When customizing originated, the goal was to refine the lines Detroit provided and, in some cases, restyle more common marques to resemble their up-model counterparts. When I bought my ’41 Buick Super I felt like I had a head start. Prewar Buicks were part of that up-model bracket to begin with, boasting sleek body lines, long wheelbases, powerful overhead valve engines, and some deluxe interior appointments. But there’s always room for improvement, and since I wanted to build a late-’40s/early-’50s–style custom, a chopped top was always part of the plan.
Much of the custom work has been done in my home garage, but lowering the lid was over my head, so to speak, so I turned to Cody Walls at Traditional MetalCraft. Since every car is different, we’ll save the particulars of how my Buick was chopped for the accompanying captions and use this space to share some of
