We've brought you numerous stories on how to chop a roof over the years, as well as recently covering how to cut the glass to match, but one job that always makes a chop seem more complete is when the finished car has working vent windows too. It's a tedious and time-consuming job, but one that is worth the effort involved, and if you are capable of performing the actual chop, reshaping the vent windows is easy in comparison.
While hanging out at Brad Masterson's shop (Masterson Kustom Automobiles) he mentioned he'd be tackling the vent windows on Transmission John's radical '53 Studebaker pickup that had already been chopped, giving us the perfect photo opportunity. Though the hinge system on the Studebaker is different than most cars, the vent window opening at an angle as the lower hinge point is located on the lower curve of the window, the principle is the same as other cars.
Points to remember are to align the upper and lower hinges when the vent window and frame are rebuilt and to ensure the rear edge of the new glass, when it is installed, is in the same location as the original, to maintain a factory-like seal. The Studebaker doesn't use a vertical window channel for the main door glass, unlike most cars, but ensuring the rear edge of the glass, and therefore the rearmost ends of the vent window channel, are correctly located will mean it will seal against the door glass.
