DIY Hot Rod Chop Top and Lake Pipes

Winnipeg Hot Rodders DD Speed Shop and Halfass Kustoms are again showing the internet how it’s done old school…

Dan and his buddy Brent have been hammering away at a field-find Model T, having already taken it from yard art to roller in one weekend.

Now that it resembles a car again, the duo is showing off how to do a chop top and scratch build a pair of lake pipes…

If you’re just getting up to speed on project T Wrecks, you might’ve missed how rough the chop on this ’27 Model T was when it was pulled from a frozen field in Winnipeg.

Owner Dan and his pal Brent showed off how easy it is to do a proper chop by taking 3/4″ out of the cab with just a roll of painter’s tape and a can of spray paint.

In order to fit the more modern V8 into the Model A frame being used, Dan showed off another old school trick and re-installed the original top of the firewall backwards in the cowl for more clearance.

Although the car is a rusty pig, Dan and Brent are doing a great job showing off how much can be re-used or make from bits of steel around the shop.

Since they were able to make flanges, the guys went further customizing the T and started making flared lake pipes for custom headers.

Starting with flat sheet metal and a couple of hand tools, Dan and Brent made the tubes with some homemade tooling and a vise to get things in place.

In a world obsessed with bolt-on kits and stick-on chrome, it’s very cool to see a couple of guys scratch building everything they can for an old project.