Trying to find who made a factory crewcab coe and what years they were produced. I am planing my next car hauling rig.
So far as I know most of those were made up by people, the only factory one I'm aware of is a 30s era Diamond T or Reo or something that was posted on here last year sometime. I can score you a '64-ish Ford crewcab cheap enough, and my buddy has a same era Ford COE in not bad shape, you could combine those into one monster hauler.
No COE factory crews. The REO referenced above did seat six, but had two doors, IIRC. All of the ones you see running around are custom built by the owner or shop. International Harvester was the first to build a normal factory crew cab pickup, in 1957. The first Dodge factory crew was in 1964. There were Ford and GM crews in the late '50s and through the '60s, but were built by outside body manufacturers, primarily for the utilities and the railroads. The first Ford and GM factory units came out in 1965 and 1973, respectively.
With the engine under the cab, a crewcab seems like it would be rather cumbersome to flip up for access.
Thank you all for the quick response looks like I am going to have to build what I want. By the way would any of you like to send a permision slip to my wife.
I don't think any were built on the assembly lines, but Armbruster or something very similiar to that coach built Chevy or GMC crew cab COE's. Good luck finding one... And if you do find one, I think you'll quickly decide that a competent shop can build a nicer one today.
The Fords were converted at Crown in Canada through the 1972 model year. Sold on the Ford lot though.
I saw a Jeep FC 150/170 on E-bay a few years ago that reportedly had the crewcab portion built by Peterbuilt and was then sold to an oil company for pipeline work. Who knows how much of that is true but I found a picture of another one: I would love to have this one in my Jeep stable, even a std FC 150/170 would be ok. Jeff
There were special vehicles for power line and railroad crews that were usually COE's, some were 4WD. Diamond T and International were the most prominent, but the aftermarket builders offered everything. Fords, Chev's, etc. all were available from specialty builders, but not many were ever made.
Wife of IRCOOTER. re. permission Mr. Cooter hereby has the permission of his HAMB brethren and admirers to undertake this project. As his loving and most important you are asked to ; 1) look the other way without comment 2) hold parts while being cleaned or welding 3) understand he is not well and needs tender understanding 4) provide cold beverages without distracting Mr.Cooter from his work 5) Allow money to be poured into the project without question I'm divorced donchayaknow Best of luck.
I saw this thing advertised in the current American Truck Historical Society Wheels of Time in case anyone is still looking for a COE crew cab.
Obviously, some of you haven't heard about this one. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/please-help-i-d-this-c-o-e.973891/#post-10970404 (I have no doubt that this one is factory.) Autocar built their own cabs in-house, Bell Telephone and Chicago Fire Dept were 2 companies that bought a lot of the 3-4 dr cabbed trucks. Good luck finding one, as they were wood framed cabs and didn't stand up to the heavy suspension and weather. BTW, the cabs didn't tip on most of the 30s-40s-50s COEs, you removed floorboards and folded seats out of the way to do engine work.
Re: the forward cab, crew cab, I saw this reference in another thread. So, the seller is a HAMBer. click here to see the Weirdest Factory Crew Cab Ever! for sale now on ebay
The Jalopy Journal
