Hello I'm new to the site, I love 1954 and 1955 chev/gmc trucks. I have a family of 4. I have been a car guy since i was in high school . My first car was a 1965 gmc i resurrected from a total in 11th grade. I still have that truck. I just bought this COE 1954 GMC 350. I was wanting to restore it to original, It has a history being a Great Northern RR truck. I have ridden in both styles of restoration, and the hot rod is more fun and seems practical that i can build it to tow my trailer. Any thoughts on advantages going either way? I'm open to ideas. thanks Todd
I think I'm leaning Hotrod. also i like how these look as a crewcab. Also I can haul my whole family if i change it to a more door thanks Todd
From a practical standpoint, restored, it will have a difficult time keeping up to traffic on modern roads. (probably geared for 45mph) This relegates it to sitting in a shed, only coming out for a couple parades per year and that's not my idea of an enjoyable vehicle. The best advice I can give you is, do what makes you happy! Your money, your way! No matter which way you choose to go, there will be someone that will come right out and tell you that you should have done it differently. I ask those folks if their name is on the ***le. Either way you choose to go, stick around and post pictures of the project so we can enjoy your progress too.
As Steve said regarding making the truck more user friendly for today's traffic and roads. I started going down the restore route with mine, and I really like to see them restored......but I am so glad I went down the other route in the end. I now use the COE and go everywhere with it and It was the best decision I made. Best of luck with your project.
Yes, If I build a truck that can haul a trailer and my family I think that is the best choice. I'm thinking a p30 ch***is. I would like to keep the engine up front. I don't know if I can stuff a 5.9 ***mins under the cab.
If my buddy got a ***mins under his 38 ford COE, then you can probably stuff one under yours with room to spare.
Yes i think i can now. I bought a 52 gmc suburban I'm going to weld the body to the back of my coe cab. Then i will have a crewcab and a place to haul things in back. I got inspired by zombie body shop in canada. Here is their creation in progress
I'm a Purist, so my opinion won't be too popular. It'd be a shame to lose all that History, on a truck that has such great patina to go along with it. Too bad you're not closer, or I'd trade you for one of these COEs, we have around here, of equal value. I kept my COE Wrecker original, and have plenty of fun with it. It's a rare 470 series with full air brakes. It is from the West Coast.
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