Ford COE: Showing the Cab-Overs Some Love
Are you a fan of the stubby nosed, helmet shaped Ford COE? Then you’re gonna want to check this out.
It’s no secret that we here at Ford Truck Enthusiasts are huge fans of the Ford COE trucks. For the uninitiated, COE stands for Cab Over Engine. This unique setup resulted in some of the more charming designs you’ll ever seen on a vintage truck. And even though we might be a bit biased, we think that the helmet-shaped, cab-forward Ford COE trucks are the best looking of all.
We aren’t the only Ford COE fans out there, of course. Plenty of folks in the FTE forums own and/or covet these heavy duty haulers. So when the aptly named 1952 Ford COE started a thread exclusively dedicated to the cab-over trucks, we were all in. And he kicked things off with details surrounding his own COE project.
“Up for the winter and waiting for new 22.5″ tubless wheels. Thanks for the help from truckdog, who knew where I could get original 22.5s. And thanks to Josh, who had them and sold them to me. This winter I am finishing the build. And next winter, I will be tearing it all apart for total rebuild!”
As pweng1 points out, the hardest part about working on a COE is finding somewhere big enough to put it.
“I am building a ’51 now and driving a ’54. Later, after I get caught up on some of these builds, I will make my ’48 a crew cab. That’s some high hopes for someone that can’t even get them inside his garage.”
Then, tinman52 shows off his fantastic 1951 COE build.
When it comes to cab-overs, jmadsen has owned a bunch of them. Including this one, which we’re sure garners quite the reaction at his local parades.
“I still sometimes wish I hadn’t sold the ’51 cab-over, but too many projects and priorities. Here is my ’53 cab-over. Still driving it a little bit. Parade vehicle is about it, though.”
And then Mixer man shows off his incredible ride, which is our idea of a what all concrete trucks should look like.
“My ’50 F6 project. Making bonbons from horse manure. Short story about this is that it was always rode hard and put away wet, and literally run into the ground.”
As much as we love ’50s COEs, we also love ingo‘s 1947 just as much.
Especially after he lowered and shortened it…
But then again, how about this incredible COE motorhome that tinman52 spotted?
But we’re also digging on 50COE‘s project with a custom bed.
“A lot of great project builds posted so far. I am impressed with so much of what you all have accomplished. Tinman’s extended cab is the best I’ve ever seen… great work! And Pweng — I am completely blown away with what you’ve been able to do with almost no space and you’ve self taught yourself with all that metal work. It’s fantastic. Here are a few pics of my work in progress. I thought I’d be done by now, but I’m only half way there.”
And can you imagine a hauler being any cooler than the one C600 is building for a friend?
So far, we’ve seen some pretty amazing examples of the Ford COE. But we know that there are plenty more out there worth drooling over. So if you’ve got a classic cab-over to show off, head over here and post up some pics! And even if you don’t, stay tuned for some more Ford COE goodness!
