1950 COE ?

[gotnitro?]

I was planning to build a 1950 Chevy Coe. The idea is to use Ron Andrews resin cab, and have it wearing semi truck tires. Would I be smarter to use the AMT 1950 Chevy truck for the frame, or would a Peterbuilt truck frame be better, it will be slammed. The truck will either be a flatbed..think counting cars..or a cargo truck

Thanks for any help

Jeff

[Aaronw]

As a custom you could really go either way, as I've seen people put one of those old truck cabs on a pickup chassis. There is a local mechanic here that pulled the cab off of an old IH truck and mounted it on a 1980s Ford Dually with a flatbed. It looks kind of right at first and it took me a bit to realize just what he did. The tires are what really give it away, they are just too small. It makes for a neat whatever hauler though, certainly more eye catching than just an old dually would be.

The Semi chassis would probably be a better choice if you wanted it to look like a heavy truck though. Personally I think the Ford C600 or Dodge L700 would probably be a better donor though, being a bit closer in size / weight class to the Chevy cabover and already built for a cabover cab. If you used one of the C600 flatbeds you would even have the flatbed taken care of. The Louisville could work well too, might take a little adjustment for the cab. The latest re-issue includes the race hauler so you would be all set if you wanted to throw a car on the back.

Edited September 14, 2013 by Aaronw

[gotnitro?]

Thanks Aaron- I'll take a look around!

[gotnitro?]

question- is the C600 flatbed like the stakeside version ? I've located a few around , and a pepsi hauler..

The race hauler would be cool, except for that tire shelf area! A standard flat deck would be more eye appealing

[Art Anderson]

I was planning to build a 1950 Chevy Coe. The idea is to use Ron Andrews resin cab, and have it wearing semi truck tires. Would I be smarter to use the AMT 1950 Chevy truck for the frame, or would a Peterbuilt truck frame be better, it will be slammed. The truck will either be a flatbed..think counting cars..or a cargo truck

Thanks for any help

Jeff

Actually, the Italeri Opel Blitz truck kit would be an ideal choice, as its chassis and engine are identical to US-built Chevrolet trucks from the late 30's through at least the late 50's.

Art

[Jim B]

Actually, the Italeri Opel Blitz truck kit would be an ideal choice, as its chassis and engine are identical to US-built Chevrolet trucks from the late 30's through at least the late 50's.

Art

That's good to know.

[Longbox55]

There are some major differences from the Blitz to the US trucks, but with the proper alterations, the Blitz chassis would be an ideal starting point, though it really is not accurate for a US truck after 1955 1rst Series. The '55 2nds have a distinctly different chassis from the earlier trucks, mainly that they do not taper in the front. From what I've observed from comparing a Blitz kit (which is a very good kit on its own), it matches the '37-'47 (early) chassis the closest, but is close enough to use for the later trucks. The main issues are the steering box location, wheelbase, and the wheels. On US trucks, the steering box is behind the axle, the Blitz is ahead of the axle. The wheelbase on the Blitz works out to be about in the middle of what the US trucks offered, so either shortening a bit or lengthening a bit will correct that. The Blitz also has a large 8 lug bolt pattern on both axles, US trucks used 5 lug front/10 lug rear. Otherwise, the wheels re very similar.

[blazefox]

If you wanna do a slant back car hauler. Id wait till amt reissues the ln8000 race car hauler soon

[gotnitro?]

thanks for all the feedback. I'm just waiting for the mail man now to begin my project! I'm leaning towards a flat deck truck, 2 toned pearl paint from Createx.

I noticed a few pictures showing the hood opens like a standard truck, with large hinges in the center of the hood. There's a big block 427 planned for the engine bay, borrowed from the Corvette roadster. The tire choice is still uncertain...either Alcoa wheels, or torque thrust wheels from Pegasus.