Projects 1950 Chevy 5700 COE Build

I hope I have this in the correct spot. I wanted to start a build thread for a recent acquisition. 1950 fresh from the farm. Body wise it is all there but has some normal rust issues (cab corners etc) but the floors look ok.

 

It is beautiful

 

Looks very good shape, not dented up, just right real surface rust and paint. Seems to be a complete truck. What are your build plans?

 

Looks great and welcome . Check our coe social club . I'll check in on you .

 

Great to see you on the HAMB. The truck will be a fun addition to your hobby.

 

Nice find,and a deluxe 5 window too and pretty damn straight,the rear corners are an easy fix,the 'COE only' parts like fenders,steps and doors etc look in good shape which is also a bonus.
Good luck with your new 'toy'.

 

I am still working on the plans. In fact I do not even have it home as of yet as it is still parked at another members house (thanks Neb). My thoughts are: Retain the overall look, no chopped top or body mods. And I gotta maintain that visor. Lowered a few inches. Modern dually rear axle with disk brakes and better ratio. I am still working on ideas for the front axle but I do want disk brakes and considering an 80s 1 ton IFS. I would like to run 22.5 aluminum wheels. No plans to change out the frame.

I am considering the feasibility of moving the engine forward 8 to 10 inches with hopes of clearing the firewall recess with the carburetor. If that is possible I think a small block would work though I have not abandoned all hope of a L6 engine. I am a big block fan but that may be a little ambitious without moving engine behind the cab. Someone with more experience with these could maybe chime in.

And of course, repair the rust and remove all inhabitants that have made the truck their home over the years.

 

Got it home this past weekend. Uneventful trip other than being a long drive. Cleaned the truck out and observed a little more rust that I was aware of but nothing too severe. Most is on flat surfaces and should be relatively straight forward to repair.

 

very cool. I bet the fastest that truck ever went was on that trailer getting towed if you got on the freeway.

 

Looks like an awesome project.............

 

Congrats! Hope to do one sooner or later.

 

I agree. We were actually joking about this once we had it loaded. In fact that's why we added the strap to the visor. I am sure the COE never went fast enough to cause a concern, but I did not want the wind ripping it off. And potentially this was the first time the truck left Nebraska since 1950.

 

nice project!

 

Awesome truck, congrats! How about an Allison tank engine in the rear. Now that would be badass!

 

Glad hear the trip went well.

 

Well a rotted board or two of the bed may have come loose but we were able to notice before they were blown off.

Ive seen a lot of these trucks with the round double sided turn signals on the fenders. When I first saw pictures of this truck it looked like the round signals had been smashed. They are actually supposed to be oval and they have glass lenses with visors. I thought they were pretty cool and I plan on keeping them installed.

 

Cool truck! I look forward to your build.

 

The turn signals may be common but I am not familiar with the style. I think the will add to the overall style of the truck.
The bed sides may leave this weekend. I need to drag something else home to decorate the yard now that the COE is gone. I looked at a '54 2 ton today but the front and cab are badly damaged, only the doors are worth saving. So the truck will go to the scrap but I may salvage the doors.

 

Good luck with your build. They are great looking trucks.

 

Slight progress. I got the grill, right inner fender and right outer fender off. Most of the bolts broke but it actually saved time because I did not have to ratchet near as much. The feeders have some pitting underneath where the protective rubber was. I am not quite sure how to handle this yet.

 

If there is rust thru the metal needs to be replaced but it looks like this is not the case. Sometimes the area is so thin it has to be replaced with new metal. You could clean the rust by sand blasting or use a rust converter to stop the rust before painting. If this is on the top surface plastic will fill the pits. You have to decide if the area is weakened by this rust and replace if it weak.

 

Structurally it still seems pretty solid. There is no rust through and it does not appear to be weakened at all. After taking care of the rust using a converter, I thought about using the frame of the factory rubber guard as a guide and making a solid metal guard. I'm thinking the fender needs some sort of protection as I am sure it gets a lot of abuse getting in and out of the cab.

 

Started on the fender turn signals. Will probably replace the socket with one for a two filament bulb so I can have running lights and turn signals. I don't have the truck in my shop yet so gotta work on the small stuff for the time being. Also Gimped (photo shop) an idea I am thinking about.

 

The rear fenders are 50 chevy? You need a headache rack behind the cab. Sort of like modern roll back wreckers have. I agree with the conversion to dual filament bulbs, just mount a socket in the housing and be up to date. The large wheels look great! Maybe I should convert the International to the same. I considered long running boards on the International before I kept the original short ones but the long boards do work. I saw a late 30's GMC conventional (4 door dually) at Salina with full boards that worked great. He used Rhino lining to coat the boards so they do not scuff with use.

 

They are 50 fenders, or at least from the same body style. I am still debating tween 22.5 and 19.5 wheels, but probably 22.5.

 

I love COE's My 1950 Ford has a 116 inch wheelbase, same as a 1978 four door Fleetwood
Cadillac. fits in a downtown parking stall. I find the people with long W.B. don't drive them much.

 

Great project keep the pictures coming.

 

The factory wb is 158. The rendering was shortened somewhat. For balance I think it needs shortened a little more but having a long wb where I live is not an issue. We have nothing but space lol. My pickup is actually about the same length.
I got one signal disassembled and ordered 1157 sockets.

 

I started my attempt at a small dent on the fender. I do not know what it is that I am doing but it looks pretty decent for my first attempt. I can still feel some imperfections so I guess I have some more messaging to do.

 

Keep us up to date. I will let Rhodel (the owner from 1961 on) know how you are doing on the project. Rhodell's son told me the bed hoist is a little weak without reving up the engine, no warranty on that system.