SWB ute chop

[Ryan]

been thinkin of putting a ute cab on my SWB GQ but im havin alot of trouble finding a ute cab.......

would it be easier to cut my cab into a extra cab ????

i cant weld but i can cut and do the prep work etc

and can tow it to be welded up but what are the oppinions out there


help me before i get too carried away pulling it apart

Cheers

Ryan

[ludacris]

You still have to find a backing like a MK MQ or GQ ute for the extra cab chop.

LudaCris

[HeathGQ]

Just for future reference Ryan, please keep the question relevant to each Forum. This should have been started in the Nissan forum, as it is specific to Nissan. A Moderator should move this, so keep an eye out in the Nissan forum.

But yeah, if you cant find a ute cab, choppy choppy. There have been a few on this forum, LudaCris being one of em. I'm sure any of em would be more than happy to help. I may be doing mine in teh distant future too.

[bru21]

if you can do the bogging and painting as well it will be cheaper. my ute back was $200 a good cab costs 2000+. my chop and full 2k respray cost me $1500 -

remembering that mayhem boys build their own trucks


however fitting a ute back to a swb is a structural modification and will be very hard to get passed as you have to cut the seat belt (b) pillar out and weld the back on to make it neater as the wheels will hit the cab if any extra cab is added, (compared to adding a 2nd b pillar when chopping a wagon to an extra cab) but a good sheety may make this unnecessary

cheers bru

[mytmav]

had mine chopped into a swb xtra cab, and its awesome, got ontrack in brisbane to do it, theyalso have pressed backs for sale. go for an exra cab chop as you have so much more room,have full roll cage in mine and i can still recline seat. try doing that in a ute cab.pm me and i will send photos.

[turbogu]

hey got a phone no or web site for on track, or some pictures of there pressed ute backs you say they have or a price on them, would like some info on this

cheers

edit: just found there web and phone no in the link section but some photo's would still be great

[bogged]

call sandy bowman and have a talk with him... hes done heaps of these conversions.

[JemmyBubbles]

My old man just got his very own shorty and really wanted to chop it into a soft top ute like Glenn Binskins old blue shorty. For photos look in your 4wd monthly mags. He is in there somewhere.

When talking to glenn he was saying he actually aquired his car wreck with a bit of a bend in the roof. He chopped from behind the pillars and took the whole roof of as well. Then sourced a roof from a GQ ute and welded that in place. He didn't Fix a wall as he had a custom Torno (Spelling ??) made up. He then rolled it and just put a ute cab on but thats another story...

With regards to the roof off a GQ ute it makes sense. Shortys have a bit of a raised bubble of a roof (Look at the difference between a ute and a shorty you will see) , by welding in the GQ ute roof it gives the car a more squat look. and then get something fabbed up for the back... In saying that glenns soft tops looked pretty damned hot...

JEremy

[Bingham]

Where's barsto......he did this with his and put a 5l in also........

go the chop...

[bru21]

bartso did a cab swap not a chop

tick tisk bingham get your facts right

[BIG GQ]

had mine chopped into a swb xtra cabpm me and i will send photos.

This isn't a real good pic of it. Thought I had a side shot somewhere but can't find it ATM

[Bartso]

Where's barsto......he did this with his and put a 5l in also........

go the chop...

yep i did a cab swap

[TYLER]

that lil shorty ute looks tops, haha would b a greate mod for the lux.....
how much more capeable did it make it? and how much shorter did it make it?

[BIG GQ]

b a greate mod for the lux.....

So would the crucher at Sims Metal

[Ryan]

i already got the 5L

the cab swap would be easier to engineer than the chop but hey

its just harder to find a utecab yes?

[r0ck_m0nkey]

the cab swap would be easier to engineer than the chop but hey

My dad has chopped 2 vehicles down to single cabs and he had no hassles at all with engineering. They were a Daihatsu Delta Van and Nissan Pathfinder, for both he did exactly the same, of splitting them across the top of the windscreen, and along the rear of the floor, then chopping the same points from their respective single cab body. You still have to find a cab doing it this way, but it does open up the cabs you can consider, like ones that have badly damaged and rusted sills, floors etc for instance, as you won't be using those parts.


With both, time from the first cut in the morning they were both finished and ready for paint early that night, saves having to pull to much apart aswell, as only have to remove a few trim panels, and a couple of wires.

[SilverGQ]

considering doing this mod myself pretty soon, so am reading this thread with interest. Here's a side on pic of mytmav that i took on its first run after the chop i believe...

[BIG GQ]

And here is one taken during the conversion at On Track. The yellow SWB ute in the back ground is Terry's (Link).

[benhl]

how much did the chop at On Track cost? what did it include?

PS - i saw you rig at the Bayside 4wd show, looks very neat job

[mytmav]

thanx linc for posting the pic, benhl give brett a call for pricing as it depends on style and level of build, he can do all the work or just a little of it. better still go in there and see for yourself as atm there is one that has just been done and is getting built up to be a verrry awesome truck.
I have been going to brett for quite a few years now and can give him a big thumbs up, can take a bit of time to do things , but always done right the first time.(mostly!!?)
what I have found from doing the cab chop is that the car has now become a toy, only really use it for trips and offroad, it just atracts way too much attention for everyday use. but offroad , what a weapon, already saved thousands in panel beating, can put it aginst trees and rocks and I dont give a F , dont have to worry about any more quarter panels , dont have to worry about rear doors and side windows flogging out any more, lost at least 50% of the squeaks and rattles, have improved vision, lost probably 20% carry capacity and security cuse I cant lock big things in the back any more. but i still think it has been one of the best mods that has been done to the car, all I want to do now is extend the wheel base and i reckon that it will be perfect