the rocket, go for it, lol, i wanna see vids from the tractor pull, lol

hotbox05

hey neo headup the butt . ypu might want to look into a steel roll cage to add strength to the will be compromisedstructural rigiditythat you will have with a chopped top

x_rayted711

^^^A chopped top won't weaken the integrity...as long as all the supports are put back in where they belong. Also, it MAY be slightly stronger due to the pillars being shorter. BUT with all the glass you want to do, it NEEDS a rollcage.

Neo_Bahamut_19

yeah, the only thing is that im not a big fan of the look of steel... of course, my buddy threw around an idea today of doing a steel one, getting it chromed somehow... and then putting a blue anodized clear coat over it... so mabe ill go with the steel... im slowly chaning what all i want to do with it... and actually xrayted is right about the integrity, with the chopped top and shorter pillars it will offer more support horizontally and vertically for the roof, but the glass will however not... thank you for bringing that up, that is swaying my decision from the artistic viewpoint to the functional... you may have just saved my life by reminding me of that lol you have earned your 1337(\)355 around me buddy btw, PM me if you dont know what 1337 is, ill send ya a link, lol

x_rayted711

With todays paint and coating technology, you can do almost anything to cover the steel and have it look extremely nice. We do ceramic coating on steel headers and they look like aluminum...so it's possible to have strength AND show quality appearance. Just do some research on coatings!

CHPRBOX8

i dont know if this has been said yet but if you realy want to do this you should get in contact wtih 5axis they know how to chop the box and do it right and they may be able to give you some help on this

Neo_Bahamut_19

im not sure though, im going for a 6 inch, they only did a 4 inch... and thanks for the info x_rayted, i now remember seeing a vendor for that stuff at a show in carlisle, PA

black_sand_box

IMO the axis chop was kinda crap on the body work side of things. I saw it it atlanta as well as Miami. The roof was extremely wavy along with the rest of the body. It also had alot of really deep sand scratches. Since you are planning on going with a all glass roof a wavy roof won't apply to you. Don't get me wrong the Axis B is one wicked ride but there are alot of flaws up close. I am interested to see where this goes, I think it's got alot of potential.

Neo_Bahamut_19

the only problem that i can see is getting the money together to do it, lol, and thats only money, ill have no problem making a sic ride, so long as i got money coming in, ill keep working on it, im hoping to have within a year and a half to at least have the top chopped and the widebody kit and rims and airbags on it... people call me an insane or a money waster, i call myself a artist, lol

x_rayted711

OK, I talked to the guys at Brizio's shop. You are looking at $10,000 to get it done and done right. This is a light estimate, meaning it can easily be well over that.

They did say if you go with the glass roof, it will be somewhat cheaper and easier to do, but it will need a cage to hold things together.

Also, you will need new custom glass except the winshield. It can be cut, but the rest will have to be ordered. The good news is that since the angle is not much, you can use flat glass for the sides/doors. You will also lose the antenna in the rear quarter windows and the defrost in the rear hatch window.

Next, you need to figure out what to do about the interior. They suggested cutting the platic trim pieces, gluing them back together where needed after the chop and covering them with fabric or whatever you decide.

Also, the vinyl that wraps the doorframes. That will have to re-installed.

He suggested not sloping the winshield back due to the structure of the a-pillars and the shape of the dash where the winshield meets it. also, this is one of the major structures for the roof and sides, so it would be best to take a section out towards the top rather than cut it lower where the real strength is just to lay it back.

As far as a donor roof, if you decide to go with the glass roof, you won't need it. Parts and sections can be cut out of another car and or custom made.

I have to admit, it will look kick butt when and if you can get this done, but....this is a lot of work and money for a 15,000 car. I am not trying to discourage you, but you need to think this through...and if you cut corners, it will either never get done or it will be crap and maybe even undrivable.

BTW, the $10,000 figure wouldn't include paint....and he said this..."You can get a $2000 paint job or a $15,000 paint job. Putting that much money into chopping it, I WOULD NOT get a $2000 paint job."

Another thing he said was that 2" would be noticable in a good way. Clean, slight custom, mildly extreme. 4" would be extreme and still drivable. Total custom, headturner. 6" is downright rediculous and may not even be drivable after it is done. Totally sic? Yes, totally rediculous? Maybe. Just a heads up!

Good luck with it.

Neo_Bahamut_19

lol, did you mention the aspect of dropping the seats onto the floor, lol, like i said, dont matter how much, but at least i know a ballpark estimate, im not suprised by this, but if i wanna turn heads at SEMA this is DEFINATELY a way to do so, lol, its also nice to know that due to the glass roof, i shouldnt need another roof, which is really nice, not sloping the roof back kills a lil in one way, but it will give it a more macho look, as far as the 6 inch drop... remember im a pudgy irish boy coming in at 5'7" lol so thats not a problem, we were thinking about moving the front seats down about 3-4 inches and back about the same, in the end it will sit more like... perhaps a tC instead of an xB if you get my jest

PS: I thank you greatly man for the help in finding this out, now only to put the money completely together and find a place to do it at, lol, I'm sure there are some customizing shops in the area

brambling

Just get new xB it has factory chop top.

You're losing money not only on the chop, but what it does to the value of your car. I would never buy a chop top car no matter how well it was done. Safety first!

peteski

Speaking of all this chopping and also someone mentioning that while cool it would defeat the unique "tall" stance of our boxes started me thinking.

I know that this is so off-the-wall, but how about extending the box? I mean making it even taller. Either extend the glass areas upwards or even "reverse section" the body below the belt line to make it taller. Or both.

That would be so bad a$$!! But it would be practically impossible to "extend" the glass. Oh well.. Just a wild idea...

x_rayted711

^^^You need new glass either way you go, so it doesn't matter that you can't "extend' the glass.

Neo_Bahamut_19

just get new glass and have longer pillars put in, would look odd but it would be unique, lol