Hot Rods What's wrong with a channeled hot rod?

Floor Frame work photos I just found.

 

I love channeled cars. Here's my chopped and channeled ex-drag coupe.

 

Built nearly 20 years ago in California. Was NHRA legal at one time and was registered for the street. Ran low 10's. There are those that offer pennies on the dollar for it and say they would unchannel it. That response gets ignored.

 

Many early Lakes race cars had channeled bodies in an attempt to streamline them, my coupe race El Mirage in '41 and had a mild wedge channel 2" in the front and 1" in the back, I am 6"5 and big so I fit perfectly in this car....

 

I'll throw mine in. 34 Chevy, 327, 5 inch channel. It's on scrub line. Nothing hangs below the frame. I've had no issues with how low it is.

 

Lack of education or experience for the most part.

I have always preferred a channeled car. Sometimes in my opinion one can be channeled too much, but that is just a personal taste thing I think. I had a chance to trade for a channeled model 40 back in the '90s that I passed on because it was just channeled too deep for my taste and I was not inclined to take a finished car and rebuild it.

Anyway it is just lack of knowledge and perhaps the popularity of a high boy that makes them not as desirable as they once were I believe.

 

Porknbeaner.,
You hit it right on the head. Over channeled is just as dumb as over chopped or over built, but a nicely done channel job should not lower the over all appeal of a car just because the high boy style is the"soup of the day" right now.

 

I think channeled cars are just another matter of taste. If I were 6'6" tall, there ain't no way... I'm not 6'6" (by a long shot) so I can deal with mine. Near as I can guess it's channeled 5" frt, 4" rear. Chopped 3 1/2 . The seat slides 7 " so it does have ample leg room for me, but there isn't much head room. Would I have done it to this car back in the day when it was done well over 40 years ago? Nope. The sub rails are still there from the wheel wells forward, and they are nice. I could have re-floored it, but I like it this way.

I think it does cut the buyer base, but hey, I bought it, someone else will too. I hope.

 

Here's the one my Dad built in 1959. 6 inch channel

 

I bought this 33 pickup already channeled the height of the frame with good 'ol angle iron...cab welded to the frame. I chopped it 5.5", sat the seat on the floor and I had an inch clearance between my head and the top. I used a 39 ford cross steer box and column, angled down to clear the bottom of the dash Loved it.

 

Maybe the rear mounted engine put this T in the modified section. Bob

 

I think that we as a whole sometimes have a problem with our own personal taste interfering with our ability to enjoy someone else's car. Taking it away from channeling for an example, I am not a big fan of flames. Now this is not to say that I don't appreciate a flamed car, I just don't want to own a flamed car.

There is a lot to be said for subtle, not every car should be that way but it is a sort of a novel approach in todays climate.

My dad used to tease me me about the whole channel and no chop deal, I am from the West Coast but my taste in cars has always leaned toward what we call an East Coast build.

 

That car is rolling perfection.

 

I too, love that car. If I were to build a t coupe, this would be the benchmark to shoot for.

 

I agree with Beaner on the above. There's a lot of build styles I don't like but try to put that aside and look at the work that has gone into it to appreciate the builds. As far as the channeling goes, I like them both ways and if I could have one of each I would.

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I feel if I am happy with, hell with what other people think, I am out to please me not the world thats kinda why my nick name is Freak ..........

 

"There's a seat for every ass, and an ass for every seat."

Do what you want with your own car, so long as you don't endanger others in the process. If you like pink polka dots and pinwheels, great. If you like making sure others like your car... well... great, I guess.

 

Nothing is wrong with them!!!!!

I found mine that way and decided to rebuild/restore it the same way with a few minor tweaks to the channel (raised it a bit). No way I was chopping the top...even if not channeled. Been a long, slow build (ya...9 year journey) but coming along more quickly now. God gave me 6' and once done...I will have just enough room to not be uncomfortable.....and still be able to see the street lights with little difficulty.

 

Hot rods are just like women, not everyone likes the same things, thank God.......it would be a very boring world if we all did. I sure wouldn't bother going to car shows if every one of the cars were the same! Personal taste of the owners is what makes going to the shows interesting, no I don't like every car there but I do see things that are done in a different way than I had thought of doing it and learn and change my thoughts of what is cool.

