I got this '38 COE several months ago, thinking I would build a tilt-bed car hauler out of it - you know, one small enough that it will only haul one rat rod at a time. Lately I've been wondering about other possibilities such as mating it up with a motor home. Then at Bonneville in August, I got yet another inspiration: build it into one Big Ass Pickup! I'd be interested in knowing what other Hambers would do with it if it were theres to screww around with. And no, I don't want to hear suggestions about pushing it into the nearest lake since it aint a Ford.
Keep it fairly simple...instead of a tilting flatbed, build a slantback "ramp truck" type of hauler out of it...with a 454 Chevy & TH-400 to move it!
[ QUOTE ] A longbox pick up would be tempting. A latemodel Dualie box would work. [/ QUOTE ] Go for the 50's bed - a late model bed would look like GACK.
I have had ideas in the past for a camper style COE. Someting that I think would be neat is if you found an old airstream trailer, sectioned it, and mounted it to the bed. OR if your creative and adventureous enough find a way to make a kind of component systen that would mount to the bed. One of the components would be the camper, the other would be a flat bed for hauling cars. If you have ever had a industrial trash bin dropped off at your house that is what I was thinking about, the kind they rol off the bed of a big truck. Kind of a roller style systen where you can drive the car onto the flat bed "plate" and secure it in place, then connect it to the tilt system on the truck bed. Then just winch the combo onto the trucks bed. The same would work for the camper.
PUT THE ENGINE BEHIND THE CAB!!!!!!!!!! trust me on this one. a 455 B.O.P. would be tits (or a 472/500 caddy) would be MY choice if i ever did it again. and maybe the 9 1/2' box from a 47-54 chevy 1 ton
Tomslik, the engine behind the cab because why? Not enough room under the cab? You're no doubt right, but tell me what the problems are with leaving the engine under the cab. Having it behind the cab could limit usage opions -- like with a motorhome, for instance.
There are several things I'd like to make out of a COE. Most of wich I would us a Caddy or Olds front wheel drive set up for. The Caddy's had the 500 CI front wheel drive set up. Right? One thing would be to mount the COE with front wheel drive to an Airstream. Would make one kick ass motor home. The tricky part would be to get the body of the cab to flow into the Airstream. The second would be a car hauler. You could mate the front wheel drive COE to a low slung trailer and have an instant hauler. Clark
I'd run that sucker as it is, with no back. Sort out the stuff that needs sorting like the bald tyres, missing glass, missing headlight and what ever else there is. Then find some big cubic, big torque monster engine drop that in under the cab. Run the thing with all the patina and see how many scenes from Duel you can recreate !!
[ QUOTE ] Here's the '49 or 50 Chevy COE Pickmeup that turned me on at Speed Week. [/ QUOTE ] scha-wiiiiiiinnnggg!!! I've wanted to build one like that for a long time. Up til now, havent seen any pics of one done right. I've also wanted to build one using the back half of a suburban from the same time period. Studebaker made some like that and they look awesome. i've only ever seen that done to one Art Deco COE that i can think of, and the pics of it weren't that great. you might also want to join the Old COE mailing list if you havent already. PM or email me if you need the address. would definitely like to see yours done up like the one above. dan
Why mount the engine behind the cab? If you do you actually have room for 3 people ( or two very comfortably). Two, you get the heat away from the pass. area (the stock location engine is sitting right next to you). Three, if you mount the engine right behind the cab and low in the chassis you can service the engine easier,it's right out in the open and it won't interfere with a hauler ramp or sleeper. Mount the radiator in the stock location if you wish, just do some clever ducting to get the heat out. If not mount it right in front of the engine where it's in a high air flow area. Frank
with the engine in the front under the hood it is a hard one to work on. when it's time for a rebuild you would have to take it out thru the passenger side door. as a ramp back it can be expensive to insure. insurance companies look at it as a commercial type vehicle. jerry
I absolutely love that '49/50 pictured above!! Build it like that-- you'll get much more daily 'driveability' with it like that. If you want to be able to haul stuff, use air bag suspension w/ a 5th-wheel-type hitch so you can tow a BIG trailer around. With motivation from a 500cid cad motor, that'd be the way to fly... Either way, I don't think there is a 'bad' choice with a truck that kool.
Listen to Tslick he's got one and on the road. I was building one, I'd mounted it on a 78 Chev 3/4t frame, 500 Caddy behind the cab, narrowed 40" semi sleeper and narrowed late model short box. Changed my mind and sold it. With the engine behind the cab you can get it down on the ground plus have a nice flat floor with plenty of footroom in the cab. A fellow I know put one together that was low with the motor in front and he just about had to put the gas pedal to the left of the column it's that narrow and this was a sbc. I've also seen them where the passenger had too sit with their feet elevated, I can imagine how that'd feel after a few hundred miles. The other thing as someone else mentioned is ease of working on the motor for regular sevicing, plugs, distributor cap, etc.
