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Once I had the cab in the shop and cleaned out all the bird nest, rabbit dwellings and beehives I cleaned it up enough to get a good look at it. I was pleasantly surprised. With the exception of some dents and a few strange cut outs in the floor that was I going to get re-shaped anyway it was very rust free. There was only one corner that needs some love but all an all it was probably in better shape than the last COE.

Now I just needed a chassis to put it on. At this point I wasn't sure what direction I wanted to go with it. I knew I didn't want to do something as big as the COCOE again at lease not right away, but a COE cab needs to be special. With the last build my shop was pretty much full all the time and it was nice having some room to move. So, I was thinking time to downsize a bit. So, the search for a donner chassis began. I see a lot of guys use S-10 chassis for their COE builds but they seem to light to me. I looked into using an Astro van for the front wheel drive but decided that it wouldn't work for what I wanted. I was eyeing a late 70's 3/4-ton Chevy 4X4 that has been sitting in a driveway about a mile from home with lots of rust in the body and thought that could be had at a reasonable price, but I could never connect with the owner.

During this time, I was helping a friend install his transmission in his 1953 AD truck and mentioned that I was looking for a donner chassis for the 1950 COE cab that has been sitting behind my shop, and he said he would keep an eye out for me. About a month later he texts me that he was on his way to Arizona for a guy's weekend and one of his friends had a short wheelbase 1989 Book Mobile. It is on a GM P-30 chassis with a small block in it. Just like what I told him I was looking for. His friend assured him it ran and drove great and had low miles and his wife wanted it GONE! He had bought it at an auction thinking he was going to make a camper out of it, but his wife was not feeling it.

I told him I would take it sight unseen and that I would pick it up when they got back from there trip. Now I had a donner. I just needed to break it to my wife that we owned a Book Mobile. Good thing my shop is big enough to hide it behind for a while.

Oh, and Gord, I found the perfect thing to haul the Pantera. I get in and turn the key and step on it. It makes me smile every time I do.