The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts brief exp of coes?

im familer with halftons, if i got a coe, what works? can i use a 235? can i swap the rear? , I know the fenders and hood are the diff, but are the grills identical? say can i put a 54 1/2 ton grill on a coe or do i need a coe grill? I know that they are 8 lugs

Hy drew_vigil, I'm not 100% sure but I think c.o.e. grills are unique. You can install whatever engine you want, some adapting may be required. As far as I know the smallest c.o.e. was a 1 1/2 ton, so that would be five studs on the front and ten studs on the rear, hope that helps.

My 46 COE has a 1962 235 in it and it bolted right in. I had to use the original manifolds and most of the original sheet metal. The wild thing is the motor leans slightly to the passanger side for more foot room on the drivers side.

You need a COE grill, 1/2 ton trucks are different than the COE. COE grills are bigger. I dont think there is anything that would work on a 1/2 ton from a COE except the engine.

Most of the miscellaneous cab hardware is the same from Coe to pickup - all the glass, window and door levers, gauges etc. Also most all the patch panels for the cab would work, with the notable exceptions being the toe/floor boards and door bottoms. As stated the front end sheet metal and grill are Coe specific.
The coe engines all use an updraft intake to clear the floorboard. You have to keep an updraft intake to maintain any floor space in the cab. All the v8 swaps I've seen usually result in something that looks like a wheel barrow turned upside down in the floor.
The rear frame, on AD COE's at least, is the standard 34" so swapping the rear is relatively simple. This would allow for some faster gears, but then you've got to have enough motor to push it and enough brakes to stop it.
Scott

I thought 36", same as the other AD trucks with exception of 1/2 ton
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/51ctsm0202.htm

Later model big trucks do still today use a pretty much standard 34" outside frame width.

Grigg

My 1939 COE frame was 34". Up front over the motor/axle it will narrow in some. I don't remember how narrow it is up front?

Drew;
If you are wanting a better running truck, power steering/power brakes/auto trans/V8 & more, find a newer GM truck from the early 1980's as a donor & swap cabs. Find a GM 1 ton step van, P30 frame & you will be amazzzed how close your cab & steering box will match up in most every way. You can find a good running step vans, (bred truck/potato chip truck.exc.exc) & do the swap just as cheep & every thing will be of same year/model. Makes life much more simpler...

Thanks Grigg for pointing that out. The frame on my '52 GMC COE is 34" and I made an assumption about the Chevrolets being the same. You know what they say about assumptions.....

Yes, some of the larger GMC's have the 34" frame. It gives more room for the bigger rear wheels and tires

Every larger truck I have ever messed with which goes back to late 40's models 1 1/2 ton and up had a 34" frame. I think the only one that was different was Dodge of around the 70's. I remember complaints from guys who had wrecker bodies and dump beds that wouldn't fit a Dodge cab and chassis

My 52 1 ton, 48 2 ton and the 53 GMC 1.5 or 2 ton in my shop all have 36" frames as shown in the Chevy manual I linked to above, and verified with my tape measure.

Grigg

I have a hoist and frame off a 46 that measures 34". My 53 Coe has a 36" frame and as Grigg said "verified with my tape measure"