 

This pic was taken in the 70's, and these are west coast cars. The owner of the yellow 34 five window took me for a ride, and that got me hooked on channeled coupes. To me they shout "hot rod".

 

Channeling is an easy way to lower one and could be done in a weekend. It was done on both coasts way back when as well as in the heartland. Of course it shouts "Hot Rod", well for me it would be beater and my dad would have said Jalopy but its all the same, just semantics. LOL

My current build is channeled. Not a mega channel and it may or may not be chopped. Today I am leaning toward no chop, but the day is still young. LOL

As for what to call it I'll call it a beater, but hot rod or jalopy won't insult me at all.

 

I'm not a fan of channeling, as it is TOO often overdone. Model 'A' coupes dragging their butts look like R-rods, 8" stepped frames just look like poor engineering. (aesthetics here)
But that's not to say I'm 'inexperienced', as far as channeling goes:

In 1955, I channeled my $3 '30 Model A Cabriolet 6" over a $5 '32 frame. Loved the 'hairy' look it had.

My bud Ramsay loved it, too. He bought a '30 'A' Coupe, and I channeled it 6" in front, 4" rear for him.
'38 Ford 21 stud, '38 box, '38 full X-member. Did it all in 3 months. Drove that car all over Calif., Ramsay sold it to a 6'4" sailor, we were all friends...Sailor Al sold me the car for $1 when he went on an 11 month 'cruise'...U.S.S. L.A. Heavy Cruiser. I sold it back when he got home.

Then I sold a '30 'A' Coupe to this kid Stuart, he brought it in to High School auto shop...and I channeled it 8" over the 'A' frame...5 friends in the class helped, we did the whole car, juice brakes, flathead 59A, and '37 box. Two weeks, under the eye of a student teacher...Guys were cutting classes for more shop time! Out the door before Mr. Gillespie returned from vacation... (he was NHRA: No Hot Rods Allowed!)

Ronny A. bought Donny Tebash's '31 'A' Coupe, complete car with a 4" Dago axle. (Ed Stewart axle!) He then bought a deuce frame, I channeled that one 6", same as my Cabriolet. Ronny used a '52 Cad mill, '39 box.

Friend Lynn bought a '34 Five window, I channeled it 6" at his house. He installed a '53 Olds & hydro. Lynn bragged to everyone that he had 4" of headroom! Lynn was 6 feet tall.

Buddy Joe called me, looking for a 'roadster'. Billy A. had one, a '31. Joe bought it for $225, (big bucks!) then sold fenders and running boards. He invited me over to his Grandma's house, had me channel that MINT '31 roadster 6" front, 4" back. Joe bought a shoebox Ford with a '53 Buick Nail, used the engine in the roadster. ('39 box, '40 rear end; Mor-Drop front axle, Fiesta orange-and-chrome roadster won 1st place Hot Rod, San Jose Autorama, 1960.

I have channeled lotsa cars, these jobs were all done from 1955 to 1958. I then came into Tim S.'s '32 Five window. Sold the Olds & LaSalle box, and Pontiac rear end. Built a big flattie, '37 Lincoln box, sold the fenders...NO WAY was I gonna channel THAT one.
I just sorta "got over it", I guess. But I was a Channel-holic. Admitted.

 

I'll ad a nickels worth here myself.
For me channeled cars do look good IMO. When building the car in my avatar I thought long and hard about channeling it, going so far as to doing a artist drawing of it. Then I started planning how to do it, and after that I knew it would be to much damned work. I myself have a great admiration for anyone who will take on doing this. I personally see not a damned thing wrong with channeling. Like I say to those who chastise me for doing mine my way instead of rebuilding the "Northern Star", " My car, I did it my way", (thank you Frank Sanatra)
Now you want to talk about screwing up a car ? Talk sectioning. You section the wrong car or section one in the wrong place, that's something some one can piss and moan about. And the work??? Man that takes some large gonads.

 

My dads old 3 window, channeled in the late 60's. I love it, You don't have to.


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What 33 on up frame is dads old hot rod sitting down on?


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1934 ford frame.


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This is not true. Sanctioning bodies typically bumped you a class if the car was channeled. There were LOTS of channeled early lakes racers.



I like channeled cars.



Channeled, unchanneled, chopped, sectioned, whatever.... if it's done well what's not to like!?

 

Bad ass hot rods are chopped and channeled!