COE 1952 Chevy COE meets 1994 Ford F600

A few years ago I found a farmer with about 4 acres of big, old vehicles and farm equipment. Kind of like an elephant graveyard waiting for resurrection. When we met at his farm, it was very clear that he wasn't interested in selling much. Whatever he was going to sell, he wanted to make sure it would be built, not crushed or sold off as parts. He's kind of like a museum curator in my mind. Preserving pieces of history. Once I explained my ultimate goal of creating a food truck, he loosened up a little and asked if I had a ch***is in mind. We hopped in his golf cart for a quick spin around the grounds and low and behold, a 1994 ford f600 flat bed was presented to me. I said I wasn't interested in a powerstroke and wanted something with a ***mins. He just pulled the clamshell topkick forward and said "Like this?" 179,**x on the 12v 5.9, nv4500 manual trans and a 2 speed Rockwell rear axle. Perfect. A price was agreed on for the F600 minus the flatbed and the 1952 Chevy COE cab that will be the face of my next BBQ food truck.
This project is my first of its kind, being carried out in my back yard with mostly hand tools and an A frame. I divide my time between being an owner/operator of a BBQ food truck in its 3rd year of successful existence and trying to build this beast. Im trying to re-purpose as much material from s**** and the ford cab, basically whatever I can get my hands on that will work for me, for cheap or free. In order to pull this off, I have to sacrifice a lot of "original" for "originality". Purists, I'm sorry.
Either way, enjoy the pics.
And Im having a hard time figuring out how to get these pics posted in order.















More to come...

 

I do believe you'll need to widen your Chevy fenders about a foot each to clear that Ford axle width!

 

And you'll need suicide doors to clear the widened fenders.

 

Yep!

 

Are you sure that isn't a 1950 or older?

 

Nope, not sure of anything but the farmer I bought it from said it was a 52.

 

I had a bunch of pics that didn't load yesterday. lets try again.

Looking at about a 16" difference. Fenders will be widened by 8" each.




I used a braided 1/4" metal cable between 2 trees to help lift up on the cab. I bolted a crank mechanism to the frame to get the cab sliding back on the frame, and a come along.

Not the best way to do it but I didn't hurt myself and I got the job done, I call that a success.

 

Biggest issue was the stick shift. little sawzall action and problem solved. Cab was too heavy to lift over the 18" long shifter.

The cab was too heavy to stop for a photo op. 3 friends plus me to move it on to the frame.

Due to space constraints, the old cab needed to be on the frame before I could ***emble the A frame.

3" gap will be the max ride height, airbags and a homemade 4 link are still brewing in my head. Im hoping to tuck the wheels 3 inches up into the fenders.

 

Almost fit like a glove, little "adjustment" and I have inches to spare on either side!



I used threaded rod to mock up the fenders and think I need to cut them and widen them by 8" each.



didn't see this coming for some reason. I was wondering if suicide doors will help...anyone done that before?

 

Looks to be a 1948-1950. Maybe a 1948 because of the smooth firewall. If you widen the front fenders 8", how will the doors open?

I've seen a Chevy coe like yours that had the front fenders widened 3" and boy was it ugly.

 

65 standard- function over form on this one, I was thinking either start the fenders roll closer to the cab and have them dip down a little to clear the door, basically make them more rounded. I got to thinking after reading your post about suicide doors, I plan on running dual stacks to hide the area where the cab meats the body, been wondering how many employees will get burnt but the idea of suicides alleviates that issue when they are climbing in and out.

 

I built a subframe out of 1x2 tube to mount the cab on.

I removed the crossmember the ford cab sat on, cut it up and made mounts with new universal poly isolators



modified and relocated front cab mounts from the ford

metal guy down the street that gives me s**** just said "holy overkill"

more universal isolators
\

 

All good "thinking" but now you would have to step over the tallest part of the fender. There is also the option of splitting the cab and making it wider, not that I like that look either. How about swapping in an Isuzu axle, they are narrower?

 

might not look like much but this was a big moment, the cab is finally mounted to the frame.

time to fix some rusty bits in the corners.

 

The drivers side step from the ford was almost a perfect fit for the corners. came up about 1.5" shorter on both sides than id like but free is free. (I already paid for it I guess) this is that part about im sorry purists, this trucks interior style is going to be "utilitarian".







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removed most of the floor at this point.

shifter will get modified a little but its useable in the factory location, just a little low and behind.

stock shifter surround to get an idea of were things might end up.

I made this template from card board and started looking at what I had for sheet metal...

I managed to remove the rear window in one piece which could become a sky light over the kitchen part of the body further down the line. this idea was a lot better in theory than it turned out. probably going with a different surface here but I want to be able to remove the floor for easy access to everything from above.

the subframe grew and now has a mounting bar for the seats, how ever that works out.

wish I added these in the beginning. My MIG has a flexible tip. I want a TIG for Christmas.

overhead welds smell like burning hair!

the front of the subframe was connected with a length of 2x2. the stock fan fits but may get ditched in favor of an electric. Ac is going bye bye, stock intercooler is not going to fit so id like to switch it over to an air-water intercooler once im closer to completion. budget depending.

 

I wonder if the KDP has been fixed? since everything has the tamper proof paint marks still on it from ***mins, Im guessing the front cover hasn't ever been off. I looked up instructions on you tube. super simple, if the fronts off your truck already.

