COE 1941 Ford COE build

I was thinking no wider than the running boards rather than the cab. It would get me wide enough to let my wife or I lay down. Same idea as here. http://www.ozcoetrucks.net16.net/Foss.1.html

I saw a Mack model that was 82", although I'm not adverse to shortening one. I have other evil ideas about mods too....

 

I cringe every time I hear ....

chevy motor in a ford truck!!!!

 

That's a great looking COE to pattern after. Mine was too narrow to lay down in. But the motor was under the sleeper with an engine cover over it that was about 4" high it was just for storage.

 

You must cringe a lot. LOL

 

Yeah, I just could not believe it when the link was posted in another thread as it was almost exactly what I had in my head already. I'm still not sure about engine height versus the floor, but hope to mount the C5 donated LS1 low enough under the sleeper to have a flat floor. We'll see... I should be able to deal with some bump up if needed.

LS1? I think I heard a cringe...

 

I had my COE low enough to go through a 7' door. The motor was bigger than your planning, 500" Cad

 

Earlier it was mentioned that the '41's were the only year to have chrome trim on the grills. So do the '42 and later COE's use the same grill or is it different?

I have a '41 but the chrome trim is beyond repair.

 

A few pics!!!

 

rear view... very nice...

 

I love the COE haulers! I'll be watching this one.

 

Sure makes it a lot easier on the eyes when all the ****'s blown off it !!

 

had to unload Buford from the trailer to go pick up another project. No the recent project IS NOT leapfrogging Buford in the queue. Repeat after me... No the.....

Took the opportunity while he was in the garage to play mock-up with tires and heights. I think I'll be able to use and F-150 rolling ch***is. The dimensions look pretty good for the Ford rather than a Dakota.

 

Errrrr.... maybe not...

 

AAAAHHHHHHH! MY EYES!

 

Sorry to hurt your eyes!

I know it's a REAL LONG way off, but I truly have no idea right now on wheels. Steelies and baby moons or something like that might look appropriate, but I'm really more a mag wheel kinda guy.

I like the big truck, Alcoa type look, but it's kinda modern. Cl***ic Cragars, prolly not... Ideas?

 

I think you should DONK it !! ;-)

 

BTW: Anyone else notice what Barry Weiss of the TV show Storage Wars was driving to take a keyboard to one of his buddy's places? YUP! A 38/39 Ford COE! I search around the web a bit and found nothing about the COE, but did find a video of his '46 Caddy.

Rick[/QUOTE]


Found this today. Hope it helps

http://www.cl***ictrucks.com/features/0607clt_1940_ford_coe/viewall.html

 

For a sleeper I'd look for a Peterbilt sleeper they have nice rounded corners on the top of the bunk that would fit better with your cab. The old pete ones have square edged doors and t-handles that would look a little more era correct also. They are also easier to find in the shorter length(36"-48") than some of the others. Good luck on the build.

 

Thanks for all the ideas, guys! They really help. It felt like I moved backwards yesterday. I managed to strip the donor Corvette a bit more, but mostly worked on the trailer lights, stuffed the "new project" into said trailer and then Buford's cab went in the remaining VERY TIGHT space in the trailer.

 

Corvette drivetrain is out. The entire thing, engine, rear mounted trans, suspension and torque tube all come out the bottom in one piece.

 

Now I need to figure out the ******. I thought the T56 stock 6 speed was cable shifted, but it's a solid rod. That would be hard to use with a mid mounted engine. I may do an automatic, but I'll have to use a non-electronic shift model like a 700R4 or figure out the ECM and wiring mods I'd need to run an electronic model like a 4L60E. Since I'm using all the Vette stuff (gauges, fuel system, ECM, wiring) altering that to accomodate a ****** it wasn't born with could be a challenge.

Anyone done either of these options already?

 

The Corvette is nearly just a shell now. I need to pull the windshield and grab the crossmember that the dash, pedal ***embly, HVAC and such bolt to. I figure grafting that into the '41 along with it's lower level brother might work nice as it's already got threaded inserts for everything that bolts to it.

I swapped an SBC for a GM Reman'd 4L60-E ****** and NP241 TCase that I'd previously pulled and sold. The ****** will end up in my wife's Scrambler, but it also buys me something to mock up while I look for a 700R4.

I also noticed the the NP241 T case is a single lever model. I can easily adapt that to a push/pull cable shifter. The cable shifter can be mounted just about anywhere in the COE.

I've also been thinking about the tilt cab/sleeper idea.. Obviously, it's a very cool idea, but I question the advantages/disadvantages. For instance, unless I do some sort of "hatch", I'd probably need to raise the body to check the oil, coolant and general underhood things. On long road trips, that could be very inconvenient, especially since the cab probably would be loaded with ****. I've been wondering if it makes more sense to just put a "dog house" in the sleeper. Sure, I'd need to pull it to check the oil, but moving stuff out of the way would be localized to the dog house only and not the entire cab for items that will go thru the windshield. (I guess I could fold the WS out.. haha).

The dog house design is obviously much simpler. A tilt cab will require an entire secondary, hinged frame. Dog house only needs a box in the floor and custom body mounts to the F-150 frame. If the engine needs to be pulled, it drops out the bottom anyway with my cradle design.

What am i missing here, guys?

 

glad to see that you saved this from its return to the earth state!

 

Cool truck I want one to put on my rollback. Keep the pics comeing. I like your plans are you going to put the sleeper on it?

 

what happened to it has to be 4x4?

 

Yes, I've pretty much settled on a 36" sleeper. And still definately a 4x4. 'smatter of fact, I thought that requirement was just for boat ramps until recently when I inadvertantly gouged up a guy's wet lawn when trying to pull a fully loaded car trailer from it.

 

Ok, it's picked clean to the bone!!



But I think I'm putting it together incorrectly...