Chevrolet 1946 COE Farm Truck
Post WWII, the USA was looking to return to normality. People going about there day doing normal things.
They looked to the traditional 'Truck' to get their goods to market, for instance.
The 1946 Chevrolet COE (Cab Over Engine) is a perfect such example, shown here.
This particular Lego model is directly designed to reflect a restoration job on an old COE, recounted in the story below:
1946 Chevrolet COE
Year/Make 1946 Chevrolet COE
Owner: Billy Marlow
1946 Ownerd by Billy Marlow Dayton, MD
By Billy Marlow
Although my family was in the coal business in Washington,D.C. for many years, and for a brief time I drove a tow truck for a living, my truck passion didn't bloom until after I restored my 1946 Chevrolet Cab-Over (COE) and joined ATHS.
Always a bit of a gear-head and into anything with a motor, I saw the 1946 Cab Over in a truck trader publication in September 2000 and fell in love with its Art Deco grill. The truck reportedly spent much of it's life on a farm in Oklahoma, most likely with a grain body on it. I bought the truck sight unseen and had it shipped to Maryland with the intention of fixing it up a little and having fun with it.
As many of these stories go, the next thing you know the truck was in a million pieces and a complete restoration had begun. I felt that it would be kind of nice to see this truck restored to near original condition. In doing so, however, I knew this would limit travel speed and distance. The chevy has the famous 235 inline stove bolt 6 cylinder engine. It is a 2 ton truck with a two speed vacuum rear, with 6.03 and 7.99 ratios, which means it tops out comfortably around 43 miles an hour.
I'm not exactly sure how I came up with the color combination, but I knew that is what it was going to be before I even took delivery of the truck. The paint scheme is definitely not stock, but folks seem to approve of my choice.
I am a building engineer at a country club near my home in Dayton, MD. and have worked there for 28 years. A lot of what I do from day to day helped in my first attempt at truck restoration. I did a lot of restoration myself, but had a hand with the engine, paint and body work. I spent many hours in front of the sand blast cabinet. Some of my best memories of the restoration were the days like the first time we started the engine, the day we set the cab back on the frame and the best of all, the first time I eased the clutch out and drove the truck out of the barn.
Right after the truck came home I realized I was going to need every resource I could to learn about my new project and to locate parts. One of my first tools I bought was a computer, and without the internet I don't think I could have finished the truck. There are some great websites out there and folks who are more than willing to help.
I quickly learned that there are many parts on a cab-over that are shared with a conventional truck. After a little time on the keyboard, I was finding parts and pieces all over the country. Finding the grill bars proved a challenge. It took about two years to find enough to make a fairly straight set.
The truck was almost done around the summer of 2003-and six years later it is still "almost done" - when John Milliman twisted my arm to get me to come to an ATHS Baltimore-Washington Chapter truck show in Waldorf, Maryland. It was my very first time out with the truck and I had a great time. I filled out my ATHS membership application that day and also joined the chapter. I felt a little out of place at first among all the bigger trucks, but all that changed after our chapter hosted the ATHS National Convention in Baltimore in 2006. That was the first really big truck show I ever attended and it left a lasting mark on me.
I have had a wonderful time taking my truck to many shows, and have even brought two more trucks that I am working on now: a 1972 GMC 9500 and a 1964 B-61 Mack. My wife, Jennifer, is a huge supporter of my truck hobby, and I couldn't enjoy all these fun events without her.
Jennifer brought her mother to the convention in 2006, and she was overwhelmed by the passion that the truck owners had for their beautiful vehicles. My mother-in-law is also a big supporter of my little hobby, and is responsible for having the beautiful signs made for the truck. The signs were made from the original Marlow Coal Company logo and letterhead, and its history is very dear to my heart.
People always ask me if my truck is for sale. After all the fun I had restoring it, all the fun I have had taking it to different events, and all the great people I have met becuase of it, I don't think I could ever sell it. I guess there are some things you just can't put a price tag on.
You can read this story, along with pictures of the original truck at:
www.oldchevytrucks.com/Showcase/1946_COE_Marlow.php
And, for a wider range of stories of period Chevrolet Trucks:
www.oldchevytrucks.com/blog/index.php/category/technical-...
This Lego miniland-scale 1946 Chevrolet COE Farm Truck has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 103rd Build Challenge, titled - 'The Fabulous Forties!' - a challenge for any vehicle produced through the decade of the 1940s.
