Well, I thought it was time to start my own build thread, even though not much is happening with my COE. My name is Scott, and I own/ run a 1 man body shop here in rural NW Montana. I bought this old '51 ford cab last spring in pretty sad shape. Since I like '51-'52 Ford trucks, and COE's a lot, it was a no brainer. The pro's.....not too rusty. Only the cab corners have any rot. The con's....it has about a million dents in it, including the door openings where someone had lifted the cab by p***ing a cable thru and lifting. Also the skirts, running boards and chrome trim is missing. The plan.....I want a crew cab dually car hauler. I have a couple extra cabs with doors for the crew cab part, and I bought a 1 ton Chevy truck for it's ch***is.....simple, right? A couple pics of what I started with......
Donn, don't worry, I have lots of pics.... Here's one of the ch***is I'm using.....'89 Chev 1 ton. I sold most of the body parts and s****ped the rest. This truck has hydraulic boosted brakes which I hope to re-use. I also kept the radiator, driveshafts, pedals, column, etc. And NO, the sedan delivery in the back ground is not for sale! LOL!
I just hate it when cabs get lifted thru the doors like that. skipped a couple trucks because of that. I'm eager to see you remedy those. maybe I'll save the next one... JML
This is going to be interesting. Saved a 51 Mercury that was lifted by a cable. Just remember to reverse the damage, and it should work out. There is parts of a 48 Ford COE in the Livingston wrecking yard, if that will help you.
Mine has the tell tale chain dents/marks too. Guess those people didn't have friends to help them lift it off. : )
Not long after I got the cab, I decided to try straightening the door openings.... I got it roughly pulled back out for now.....the drip rails are fubar though. I may replace the whole roof. I'm gonna wait and see what happens when I stretch the cab......kinda got that deal figured out in my head.....looks like a ton of work. This truck will be keeping it's patina.....no fancy bodywork or paint. Any new parts will be rattle canned to match the green.
Scott. I have the same ch***is. I scrounged around and bought a 85 3/4 ton van steering gear to get the gear angle a bit more upright. I have the same hydro-boost system and I like it. Where will your engine placement be? I would think seriously of under the back seat. Now, The big question ........................ when will it go into the shop? -Donn-
Engine placement.....that is the big question now. As much as I would like it up front, it ain't gonna happen. The crew cab makes it even tougher...... It will either go under the rear seat or behind the cab. I will likely stretch the frame about 4 feet, so there should be room, but it depends on if it will interfere with the bed. I gotta get the cab on the frame and do some measuring. I would love to get it into the shop, but no room for it right now. Also, I'll keep an eye out for a van steering box, thanks for the tip!
I like your plan. Hey were you watching the coe hood trim on ebay?? He wanted 200 and got no bidders...
I drug my fenders into the shop......they needed a little tune up. This cab has been moved around so much, one fender was folded under. The other had some rusty spots. Also had a couple sharp dents above the grille. Nothing a porto power, some 2x4's and a BFH couldn't fix..... Before.....note the dents and kinked fender After After a little rattle can touch up...
Seth, no worries.....it's gonna take me a while. I'm just anxious to get going on this project. I set the cab on the frame yesterday for mock up....pics to follow. How is your COE coming along? You should start a thread or post updates!
A couple of pics of the cab sitting on the frame.....the weather has kinda gone downhill, dunno how much more I can do for now.
with the hot thread about the chain drive steering on the main board I thought of your coe Scott,Have you thought about this??//
Yes, I have thought about chain drive......it's still an option. I'm trying to mock up the cab and fenders to see where everything is going to be. I think I can rotate the stock steering box down and make it work. We'll see......
The sun was shining today, so I did some more mock up....the fenders sat way too high, so I chopped 7" out of the core support. I was worried about the cab height, but I actually had to raise the cab 3" for it all to line up. The suspension still needs to come down 3-4". I plan on using this thing as a truck, so I don't want it too low. Raising the cab gives me a little more engine room if I go that way....but makes the steering angle MORE severe....Any how, I'm liking the way this is looking!
I love it. are you going to use the OG subframe?? or make your own mounts.... Bags?? dropped spindels?? It looks *****ing and your fast...My coe might sit for a while,looks like Im going to get a panel
most of the subframe was missing, so I will have to make one. If I put the motor in the back I will use some lighter springs in the front so it rides decent. No bags or dropped spindles....I don't want it too low. I've got to find some engine dimensions to see what will fit up front.....
OK, slight change of plans.....while I really think a crewcab COE would be cool, it's not really a must have thing. And it really complicates my build. Crewing would add 3 feet to my cab, which means adding a couple feet to the frame. Which means the mid engine sets back even farther. All this complicates the hydraulic tilt bed setup....... SOOOO, I can extend the cab 12" without altering the frame....this will give me more legroom and ease entry/ exit. (I'm 6'4" tall). Will install some small 1/4 windows to keep it factory looking. Going to try to keep the motor up front if possible......need to measure to see what will fit. So that is the NEW plan....we'll see how long this one lasts!
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