Street Rodder May 2005 - Neu-F

BODY SLAM
Chopped and channeled: If anything
defined a real hot rod back in the day, it was
those two words . Chopping a top on an
early square-rigged car, especially a roadster, wasn't rocket science. But channeling
was a very difficult task.
In hot rod jargon, the process of channeling
involves cutting out a floorpan, dropping a car's body
the width of the framerails, remounting it, and building a new floor. It's major surgery. You get a very low
silhouette, but there's a price to pay. A good deal of
floor space and seat height are effectively lost. When
the hard work is done, you're sitting in the weeds,
and you look cool. Very cool.
If you're an East Coast hot rodder from the '50s,
you saw a lot of channeled cars. Many times a deep
channel job was the only major modification and the
car's top or roof was left uncut to retain some semblance of vision, especially in a coupe. Today, we look
back at many of them and wince. With the exception
of a few superbly built East Coast rods-like Bill
Neumann's '31 Model A roadster, which appeared in
hot rod mags nationally, Fred Steele's ultra-low purple
'32 roadster, and Andy Kassa's show-winning '32
three-window coupe-most right coast channeled
efforts were butt ugly. Here's why.
Channeling affects every visual element of a car.
So if you simply torched out the floor, then spread,
dropped, and remounted the body with quickie welding and homemade angle iron brackets, the result
could be amateurish, even crude looking. The rest of
the job was often cobbled together, roo. Typically the
grille and radiator were mounted roo high, the engine
(especially big overhead Caddys and Olds V-8s) was
insanely tilted rearward, the seats were little more
than thin pads, and the resulting altered floors were
roo flat for driving comfort.
On the West Coast, where highboys ruled, channeling was the ticket to a clean, wind-cheating silhouette, bur in dry-lakes racing, that ~1odification kicked
a car up into the competitive modified-roadster class.
Channeled Deuce roadsters weren't common at the
lakes. Jim Khougaz's 140-mph street/lakes '32 was an
exception. Most lakes modifieds, or lakesters, as they
were renamed when they were fitted with streamlined
race car-style grilles, used '28-29 Model A bodies (like
the Bill Niekamp and Dick Flint roadsters). Lynn
Yakel's famed chopped and channeled '32 five-window coupe inspired rodders, especially on the East
Coast, where that body style was more prevalent. Of
course, if you really wanted a sleek silhouette, channeled '27s or even earlier, narrower, and lighter
Model T roadster bodies reduced wind resistance
even more effectively.
We've tried to figure out where channeling first
originated, bur like the term hot rod itself, it's unclear
when the practice began. Dan Post's Blue Book of
Custom Restyling was first published in 1944. I have
the 1951 edition. Several channeled cars are shown,
including Jimmy Summers' '40 Mercury convertible
The George Karalekas coupe has all the earmarks of an East Coast build. This
photo was taken circa 1957. (Photo courtesy of A.B. Shuman)
Again , Fred Steele's roadster, but this lime from the rear, and while on the rear,
can you spot the exhaust tips? (Photo courtesy of A.B. Shuman)
In the Steele roadster, you can see the relationship of the Flathead to the firewall.
This purple roadster was also an extreme example of what was being done on the
East Coast at the time. (Photo courtesy of A.B. Shuman)
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and Art Lelles' '39 Ford convertible coupe. Post illustrates top chopping and what he called body "sectionalizing," but he did not devote a specific how-to section to channeling.
Walt Woron wrote a multi-part series about building a hot rod for street use. In the eighth installment,
in the July 1949 issue of Hot Rod, Woron showed Jim
Khougaz's '32 roadster Uim was incorrectly referenced
as "George Khougas"). Woron wrote, "Channeling
improves the appearance of a hot rod by giving ir low
lines, bur unless the fran1e is dropped considerably in
conjunction with the channeling, the result is discomfort and cramped quarters.::
"Even if the fame is dropped," Woron conrinued,
"there is less depth between the top of the body side
and cl1e floor. If discretion is used ... rhe end result will
be a smooth-appearing hot rod wirhour sacrifici ng a
comfortable cab." Woron's article carefully described
each of the necessary steps and concluded by recommending that builders also chop their car's top "for a
nearer appearance."
