Toyota Truck - Roof Line Reductions

With so many mini-truckers taking styling cues from street rodders, custom rodders, and even hot rodders, it's no wonder we keep seeing severe mods being performed to new-skool minis. We're not talking about a simple door handle shave or frenched antenna, either. There are mini-truck owners out there who are violating their minis with Sawzalls in hand, chopping their trucks' roofs in an effort to make them appear even lower than they already are.

Brand X Customs in Temecula, California, is a shop that is well versed in the art of performing the sacred chop-top to almost any vehicle. In this article, the shop shows us highlights of a 4-inch chop on an '89-to-'95 Toyota mini. The entire process can be found online at www.minitruckin.web. While this article is in no way a guaranteed blueprint for success to chopping your own roof, it will give you an insider's look into how extensive this process is. By all means, if you are not a competent, seasoned fabricator, then leave this job up to a professional. After all, you do want to drive your mini again, don't you? With that said, let's see how Brian Jendro and Ben Wood of Brand X pulled off the mother of all body mods. For more information, contact the companies listed in the source box.

1. Our guinea pig's tall,...        read full caption 1. Our guinea pig's tall, stock roof line sports an ugly hole from a previously installed sunroof. Brian made the first cuts to the roof and will end up cutting the roof completely in half at the A- and B-pillars, as well as at the doors.

2. Here is a shot of the roof...        read full caption 2. Here is a shot of the roof completely cut away. There was no turning back now.

3. Next, 7 inches of length...        read full caption 3. Next, 7 inches of length were cut out of the A-pillars. The A-pillars are the front ones where the windshield resides. Because the pillars are slanted backward, cutting 7 inches out of them translates to a 4-inch loss in overall height. The B-pillars and door posts also had 4 inches cut out of them at this time.

4. Here is an overall view...        read full caption 4. Here is an overall view of the pillars after they were cut.

5. Next, the boys began piecing...        read full caption 5. Next, the boys began piecing the roof back together. Working on one side at a time and using a level, the roof was attached to the pillars using body clamps.

6. Before moving onto the...        read full caption 6. Before moving onto the other side, Brian and Ben checked to ensure that the profile of the roof was to their liking.

7. With both sides clamped...        read full caption 7. With both sides clamped back together, you can see that the roof is now 7 inches longer and 5 inches wider than it was before.

8. Once they had everything...        read full caption 8. Once they had everything lined up, the front posts were welded back together.

9. To fill the gaps, box tubing...        read full caption 9. To fill the gaps, box tubing was used as filler panels to give the roof support. Here is the front edge.

10. This is the side filler...        read full caption 10. This is the side filler plate. Notice how the back edge of the jamb does not line up now that the roof has been chopped. This will be fixed later.

11. The jamb was then cut...        read full caption 11. The jamb was then cut away from the roof skin, moved forward, and welded into place. The gap left behind it would be filled later.

12. Here is a shot of the...        read full caption 12. Here is a shot of the new window opening. Can you say short? The rear filler panel was welded into place next.

13. Here we see the roof in...        read full caption 13. Here we see the roof in almost one piece with only the door frames missing.

14. Brand X used a '73-to-'87...        read full caption 14. Brand X used a '73-to-'87 Chevy fullsize pickup replacement roof skin to fill over the roof and make it solid. This skin can be ordered directly from your local Chevy dealer for a little more than $100.

15. Since the skin was way...        read full caption 15. Since the skin was way too big, Brian and Ben measured it and marked it to be cut down.

16. After laying down tape...        read full caption 16. After laying down tape lines, Brian used his trusty plasma cutter to slice up the skin.

17. The modified skin was...        read full caption 17. The modified skin was now test fitted.

18. Here, Ben grinded the...        read full caption 18. Here, Ben grinded the skin to better fit the contour of the roof.

19. Next, Ben prepped the...        read full caption 19. Next, Ben prepped the roof for welding by grinding all of the paint off it.

20. After pie-cutting the...        read full caption 20. After pie-cutting the skin, Brian alternated between his body hammer and welder, tack-welding the skin to the roof.

21. A&B Here is a shot of...        read full caption 21. A&B Here is a shot of the pie-cut skin after it was tacked into place. At this point, the door frames were sectioned and tacked into place.

22. Here is a look at the...        read full caption 22. Here is a look at the inner door structure. These sections were taken from the vertical side of the door post that was cut down previously.

23. Here is the outer door...        read full caption 23. Here is the outer door structure after being tacked into place.

24. After the door frames...        read full caption 24. After the door frames were lined up, the leading edge of the skin was welded to the roof and the pie-cuts were filled in.

25. Next, the outer door structure...        read full caption 25. Next, the outer door structure was patched and welded together. This required a ton of welding and grinding so that minimal filler was used later. Notice the gap around the edge of the door frame. This will be eliminated by building up weld and grinding it back down smooth along the edge of the door.

26. This is what the inside...        read full caption 26. This is what the inside of the roof looked like. It was braced later on with tubing.

27. After the roof was fully...        read full caption 27. After the roof was fully welded, Brian double-checked the door seams to make sure the gaps were factory looking.

28. Next, the roof was prepped...        read full caption 28. Next, the roof was prepped for filler. Brian went over the entire thing with a red Scotch Brite pad and blew the dust off with his air hose.

29. With the metal ready for...        read full caption 29. With the metal ready for filler, Ben mixed up a healthy dose of Mar Glass body filler and Brian applied it with his spreader. This type of filler bonds to the welds extremely well and will not shrink.

30. Here is the roof after...        read full caption 30. Here is the roof after the first coat of filler was sanded down. The different coloring in the roof represents the high and low spots.

31. Notice how little filler...        read full caption 31. Notice how little filler is left on the roof after it was sanded smooth. The majority of the bodywork was done beforehand out of metal, so very little filler was necessary before priming.

32. Here is the completed...        read full caption 32. Here is the completed chop-top with a cut-down windshield installed. The windshield had to be custom-cut to fit the confines of the new roof. This is a very delicate process and one not easily achieved.