I removed the crank bolts with hand tools and PB Blaster. that stuffs as magic as duct tape!

incase your wondering, this is the killer dowel pin. gently tap it flush and make a washer.

cardboard template

made this steel washer, it could have been 1-2mm longer but the edges of the aluminum case are not a hard 90deg and a drop of red Loc***e said it wont go anywhere. Oddly enough, the ***mins (made in Indiana) is the only thing on the ford that has "MADE IN USA" stamped into it.

I got a little side tracked while waiting for materials for the body structure of the kitchen area. Started looking at seat options. Probably wont use these because I don't want to deal with the electronics but when I sat in the truck and hung my arm out the window, it felt so right. Id like to find some manual Recaros from a VW GTI/scirocco/corrado or BMW e30 manual sport seats.

some of you are no doubt shaking your heads right now. So am I.
We have a saying back home, "Im from Vermont and I do what I want".

 

I'm shaking my head about the tacks for "welds" on the cab mount/subframe. I'd have a welder fix those or carry a spare pair of pants and underwear with you when you get it on the road, you'll need them when that comes apart going down the road.

 

From what I see the actual main mounts have some good looking (from here) welds on them, the tacks are on the doghouse surround bracing, not as critical.

I too think you should at least spend some time to see what front axles are available to swap in there to leave the fenders alone. I would venture a guess that it would be quicker and better than the time it will take to make the fenders wider even leaving the door situation out of the mix.

 

I didn't take a pic of the rear cab mounts after they were fully burned in. Everything structural is fully welded. I didn't feel the need to go more than tack the front corner panels because they are not holding any weight anymore. Im hoping the fenders will not look so wide with the body behind it. The interior width of the kitchen space is 8'. The cab looks tiny compared to the rear structure. Swaping the front axel and splitting the cab would be too labor intensive for my current shop (back yard in Colorado) and too time consuming. Id rather be selling food next summer than messing with this truck. Its gonna be ugly regardless, Im just trying to get your attention so you come close enough to smell my food. Homemade bacon smell is like a black hole.

 

X3 on a narrower front axle. WAY less work to make everything fit and it'll look a million times better too! If you DO widen the fenders you'll have to widen the grill too.

 

I would think that a stock F-450 front axle and steering linkage would be a direct bolt-on. That would tuck the front wheels in the stock fenders nicely. It would take a lot less time to do and you could still do it outside, under a tree with some rope and cardboard creeper.

 

Daddio- the grill was the only part that wasn't on the truck when I bought it. Ive seen an old gmc sedan with huge pointy teeth that I liked. Im making a custom grill to fill the front. I want a big toothy grin in your rear view mirror when im behind you at a light... ill look into the f450 front axle. Any particular years I should look for?

 

I would look at late 80's and early 90s F-350's and F-450's with the leaf spring beam axles. Some F-350's are A-arms but most Super Duty F-350's are beam axles and leaf springs.

 

Heres a couple shots jumping some of the progress. This is how its sat since winter storm cleon. Work and life got in the way the last few weeks. The rear body must provide an interior width of 8 feet not exceeding 8'6" max exterior width. I'll have 2" to spare. Since the back of the truck is so much wider than the chevy cab, and the cab is sitting a lot higher than most other builds, stretching the fenders will give a taller, wider cab, hopefully diminishing the size difference between cab and body. Swapping in a narrower front I beam axle is too much of a logistic h***le regardless of the visual benefits. not to mention its going to cost more than slicing and stretching the fenders.
I think visually, having the front fenders within 1-2" of the same width as the rear of the vehicle will look right. If the cab is sitting 8" above the frame, and the fenders are widened by roughly 8" each, the adjustment would be relatively "square" and in my mind, im hoping it wont make the cab look too tall or too wide. The roof line of the kitchen space is roughly 11 feet off the ground. I don't want this truck to look like a pin head with huge shoulders.


the edge of the fender being inline with the body of the kitchen should look good.

I hope this makes sense, im not brushing off everyones advice but ive been itching to learn about more sheetmetal fab and the fenders would be a perfect project inside the garage during the next winter storm. If I had the space and tools to cut the cab and stretch it, I would jump on that. The way this is going together, I can remove the cab next year and spend more time and $$ on it. Put it this way, id drive this truck without fenders to go serve food. This isn't a toy, its a tool and not all tools are pretty but they are all functional (harbor freight excluded).

 

You've been duly warned. LOL I will reserve judgement now until it is completed. I do understand the body width problem, if the widened fenders don't work out, they aren't unobtainium, so you can back up and try again. Have fun with it!

 

The farmer that sold it to me has a few more (COEs) kicking around. does anyone have pics of fenders that have been stretched? I liked that triple cab hauler that was on ebay someone posted on here a month or two back.

 

Build it the way YOU want it! It does not matter one bit what everyone else thinks. I'll bet your food customers will find it pretty cool.....

 

Please don't think any of us are trying to rain on your parade. You've obviously given this great deal of thought and planning, and have enough ambition to have gotten this far. We speak from experience, but that's not the only way things can be done. You will REALLY struggle with the doors. Hang one with your fenders spaced out and you'll start to get an idea. Suicide isn't an answer because the door will be hanging in the space your body is trying to climb up in. Gullwing, maybe? LOL

 

I think I would give a serious look at gullwing doors also! figuring out a safe counterbalance system might make you scratch your head for a while, but it could be worth while.