1951 Chevy COEIt Lives! "A Big Story Unfolds"
Hello Bolters, I'm a very enthusiastic new Bolter who just recently learned about Stovebolt. Better late than never.
I need to start from the beginning.
Back in 2018, I started looking for a large truck that I could convert into a cool car hauler. After looking for almost a year I knew I wanted a COE. I found one local here in Seattle and thought it was the one. It was a '50-something Ford dump truck that, in retrospect, was so rusted that I'm not sure I could have gotten it on the trailer. But not knowing better, I was all in. Made the deal and headed home to get the trailer and cash to begin the journey. When I returned, the fine gentlemen informed me that he decided the truck was worth another $500.00. Well, it didn't work out and five years later, the truck is still sitting in his yard with little left to rust.
It was time to expand my search. About a month later, one popped up on Craigslist in Klamath Falls, Oregon. It was a '51 Chevy COE and only a short 500 mile drive each way. I'm not sure how I convinced my wife that it would be a great adventure but I did. All and all it was a great two-day trip with a layover in Sisters, Oregon. The truck seemed very solid and was all there.
Back home Saturday night (I had taken Friday off work). That gave me Sunday to do some cleanup and assess what I had. That went well getting all the beehives and mice nests out and a quick trip to the pharmacy for a tetanus shot -- all was good.
After spending the day looking things over, I was convinced I would be able to bring it back to running condition. But my problem was, I wasn't interested in bouncing down the roads at 45 MPH. No offense to the guys that return their trucks to original. I love them, too, but I wanted a truck to haul my other car to the racetrack and shows.
I went to the internet and started looking at '50's COE's and what others have done to make them functional for my needs. From that I determined that, in keeping it in the Chevy family, I needed to re-chassis. The P-30 seemed to be the best option so the search for that began.
In the meantime, I set about removing the cab from the original chassis and to come up with a plan.
Here's where I'm going to stop for tonight, but I am five years into this project and will try to catch up to where I am as quickly as I can but in order.
Thanks for following,
COCOE
(Cab Over Cab Over Engine)
