I'd never even heard the term COE until about 4 or 5 years ago. To be fair, pretty much ALL of our medium to large trucks here in the UK are cabovers. Then I saw this article: about this truck: and after that I was smitten. I started collecting pictures of COE trucks from the web and had a pipe-dream of one day owning one. My girlfriend and I have a small part-time catering business that we're looking to expand, mainly selling food at music festivals over the summer in the UK. It can easily take us a day to get our kitchen/tent set up and ready, so when this converted fire truck rocked up next to us one year and was selling food within 45 minutes, I was envious enough to start looking into food trucks. Fast forward a couple of years to Oct '11 and my girlfriend and I are working in Florida. I start looking at my wish list of american cars and searching for something I can buy over here and ship home to the UK. I started looking at cabovers again and a plan was hatched to look for something we could convert into a food truck. Well there wasn't much that was suitable in stock form, I was already leaning towards a 47-54 GMC/Chevy. I was also considering importing an Airstream trailer and converting that into a kitchen. Hang on - what would the ******* offspring of a COE and airstream look like..? That thought kept me awake all night as I scoured the internets to see if someone had done anything similar. In about 6 hours I only found these two: a I thought both looked awesome and so when my gf eventually woke up I started the pitch. Luckily, it took all of 30 seconds for her to get on board (she's a keeper!). She's since confessed that she thought it'd never get off the ground - ha! that'll teach her... So I then started looking for a builder who could make this project a reality. I had a couple of places in mind whose work I really admired (my background is in aircooled VWs), so I emailed one of them - Wayne at the Intergalactic Custom Shop in the UK. I'd been a fan of Wayne's work for years after seeing his V8 bug - The Phunky Phantom: And later, his insane 1700bhp 7 sec 1/4 mile splitscreen dragster, Mental Breakdown: I was stoked when Wayne emailed back to say he'd love to build it! Originally I'd thought about using a Isuzu NPR ch***is and engine, but Wayne had a mate who just happened to be selling Wayne's old '82 Chevy G30 based RV. It used to be Wayne's tow vehicle when he went drag racing, so he was confident the 350 chevy v8 and turbo 400 box would be ample for our needs. Plus it was already converted to run on LPG (pretty much essential given UK 'gas' prices). So the search was on for a cab. After months of looking, emailing potential leads and more looking, I eventually found this 1950 GMC which seemed to fit the trifecta of condition, price and location: and contacted the seller Steve at desertcl***ics.com, who was really helpful in separating the cab from the ch***is and sorting out transport to the port in LA. almost 18 months to the day after that sleepless night, the cab arrived at Intergalactic: (this photo always reminds me off the bit in King Kong, where our captured hero gets put aboard the boat bound for New York) That's it for tonight. I'll carry on tomorrow (unless this thread contravenes the HAMB guidelines). If you got this far, thanks for reading. Comments and feedback always welcome! Take it easy Mack
I followed the link for your builder, dude thinks outside the box. I like what I see, and don't worry too much about being off topic here in this social group, we are a little more open minded than the general HAMB.
Lookin' good Mack, I started tracking down your build a couple weeks ago when one of the guys in our car club told me about it. Gary is a recent import from your side of the pond and had heard about it somewhere. Can't wait to see this one get done. Looks a little like Ed Newtons old drawing. Wish I had the talent to build this one.
Im in the process of doing the same thing, food truck based on a 52 Chevy. Guy had a 50 GMC available too but the chevy was in better shape. Ill be posting a build soon. Check out doughboys thread aswell. His builder has got the skills to pay the bills.
I'm going to turn mine into a food truck...First I'll install a drink tray and then a make a flat place to put my French fries so I can dip while driving.