[ QUOTE ] There are several things I'd like to make out of a COE. Most of wich I would us a Caddy or Olds front wheel drive set up for. The Caddy's had the 500 CI front wheel drive set up. Right? One thing would be to mount the COE with front wheel drive to an Airstream. Would make one kick ass motor home. The tricky part would be to get the body of the cab to flow into the Airstream. The second would be a car hauler. You could mate the front wheel drive COE to a low slung trailer and have an instant hauler. Clark [/ QUOTE ] I've seen a COE with front wheel drive and a trailer grafted to the rear to create a car hauler. Very low deck on the trailer as a result. There is a version of the Cad/Olds front drive set up that was used under GMC motorhomes. If I were building something like what you describe, I'd look for that stouter version of the transaxle.
[ QUOTE ] I've also wanted to build one using the back half of a suburban from the same time period. Studebaker made some like that and they look awesome. i've only ever seen that done to one Art Deco COE that i can think of, and the pics of it weren't that great. [/ QUOTE ] There have been a couple of extended cab Advance Design COEs running around. One of them looked exactly like a Suburban body grafted to a COE cab. Another used two cabs and some Suburban body parts. A third looked stretched similar to the way a limo is stretched, complete with a second set of doors, and limo type interior. I have a P30 frame and a Suburban body and have been looking for a COE cab to build something like this. [ QUOTE ] you might also want to join the Old COE mailing list if you havent already. PM or email me if you need the address. [/ QUOTE ] Dan are you a member of the COE mailing list?
That's just NEET! It's also probably a '39, not a '38.'38 For one thing '38 Chevy's had a flat windshield and according to this, http://sd.znet.com/~t1937/COE.htm they didn't make a company-bodied COE until '39, and that body with the split windshield ran from '39 -'46. (I have a '40 GMC, same cab, cept a pickup) It's probably a '39 and not a '40 because it would have sealed beam headlights if it was a '40. Does it have a "flat" dash or a curved dash? the 39 had a "flat" dash I think mid engine would be cool, in fact, check out the one in the pics from the Primer nationals Happy Hoppy just posted!
[ QUOTE ] I think mid engine would be cool, in fact, check out the one in the pics from the Primer nationals Happy Hoppy just posted! [/ QUOTE ] I was just gonna post those...
Here's a art piece one Gilbert "Magu" Lujan did for me a while back. He'a got a really heavy duty one in his studio right now that that sorta serves as his loft/bedroom with the queen size bed, night stands, etc set up on the truck bed for now. ti;; he gets around to rebuilding it...
That is so cool. I have seen 38 Ford COEs but never a chev. Last week at Chickasha the guy across from me was trying all week to sell a running 454 powered motorhome for a grand. The one with the big disc brakes on all 4s. I thought how perfect that chassis would be for a COE to make a car hauler. I saw a 38 Ford COE that was on a Chevy C-30 chassis with the engine behind the cab, under the bed. He had got rid of the doghouse and put a flat floor in making the cab much less claustrophobic.
heat, noise,humidity(when you hit water, it'll fog up the windows)really sucks to work on when ya gotta take up the floor. i usta own a 46 chevy coe...
The COE in the pictures posted by phattpat is one mean looking machine! I could see myself doing one like that, if not the pickup. I wonder how they got that thing so low to the ground? Man! 'Appreciate getting all the ideas and opinions.
On the 48 Chev COE I was building I could've had the running boards 3" off the ground instead I chose to have it 6" and this was with a 3/4t frame and stock suspension. You just set the body down on the frame build your mounts and go from there.
C9: the dash in the cab is flat, not curved, except at the very top where it meets the windshield. Even though the title says it's a '38 Chevy COE, you're no doubt right about it being a '39, since that's the first year Chevy made them. The Guide 682-C headlights are bulb style, not sealed beams. 'Appreciate getting the COE web links. I'm going to try to get on the COE list to see what is going on out there with these trucks. BTW, a neighbor guy years ago ran a service station out on the highway, and he's got a COE wrecker (not sure about make and model but think its late 1940's GMC). It's still parked in his yard from the old days. What a cool machine. probably still functions.
As soon as I saw your COE I checked my bedside copy of Rodder's Digest No 39, December 1990. It is one of my favorite issues - devoted to rodded trucks. I remembered a Lance Sorchik cartoon which really fits the bill. I emailed Lance to get his OK before posting copyrighted material. He emailed me back to say, "I approve this message!" So here it is. Like it?
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