After I was looking at your interior a suggestion for a addition would be some strip LED under those seats and floor areas. Since you went black on black in that interior. any of the "hey I dropped this" from the grandkids or us kids along for a ride will be lost in the great black hole. Especially at night. This way you will not have to use the phone light to find a lost phone. All my black on black vehicles had that problem. And thanks to LED its a easy fix under the seats and on the floor.
No, the boards are tongue and groove Doug/Fir 2X6 (car decking). I sanded them and then applied two coats of a full body black stain to all sides. I don't foresee this being left out on the weather a lot, so I didn't see the need to use treated wooded.
Next up is loading the car. I rolled the deck back and lined the car up to check if the front valance would hit before the front wheels started up the ramp. I was pretty sure it would because it has on every other ramp truck that I have loaded it on and loading a Pantera backwards is a real bad idea. Wind gets caught in the back vent opening and will flip the rear deck over the roof of it. When I bought it 18 years ago this had happened, and I had to do some significant repairs to the roof and the back deck. After seeing it wouldn't go up, I pulled the two center panels out of the deck and hooked them in the slots on the rear of the ramp. Then rolled the Pantera on them almost level and hooked up the winch cable to the axle straps that I had hooked around the frame and snugged it up. Then I raised the ramp until the ramps were in line with the deck. From there I just winched it up the deck and strapped it down with the 4-point system slid the ramp/deck panels back in place raised the deck and I was ready to head out.
First truck show here I come.
Simply amazing what you have built! If I missed it, what is the vehicle height?
Well, I headed out to the truck show and about a mile out I blow a radiator hose. At least I had enough foresight to throw in tools and a jug of water. All of the water hoses are new, so I didn't think one sprung a leak and I was hoping that one wasn't rubbing on something that cut it. After the steam cleared, I could see one of the hoses blow off the end of one the stainless-steel tubes that runs back to the water pump from the radiator. I re-attached it and tighten it up this time (dam I thought I checked all of those) and poured the gallon of water in that I had brought with me. I live out of town several miles and from walking the dog every day I knew there was a creak about 1/2 a mile ahead that I could refill the jug and fill the radiator. I wasn't going to let this stop me from getting to the show.
That taken care of I was again off to town. I stopped at the gas station and filled it up thinking that the couple gallons I borrowed from my mower supply wasn't going to be enough and not surprising it drew a lot of attention there. From there I was off the show. I got there about 7:00 am and they said that they were going to start parking at 8:00. Well, I was in line about 2 miles from where the entrance was. 2 hours later I was directed down a side street facing away from the main street at the far end. All you could see was the back of the truck with the Pantera on it from the main area. People would walk down to see the car and them start walking around the truck and be blown away. I got a lot of great comments from the ones that made the walk, but I have to say I was disappointed where I was parked.
Earlier, I had written up a little description of the truck and took it to the locale print shop to see if I could get a sign printed up for the show. I dropped it off 3 weeks before the show and agreeing on a price. I was looking forward to seeing a mock-up. 5 days before the show thinking that was plenty of time and not hearing anything back from them, I called. After waiting on hold for 15 minutes I was informed that it wasn't something that they wanted to do. I was not happy, and they won't be getting a 5-star rating from me. Sometimes things are meant to be. I grabbed what I had written out and headed out to find another print shop. I knew there was a trophy shop in the next town over and if they couldn't help me maybe they would be able to point me in the right direction. The awesome young lady that helped me was more than I could have asked for. She looked at what I had and told me to e-mail her some pictures, and she would e-mail me a mockup in the morning, and I would have a sign the next afternoon. It turned out amazing and for less than the other print shop wanted. I'm so happy I'm having her do one for the Pantera.
Well even after a few challenges the show turned out good. I got to put some road miles on the truck and short of the radiator hose it run and drove great. I was invited to several other local shows with the promise not to be parked in the next county. The people that ventured down the side street commits ranged from OMG look at the front of this to this is the coolest thing here. My Grandkids even got to try out their seat and what to know when we are going racing.
hcb 3200, I like your idea of adding some LED lights to the under seats and maybe the bottom of the dash/foot well area. Wayne it's 8'8" to the top of the upper cab and 9’9” to the top of the flexible antenna.
I know I'm going to find little things I want to change but I'm going to officially call the COCOE DONE! After driving it down the hi-way at speeds and around town I'm very happy with the way it handled. I think it's time to enjoy it and start the next build. Thanks all for following I appreciate all the support and encouragement. COCOE
Last edited by Phak1; 06/25/202512:09 AM. Reason: Corrected typos
Dear Stovebolt Members, We are excited to announce the latest featured journal by "COCOE" in our new Completed Journals forum!