The September 1953 issue of Rod & Custom also
explained channeling in detail, complete with illustrations. R&c's edirors felt the term was often incorrectly used ro describe severely lowered suspensions.
While cl1ey covered C and Z framing, frame kickups,
and lowering blocks, the authors carefully noted that
"channeling is the method used to reduce the height
of a car without lowering the chassis." They defined
rhe practice as cutting rhe entire floorpan out of a car,
raising a new floorpan inside the body, and slotting
or sectioning the firewall to suit. But R&c's edirors
warned that cramped leg room was the price you
paid for that low look.
Where cars for the street were concerned, channeling appears to have been more popular in the East
and Midwest man on the West Coast. Flick mrough
a stack of the long-defunct East Coast hot rod
monthly, Rodding and Re-styling, and you' ll see
dozens of channeled cover cars, including Jack Lentz's
famous New Jersey-built "Golden Rod" '32 Ford
roadster. Although a few late '30s- to '40s-era customs, like Jimmy Summers' spectacular '40 Mercury
convertible and Art Lellis' '39 Ford convertible
coupe, benefited from channeling, the task was much
harder on a larger, full-fendered car. Few homebuilders had the talent to accomplish it well.
"I was roo young to remember those early days,"
says Dave Simard, whose active Leominster,
Massachusetts, shop has restored and built several
period hot rods, including the ex-Jim Khougaz channeled Deuce roadster. "But from what I've seen of
these surviving cars at Ty-Rods meets, channeling was
a way to build a really outrageous car. Really, channeling defined what was hot about a hot rod," Dave
continues. "It's true ·some of rhe work in the early
days was badly done, bur these were kids, with only a
Gene lade's Deuce coupe was channe-led 7
inches. In this photo the car has a Flathead but
would later have a Cad followed by a Buick lor
power. Oh yes, is that a spring in Iron! ol the
axle? Could be a '36 lrontend. (Photo courtesy
ol X.A. Beake)
When was the last lime you saw a pair ol channeled coupes and a pair ol channeled roadsters
side by side? From lett to right are lour Ty-Rods cars: Steele's roadster, Dick Kelley's coupe , Jack
Crosby's roadster, and Frank Domenichella 's coupe. (Photo courtesy ol Paul Aldrich)
This photo was taken circa 1957 ol Norm
Wallace ol New Hampshire in his channeled
Deuce with motorcycle lenders, Cad caps, and ,
oh , those whitewalls . (Photo courtesy ol X.A.
Beake)
Here's Mudd Sharrigan 's channeled roadster making a pass. Note that the twin rubber tracks love
that posi. You gotta love the leather helmet and the absence ol a rollbar. Talk about blind faith.
(Photo courtesy ol X.A. Beake)
The Pete Selerian roadster sported a late-model
OHV V-8 , cycle lenders, and lakes-style pipes .
(Photo courtesy ol Tom Shea)
Andy Kassa's channeled coupe was very successful on the indoor car circuit. (Photo courtesy of Ron San Giovanni)
Who said roadsters melt in the snow? Obviously, Douglas Ralph Gilbert sees no problem with enjoying some winter rodding in his channeled Deuce complete with Flathead , Cad caps, and F1 pickup
front shock mounts. (We have heard there is also an early Dodge mount that is similar in appearance.) (Photo courtesy of Ron San Giovanni)
Bill Neumann's channeled '31 roadster on '32
'rails is as sweet today as it was 50 years
ago. GoHa love the blanket interior, triple
pots, hairpins, and the tall and skinny wide
whites. (Photo courtesy of Ron San Giovanni)
This photo was shot in 1951 of Fran
Bannister's roadster that was built in '48-49
and ran 127.11 mph at the 1950 Bonneville
Nationals with a '42 Mere block bored to 258
inches. (Photo courtesy of Ron San Giovanni)
Stuart Randall's roadster has a modified dash, banjo wheel , and the obligatory 7-inch channel.
(Photo courtesy of Ron San Giovanni)
, _ _.,_,11_,.,
Those East Coast boys
had to be tough-winter
snow driving is a challenge regardless olthe
tact you are in a channeled roadster. Pete
Selerian obviously saw
no problem (circa 1957)
negotiating the elements
with his channeled
Deuce complete with '50
Pontiac taillights. (Photo
courtesy of Ron San
Giovanni)
few tools ar their disposal. A guy was
lucky if he had a grinder and had
access ro a set of torches. Bur rhey gor
the look down, and we've been refining
ir ever since."
