COE Salvaging a 38 Ford COE

Flippin 'em out the window in the bankrupt state of Ill after Jan 1 will get you a fine for littering,I think $500!! seriousily!

 

Tony,glad to see the recent tornado that went thru area didn't slow you down,that wrecker body is looking too cool

 

The tornado just missed us. Here it is coming from the front view of my porch. It's funny watching cars drive head first into the tornado with all of the warning sirens in town wailing.

 

What tha ? it's January ! Hope all is fine and well .

 

Ashtrays are for .22 shells

 

GOOD! Should be $5000!!!

My '27 T Roadster build: www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t= 734383

 

I have enough of the doghouse installed to try and fit the 1949 Ford dash. I got it narrowed enough now to fit the width of the COE. Then I started to fill in the speaker grill. I shaped a piece of 19ga in the Ewheel and trimmed it to fit for **** welding. I just don't like overlapped seams. Just makes it hard to hammer and dolly later.




Then start to locate it in the cab.





Still need to make and shape some filler pieces to mate the dash to the cab.







The dash will be a complete bolt-in. Not welded in like the original COE dash. Still lots more work to go like the radio area. I want to recenter that area of the dash that dips down and fill the ashtray too. I'm not going to have a radio, just a cubby hole in the dash where the radio would be.

 

Glad to see good work going into this - I think lot of COEs are done pretty rough but this one looks sweet.

 

Looks good Tony! That dash fits even better in your truck than it did in mine.

 

Thanks Scott, I was just copying yours. I figured the '49 dash was 7 1/2" too wide. So first I removed 3 3/4" from the left side to get the cluster centered. Then removed 2 3/4" from just left of the middle. This put me within 1" of the desired width. Finally I lost 1/2" from each end by reshaping them with a hammer and dolly to square them up with the A-pillars. Filling the top of the dash to fit the windshield will be fairly easy.

I still want to fix the center dip down in the dash so it's close to being symmetric. Making the top outer corners of the dash flow up into the A-pillars will be the hardest part for me.

 

When you finish your dash, you might want to modify your header panel too. The Dough Boy did his and it looks like a good idea...

http://doughboy1947.blogspot.com/

 

loving this!

 

Looks great Subscribed

 

When I see a build like this it makes my projects look like snap together model kits. You are a true craftsman.

 

Subscribed.

Beau, do you have any more informtion on that COE trolley maintenence truck for sale in Minnie?

 

Maybe okay when the underside is insulated or double walled. It just seems like the best thing to do with the hole.

 

Some progress on the '49 Ford dash. Filled in the radio, ashtray, and some unwanted holes.

From this



To this



Now, I can make the filler pieces to mate the dash to the windshield.

Not sure if I want to iron the dent on the roof out or cut it out and shape a new piece to weld in?

 

Looks like it is stretched pretty bad. How are your metal shrinking skills?
Do you have a donor roof? What are your plans for the rear window opening?
If you are going to repair it, you might want to fix the roof first.

 

My plans for the roof are, raise the windshield opening 1.5" to get rid of the big forehead these early trucks have when chopped. Then chop the top 3.5". And maybe a small pancake to the roof if needed. I have a donor rear window and roof from a '38 Ford 1-ton cab.

 

Just ran across this build. Nice details going on there. Keep it coming. Later.

 

That's a good idea on raising the windshield top. On my un-chopped truck, I can see out the window fine, with a chop it would be much harder. Before you start cutting, try some cardboard templates so you can get a feeling for what looks balanced.

 

I'm getting close enough on this build to start thinking about body work. I have some major rust and dent issues to fix. I have the typical rust issues like cab corner front and rear. I also have some unique rust issues like the roof and back panel because of the add-on crew cab and the boom dripping sediments on it.

I have some minor creases and dents throughout, but a major dent/fold in the back radius in the roof.

Look at this damage.



And after the rear window to crew cab seal and paint removed.



Close up




Now what makes this repair extra hard is that it lands right on the lead seam between the roof and back panel. It is a very strong and thick area to work on. I didn't want to put the torch to it send melt out all the fine lead work. So I used my hammers, dollys, *******, and shrinking disc. Not quite finished yet, but it is starting to return to its original shape.






I needed to fix this issues before I chop and pancake the top.

 

Subscribed!

 

Fixing the dents/creases and cutting out the bad. The back of the cab rusted through because of the add-on crew cab ****ing up, rubbing together, and trapping moisture between the trucks cab. The gas tank area is completely rotted away.

The cab corners I'll get from northern cl***ics. The rest I will form and fabricate myself.







Well into the metal work on the cab now. Rebuilding the gas tank area. Cutting out everything rusty and forming new panels out of 19 ga.







I still have to roll some beads in the new flooring and make the other side yet.

Anyone have a picture of this area on their truck that isn't rotted away? I need something to go off of so I can fix this.



The 1949 Ford dash is getting closer.

 

Wow,Tony,the roof came out nice..That is some great metal work!

 

tony....looks nice ,cant wait to see more....

 

Ill try to take a pic of the door area for you on sunday...

 

Hi Tony.Looking good.Keep the updates coming.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Hi 65 Standard
If you check out the link below it shows both sides of mine.
http://ozcoetrucks.freewebhosts.com.au/My.COE.153.html

Almost done with the other pics.

Seeya
Bill

 

Do you need any lead?