1951 Chevy COE It Lives! "A Big Story Unfolds"
This project stands out as one of the most unique builds within the AD series of trucks that we have seen in the Stovebolt community. COCOE's vision of transforming a COE into a car hauler on a C-30 chassis with a robust 454 engine, has resulted in a remarkably crafted, extremely unique and impressive creation.
Designed for the purpose of transporting his Pantera and family to racetracks and events at highway speeds, this build combines functionality with style.
Words cannot fully capture the essence of this project, so we encourage you to check out his build and experience the creativity and craftsmanship for yourself!
Best regards, Phil (Phak1) Hakala Moderator of the Project Journal forum
Last edited by Phak1; 06/27/202512:14 PM.
Phil Moderator, The Engine Shop, Interiors and Project Journals
1952 Chevrolet 3100, Three on the Tree, 4:11 torque tube Updated to: ‘59 235 w/hydraulic lifters, 12v w/alternator, HEI, PCV and Power front Disc Brakes Project Journals Stovebolt Gallery Forum
It's been a while, so I thought it was time for a little update.
First, I took your suggestion hcb3200 and added some under dash lighting to brighten up the floor area especially at night. I had a bunch of the small LED lights left over from another project, so I installed two on each side of the bottom of the dash. They are invisible until you turn them on. Thanks for the suggestion.
Next, I went to another car show in Buckley Washington about 20 miles each way from where I live. With the car loaded on the back I could hear the tires rub a little when I would go over humps in the road. When I got home, I looked under the bed and could see where it was rubbing on the tires. I thought about how to raise it to prevent this and decided to add air bags to the suspension. Back when I was in the planning stage of this build, I wanted to have on board air so I could use it to change tire pressures on the car when racing. But as I was building the truck I decided that I could just bring my portable one and a small generator and not have to deal with the on-board compressor and tank. Well that all changed when I needed to add air bags. The system is all installed and works great, no more rubbing even with a heavy truck on the deck.
The second show went a lot better than the first. The truck and the Pantera combo were a big hit especially with the kids. They loved sitting up top and waving to mom and dad. The judges must have liked it too I won "Best Custom Build". This weekend I'm off to the Northwest Good Guy show in Puyallup Washington.
Last edited by Phak1; 07/23/202512:00 AM. Reason: Typo
That is one awesome build and glad you're getting the validation from folks in the wild that it deserves. Onboard air never hurts when you got a tow truck that will come in handy. The airbags was a nice touch. Congrats on the Best Custom award. it truly is that.
What a great summer of car shows and Friday night cruises. First, I would like to thank Phak1, our monitor, for the great write-up he did when they moved my story to the completed journal section. Thank you.
In my last post I was heading to the Good Guys show in Puyallup, Washington. It's about 40 miles from home with about half in-town driving and the other half highway driving. I am happy to say the COCOE drove and handled both flawlessly. After re-attaching the hose that blew off on my first long drive and tightening it up, this time the cooling system worked perfectly. The temp gauge has never gone above 170 degrees even in stop and go traffic, long uphill stretches and air temps in the 90's. The added air bags have also solved any tire rubbing issues.
The Good Guys show was great. For two days the truck was surrounded by people. From kids and a few ladies that wanted to sit in it and have their pictures taken to a lot of guys working on their own builds and wanted to know how I solved different issues. It didn't win an award, but a lot of people told me they thought it was the coolest thing at the show.
After the Good Guys the following Friday night was cruise night in town. The grandkids were all in for pizza and "Friday Night Cruise on Cole Street". What a blast. The kids sitting up top waving to their friends and everyone else along the route and them waving back and taking pictures. It's made all the work of the build worth it.
As of now I have a little over 300 miles on the COCOE and I'm very pleased with how it handles loading and unloading cars and even more pleased how it goes down the road. It has already won more awards at shows than the Pantera, but the Pantera has still won more races. It's kind of crazy that the hauler gets more attention at shows than the car it's hauling.
I'm going to have to call the COCOE a successful build. Now on to my next build which is already in the works.
Last edited by COCOE; 08/20/20257:36 PM. Reason: to add photos
Fantastic news! It certainly deserves the attention and I for one am looking forward to the next "...already in the works" project.
~ Dan 1951 Chevy 3 window 3100 Follow this story in the DITY Gallery "My Grandpa Carl's Truck and How it Became Mine" 1966 Chevelle (Wife's Hot Rod) | 2013 Chevy Silverado (Current daily driver) US Army MSG Retired (1977-1998) | Com Fac Maint Lead Tech Retired (1998-2021)
Designed for the purpose of transporting his Pantera and family to racetracks and events at highway speeds, this build combines functionality with style. 
It certainly deserves the attention and I for one am looking forward to the next "...already in the works" project. 