Thanks for the interest guys - and Happy Thanksgiving to all y'all stateside. I'm working in Savannah, GA at the moment - no day off for us today but i'm about to tuck into a turkey pizza and a portion of HAMB. So with both the donor vehicles at Intergalactic, Wayne let rip with his plasma cutter and reduced the RV to this: then this: and fabbing up some brackets to see how things would fit, he got the cab offered up into place to make this: The bonnet was catching on the brake servo, the steering wheel hit the inside of the door and the front fenders a very close, but it gave us a good idea of how it'll sit, and I was stoked! (eagle eyed readers will notice that it's a sunny day in England in this photo - that's not photoshop, we actually had some clear skies this year!) Eventually we'll be using a different column and hopefully using the original GMC wheel rather than the plastic fantastic chevy thing. A couple of UJs should put the steering wheel in a more sensible spot, so I don't have to drive with the door open
With most of the RV cut away, there was still the wooden floor, waste tanks and LPG (cooking) tank to jettison. They ended up on the s**** pile, as we'll be needing bigger tanks than the RV had, and the floor had seen better days. Progress took a hiatus whilst we saved up some more money and headed back overseas (my gf and I work on yachts). In the mean time, Wayne started stockpiling steel and finding a supplier for the aluminium sheet (we spell it the correct way over here ) like airstream used. I believe it's an Al alloy with a thin layer of pure Al on the surface for corrosion protection - the side benefit being it polishes up real purdy. Here's another shot of the truck minus the wooden floor and all the other gubbins; you can see the LPG tank slung under the side Next Wayne started laying out the frame for the floor. We wanted to maximise the space in the cooking area, but not have too much of an overhang behind the rear wheels. UK laws state a max of 60% of the wheelbase as rear overhang. I think we're just under on the pod, leaving room for a rear bumper and towbar. Trialling the pod floor on the truck bed: Wayne was putting in some late nights on the fabrication work. That being said, it does get dark about 4.30pm in the UK at this time of year!
No, you're right CG. We decided to keep it LHD as the chevy was also a left ******. It doesn't really bother me either way. As it's an auto trans I won't be punching the door card like I do when driving 'stick' left hand drive cars! Like I said, we're working overseas at the moment, so we've been in email correspondance with Wayne to iron out some details as the build progresses. Originally I felt that the pod should be a separate en***y like the green F6 above (albeit with a walkthrough from the cab area), but Wayne thought it would flow better with the roof starting to rise from the top of the windscreen. Having seen the pod on the back of the truck, and the height difference in the roof lines, my gf Anna and I both agreed that Wayne had the right idea from the start. So he went ahead with that plan and we ended up here: So now we'll be able to stand up in the cab to walk through, and Anna is happy as she'll have a shelf above the sunvisors to keep chocolate. That was last week. Since then, Wayne's knocked out the dents in the bonnet (hood) and sent that, the doors and some other bits off to get shot blasted. The rest of the truck should be getting trailered over for blasting this week. Wayne's currently working on the steering column mods to get it sitting in the right spot. If anyone has any suggestions for front seats (2 separate ones to allow for the walk-through) then please speak up. Even better if you can supply pictures. Although, thinking about it, they'll probably be coming from a UK vehicle so I don't get stung for international shipping. Any questions, suggestions or feedback welcome. Cheers Mack
You might find this link interesting as the builder started with a school bus but his cab roof intersection is similar as yours. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCg9oUM9O3I
Thanks for the link to that vid vet57air. Didn't realise you were on here - seeing pics of your truck was a huge inspiration, although it's the first time I've looked through your entire build album. How are you enjoying your truck now you've finished it?
Thank you macksimus. I enjoy my truck immensely, although I don't get to drive it often enough, as it is just to big "to go get ice cream". That being said I have 8000 + miles on it that we have driven long distance trips to shows. It is very comfortable to travel in. Lately I have been acquiring NOS accessories to add some bling.
The rest of the cab is now back at Intergalactic. There are just a few small areas of rust we didn't previously know about, but nothing Wayne can't handle. Nothing would have survived this well in the UK climate for 60 years!