Another East Coaster, Kirk F.
White adds, "I sti ll like the 'Golden
Rod.' Channeling made it special. And
builder Jack Lentz cleverly made it a
unibody when he welded the body ro
the frame. As a result, besides its low
si lhouerre, rhar roadster was stiff and,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~, furas~~-~ea~irhandkds upcrhl~
"But some of these early channeled
cars were crude, almost grotesque,"
Kirk continues. "With an oversized
radiator and rhe engine rilred rearward,
they were gruesome. Fred Steele's '32
was one of the more extreme examples.
When I was a youngster, I was
impressed with all the work ir rook to
build a car like this. Today, I don't
much like them-I prefer the classic
highboy look."
Bill! Neumann, from Scarsdale,
New York, went on to work for
Petersen Publishing on Hot Rod and
R&C His Model A was Rodding and
Re-sty ling's cover car in November
1957. Irs body was channeled a whopping 8 1/2-inches over a Z'd Deuce
frame. The hopped-up, 276-cid '5 0
Mere flathead sported three carbs,
Edelbrock heads, and a Mallory
magspark ignition. Bill could fir a custom tonneau cover, a single bucket
sear, and a rollba r for the drags. Neat
touches like scoo ped backing plates
and a 108.87-mph quarter-mile made
ir a standout. Bill's car clearly showed
some East Coast rodders had the look
dialed in.
When I was growing up in rhe
Boston area, channeled roadsters and
coupes owned by local hot dogs Peter
Seferian, John "Shag" Sharrigan and
his brother Mudd, Norm Wa ll ace,
Gene Lade, Stuart Randall, and Paul
FitzGerald, along with the aforementioned Bill Neumann and Fred Steele
roadsters, dominated the scene .
Finished to a standard that was much
higher than the average New England
rodder's ability, professionally painted
and trimmed, and sporti ng, for the
most part, the proverbial full-house
Flathead, these were the cars of my
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Paul "Fitzy" FitzGerald 's
channeled roadster with
the door open really tells
the story of a channeled
car..The word is Fitzy is
reconstructing this roadster from the original
frame and miscellaneous
parts found in Vernon , NJ .
(Photo courtesy of Paul
"Fitzy" FitzGerald)
dreams, and those of many New
England teenagers. These guys drag
raced their cars, showed them, and
drove 'em in all sorts of weather.
It was a simpler time. Ike was in the
White House, Chevy's small-block was
just starting to displace the flathead,
and dragstrips at Sanford, Maine,
Orange, Massachusetts , and East
Haddam, Connecticut, were up and
operating. A.B. Shuman's wonderful
book on New England hor rods, Cool
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~nandSqua~RoUban(ava il ab l e
from
Hammershop Press, 6
Huckleberry Ln., Dept. SRM, Sharon,
MA 02067; (781) 784-8724), detai ls
the '50s-era Boston-area scene. A.B .
went on to become editor of Hot Rod.
His photos and those of several others,
reproduced here, clearly show the way
we were. lr's not our purpose to do a
how-to on channeling; Rod & Custom
did a fine job in its January 2005 issue.
We wanted to showcase some of the
best East Coast channeled rods. A subsequent piece in SRM will deal with
early West Coast examples.
These days, channeling has enjoyed
a comeback of sorts, thanks to the ratrod crowd. Although a few guys have
succumbed to lowering their cars past
the freak point, many of them have
used discretion, and they've nearly captured that early low-down, channeled
car feeling. Perhaps after you've looked
at some of these great old shots, you'll
be inspired to zip our your floorpan
and head for the basement, too. You'll
be in good company. SR
(Editors Note: STREET RODDER would
like to take this opporttmity to thank A. B. Shuman
(of Cool Cars and Square Roll Bars fome), Paul
Aldrich, Xenaphon A. Beake, tmd Paul "Fitzy"
FitzGerald for allowing ttS to 1tSe their photos.)
Fitzy's channeled roadster also saw its share
of racing as in the B/SR class. Note the truck
grille. (Photo courtesy of Paul "Fitzy"
FitzGerald)