Went and looked at it and paid for it, trying to figure out how to get it home (200 miles away).
It's a 1950 Chevy 5700 with a dump bed. Really great condition, no rust at all. I was told, about 25-30 years ago the original engine failed and some brothers at a hotrod shop put in a V8 under the cab (the air cleaner is about centered on the cab between the back of the cab and the bed. They also installed an automatic transmission. Did a very nice job, didn't cut up a single thing that I can see. The previous owner said it runs, with only 500 mile or so on the rebuilt V8 (he thought it was a Buick engine, his son recalled it being a 454). No brakes. I'd post photos, but it seems difficult.
That's a great truck. Rust free and straight. Must be nice to have one that you can repaint without taking all the sheet metal off and starting from scratch. Get some pictures of the engine and transmission installation. Did they have to change the engine cover in the cab?
I'm not going to mess with the paint. We're going to use it gently at our little farm. The only thing they did was run the auto shifter lever through the existing hole in the floor. None of the frame or body was cut up in anyway to mount the new engine. I'll post more photos when it arrives this weekend. Should be driving it Sunday.
I'm doing a COE we will call a '51. Late 49 cab on a 51 chassis. It came with a 283 V-8 and a 4 speed. The small block and exhaust cleared the frame rails by less than an inch on either side so I'm anxious to see how they fit a big block in there.
The Columbia is a 1920 Archbar. I'm actually selling the bicycle to help finance this truck. *And a couple other teens, 20s & 30s bicycles and some large, vintage woodworking tools. It's going to be painful letting some of it go, but totally worth it.
1953 Chevrolet 3100 261 cu inch, sm420, 3.55 rear, torque tube still,omaha orange, still 6 volt, RPO green glass, side carrier spare, all done In the DITY Gallery Video of the 261 running
1964 GMC 1000 305 Big Block V6, sm420, the next cab off restoration
Thanks Tango. My wife & I named the truck 'Champ' because he came from Champion, NE. My '46 is named 'Otis', he's from Otis, CO. Here's a few more photos. Sorry they're in the same spot, apparently the engine is stuck. I have dumped some WD-40 in the spark plug holes and am letting it do it's work. In the meantime, I found a recovered bench locally at a good price and will use it as a place holder until I get around to recovering the original one. Also got some replacement door panels, a new glovebox liner and latch, replacement ashtray and the incorrect headliner (I accidentally got the one for the panel truck - anyone need it? Pay for shipping and it's yours!). Anyway, I've done many many miles of pretend driving. I just love sitting in this thing. I can't wait to put him to work. Until then, I'm sure I'll have many more questions. Thanks in advance.
Looks good ! I've passed on a couple with V8 conversions through the years, but that's just me. Good luck with it.
Thanks Spanky, this set up isn't my first choice either, but these rigs are hard to find out here, it was a good price & I feel fortunate to have it. Very fortunate. I've wanted one for a long time and this one is in great shape, they didn't cut anything up to mount the engine. I'll probably keep it like this and work on it until it's roadworthy. Maybe keep an eye out for a replacement engine. Either way, it's going to be a fun truck and eventually a real help around my place.
That's good to know that they didn't cut anything original up, mounting the V8. The ones I looked at each time had the air cleaner sticking up through the floor, and other hacked up areas.
Spanky Hardy Collector Of Fine Old G.M. COE Trucks & Antique Holmes Wreckers
I've been busy with work and haven't had time lately to work on the truck, but have been thinking about converting it back to the original engine configuration. What are the difficult parts to find if I had a 235 from a conventional style cab? I know the carb is an updraft, is the exhaust manifold different? Anything else, like special linkage, etc. I'm just wondering if I should start looking for parts and hang on to them. Thanks in advance for any info.
Spanky and a few other members should know the parts that differ from smaller trucks on 47-54 Chevrolet COEs.
On GMC COEs these parts differ: - exhaust manifold (as well as the intake manifold & carburetor you mentioned) - choke cable - throttle cable - air cleaner and PCV plumbing - wiring harness routing and some lead-lengths - steering column and under-dash mounting bracket - radiator and mounting frame and mounting bolts/etc - oil filter location and plumbing
Yes, Carb, intake and exhaust manifolds are different. The shifting linkage is unique. The stomp starter pieces are different. Those are the big ones. I have all that on one of the engines I pulled out of the COE's from the current project. Haven't looked at condition of anything yet. PM me. When this truck is finished I was thinking about a big E-Bay garage sale to get rid of years of Big Bolt and other parts.
Thanks for all the great info. I'll likely drive it the way it is until this engine starts giving me trouble, but down the road I'd like to do a conversation back to the original engine configuration. But I'd like to keep an eye out now for parts, as I know they're scarce and ain't getting an cheaper.
Well, nearly a year later, I finally got the old coe on the road. The big break thru came when I found an affordable donor cabover chassis and engine/transmission and dump bed (the previous owner sold the cab to a New Zealand collector for $9k!). It took some work and a whole lot of cleaning to get the engine on the chassis running, then I pulled the cab off the original chassis (doors, fenders, hood and all) and placed it onto the 'new' chassis. Runs great, super fun to drive. Looking to get tags this week. Thanks for all the help along the way.
When are we going to see some pictures in this post?? Just follow the instructions posted in the column to the left. It's pretty simple and easy.
~ John
A kid raised on Hotwheels, Matchbox and Tonka cannot be reasonably expected to own only one vehicle as an adult.
1949 Chevrolet 3804 In the Legacy Gallery | In the Gallery Forum 1973 IH 1310 Dump 1963 Kaiser M38A1 2001 International/AmTran RE3000 "Skoolie" 2014 Ford E-350 4x4 (Quigley)
Thanks, I'm excited to start get it out of retirement. I still need to get the lights wired, but the tags are on the way. I'll see about the photos when I get back to the desktop computer.
Here's a couple of test run videos in the meantime