Hey guys, only a little bit of visible progress since I last posted. Wayne's been working on his 1955 Hudson Rambler Cross Country Custom Station Wagon to make space for the truck, and I've been saving up more money for parts etc. So, before the update, a few questions for the AD truck experts since american tin is scarce on 'our' side of the pond, and geographically I'm nowhere near where my truck is getting built. If anyone can help out with answers or opinions then I'd gladly hear it. Thanks in advance for any advice. So, in no particular order: My cab has the stainless divider down the centre of the windscreens but not the stainless/chrome trim around the gl***. Was this a dealer option, or only on some models? Can I get it off any other cabs across the AD range or is it a different size, and does it fit over the windscreen seal or does it fit in a channel within the windscreen seal? Similarly, if I wanted the chrome trim around the door windows, is there another model (i.e. non COE) truck I can get this off or are the door windows different sizes? My truck has the one piece windows but I've notice some have the quarter lights in the doorsAgain, was that a dealer/factory option or a year change difference? I want to replace every seal in the cab (no rear or corner windows as the project is a walkthrough, and no pedal/firewall rubbers as that's all custom). As far as I can see this is the list I'll need – if I've missed any please tell me! Doors – I think this runs in a channel around the inside of the door? Wind lace around cab door opening side window felt channel kit side window gl*** s****ers/sweepers windscreen door handles to cab doors door lock to cab door (anyone know why the lock is on the p***enger side and not the driver's?) front fender to cab (fender welt) side cowl vent (we call these crotch coolers on early beetles) top cowl vent headlight bucket to fender seals headlight bucket grommets hood to body seal windshield wiper spindle seal cab step seals ribbed rubber fender pads and step pads (does anyone make these?) gas tank filler neck I'll also be replacing the following parts: interior and exterior door handles window winder handles dash clock/gauge set dashboard switches/knobs b-pillar exterior grab handle So I want good-best quality, I don't believe on scrimping on seals or brightwork and I'd prefer to get as much as I can from one supplier. I value good customer service too. Any recommendations for a one-stop-shop? Or if even you've had experience with some poor quality parts and you can help me avoid buying rubbish then please, shout out! There'll probably be some more questions as the project progresses. I'll reward you with some pictures as it happens! Cheers Mack
Looking Good! The one piece side windows were in the 48-50's. Chev's of the 40's in Vancouver Washington carries the rubber products you want and I've had good customer service from them. The door lock only on the p*** side is called a gentlemans lock because you would open the p*** door to reach across to lock or unlock the drivers door (door handle) and you would be there to open the p*** door for your date , It was also a failproof to locking your keys in the truck.. Steele rubber products is also a good source of rubber but wouldn't have the handles.
The stainless trim you are asking about generally came on a "deluxe cab". These parts off of a regular pickup truck will fit your COE. The door stainless is reproduced. The quarter lights you mentioned (we call them fly windows) started to come on these trucks around 1951. I removed mine for a cleaner look, each to his own. Most of the other parts you are looking for are reproduced for the regular pickups and will fit your COE. Check Jim Carter truck parts www.oldchevytrucks.com or chevys of the 40's www.chevsofthe40s.com
Looking good ! I am interested in seeing more as you progress in this great build. Let us in on your steering box and wheel approach.
Why door lock on p***enger side and not driver side... I was always told, and you see this in most 40s / 50s movies. If the doors needed locking, it was usually when you went to town and most parking was curb parking. The driver would lock his door then slide across to the p***enger/curb side to get out, then lock the door from the outside. True or not, makes sense to me.
I always thought it was the gentlemanly thing to do... unlock the girls door and open it, then she can reach across and unlock yours.
I think, at one time there were laws against key locks on drivers doors. They didn't want you standing in a traffic lane, locking/unlocking the drivers door. Cars had bench seats back then, now days if might be a little harder on your @zz!
Great job, keep us in the loop with more build pictures! Steering wheel info on placement and U joint work is appreiciated also.
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