Chevrolet 1946 COE Farm Truck
Post WWII, the USA was looking to return to normality. People going about there day doing normal things.
They looked to the traditional 'Truck' to get their goods to market, for instance.
The 1946 Chevrolet COE (Cab Over Engine) is a perfect such example, shown here.
This particular Lego model is directly designed to reflect a restoration job on an old COE, recounted in the story below:
1946 Chevrolet COE
Year/Make 1946 Chevrolet COE
Owner: Billy Marlow
1946 Ownerd by Billy Marlow Dayton, MD
By Billy Marlow
Although my family was in the coal business in Washington,D.C. for many years, and for a brief time I drove a tow truck for a living, my truck passion didn't bloom until after I restored my 1946 Chevrolet Cab-Over (COE) and joined ATHS.
Always a bit of a gear-head and into anything with a motor, I saw the 1946 Cab Over in a truck trader publication in September 2000 and fell in love with its Art Deco grill. The truck reportedly spent much of it's life on a farm in Oklahoma, most likely with a grain body on it. I bought the truck sight unseen and had it shipped to Maryland with the intention of fixing it up a little and having fun with it.
As many of these stories go, the next thing you know the truck was in a million pieces and a complete restoration had begun. I felt that it would be kind of nice to see this truck restored to near original condition. In doing so, however, I knew this would limit travel speed and distance. The chevy has the famous 235 inline stove bolt 6 cylinder engine. It is a 2 ton truck with a two speed vacuum rear, with 6.03 and 7.99 ratios, which means it tops out comfortably around 43 miles an hour.
I'm not exactly sure how I came up with the color combination, but I knew that is what it was going to be before I even took delivery of the truck. The paint scheme is definitely not stock, but folks seem to approve of my choice.
I am a building engineer at a country club near my home in Dayton, MD. and have worked there for 28 years. A lot of what I do from day to day helped in my first attempt at truck restoration. I did a lot of restoration myself, but had a hand with the engine, paint and body work. I spent many hours in front of the sand blast cabinet. Some of my best memories of the restoration were the days like the first time we started the engine, the day we set the cab back on the frame and the best of all, the first time I eased the clutch out and drove the truck out of the barn.
Right after the truck came home I realized I was going to need every resource I could to learn about my new project and to locate parts. One of my first tools I bought was a computer, and without the internet I don't think I could have finished the truck. There are some great websites out there and folks who are more than willing to help.
I quickly learned that there are many parts on a cab-over that are shared with a conventional truck. After a little time on the keyboard, I was finding parts and pieces all over the country. Finding the grill bars proved a challenge. It took about two years to find enough to make a fairly straight set.
The truck was almost done around the summer of 2003-and six years later it is still "almost done" - when John Milliman twisted my arm to get me to come to an ATHS Baltimore-Washington Chapter truck show in Waldorf, Maryland. It was my very first time out with the truck and I had a great time. I filled out my ATHS membership application that day and also joined the chapter. I felt a little out of place at first among all the bigger trucks, but all that changed after our chapter hosted the ATHS National Convention in Baltimore in 2006. That was the first really big truck show I ever attended and it left a lasting mark on me.
I have had a wonderful time taking my truck to many shows, and have even brought two more trucks that I am working on now: a 1972 GMC 9500 and a 1964 B-61 Mack. My wife, Jennifer, is a huge supporter of my truck hobby, and I couldn't enjoy all these fun events without her.
Jennifer brought her mother to the convention in 2006, and she was overwhelmed by the passion that the truck owners had for their beautiful vehicles. My mother-in-law is also a big supporter of my little hobby, and is responsible for having the beautiful signs made for the truck. The signs were made from the original Marlow Coal Company logo and letterhead, and its history is very dear to my heart.
People always ask me if my truck is for sale. After all the fun I had restoring it, all the fun I have had taking it to different events, and all the great people I have met becuase of it, I don't think I could ever sell it. I guess there are some things you just can't put a price tag on.
You can read this story, along with pictures of the original truck at:
www.oldchevytrucks.com/Showcase/1946_COE_Marlow.php
And, for a wider range of stories of period Chevrolet Trucks:
www.oldchevytrucks.com/blog/index.php/category/technical-...
This Lego miniland-scale 1946 Chevrolet COE Farm Truck has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 103rd Build Challenge, titled - 'The Fabulous Forties!' - a challenge for any vehicle produced through the decade of the 1940s.