Loadmaster '47 COE

[Billys68SS]

I really like the COE trucks as well. I've been keeping an eye out for one for a long time for a toy hauler. Chevy or GMC is preferred, but I'd take a Ford as well. I love the 50's Ford truck style.

[Wybrow]

I like any of the number 8 variations. Something about the wood slatting is appealing to me. Ultimately, I love COE's in pretty much any variation, so I have faith this one will be no different.

[99 to Life]

welcome back, good luck with your list. sounds busy and fun.

[mud.man.rj]

Git er done, sounds like a lot to do in a short time, good luck, keep us in the loop, pics i mean.

[Dieselwrencher]

I hope you can get more done than I can on my vacations. Good luck!

[47 Fasttoys]

I'm back. The home trip was a success, I ended up getting 12 days of solid shop time in. I made a lot of progress, completed the list and then some. I will start uploading updates and pictures tonight after work. I can say this: A lift in the shop is worth every penny and the late model chassis is the best I have ever seen as far as fit and and location of major components and steering hook-up. All this will be shown in daily updates (12) starting tonight. It looks like a lot of you guys have made a lot of progress in the last 2 weeks and I have a lot of reading to catch up on (no internet at home).
Rob

[47 Fasttoys]

Lift day: I thought I would include some info on the lift as I installed it on the first day home and it has been of major help. I bought a Derek Weaver 2 post 9K lift. I installed this in my shop which only has 8' ceilings. This went very well with only 1 minor modification to the roof, I cut out a small section to allow the post to go closer to the wall (4/12 pitch). The beams are heavy but using the engine hoist made it manageable. I then tested the lift with some other toys and made some minor adjustments. Doing it myself it took about 12 hours. The hardest part was drilling the 12, 5 inch deep lag bolt holes with a 1/2" hammer drill. My palms where sore for 2 days. Of course with only 8' ceilings I am limited on how high I can lift stuff, but It should work out well for most of the COE build and I do intend on raising the roof another 6' in the future. The little teardrop is homemade and is used to haul track tires and gear behind the Cobra.





Rob

[99 to Life]

cant wait to see some updates. lift looks good, I'm sure most all of us wish we had one.

[Kim57]

Wish I had room for a lift.
Looks good.
Kim

[47 Fasttoys]

OK, so most of this is tear down of the donor but we do get to the '47 so standby. I started by removing the bed, I also had to build a rolling cart for it as it will stay in the shop until I sell it later.



Rob

[_Ogre]

i feel your pain dealing with 8 ft ceilings, my 50x50 shop has the same though i do have an 18ft hay loft overhead.

but i have to ask... where's the hitch on the cobra for the teardrop? in the trunk from the look of the tongue?

[47 Fasttoys]

Yes, there is a hitch. I built a 2X2 cross brace which bolts between the quick jacks (see the 3 holes in each), to that there is small plate which mounts a normal 1 7/8" ball. I've towed over 2 thousand miles with that set-up and it works great. The only concern I have is what will I do when something big breaks (like the engine). If that happens then it maybe rollback time. Now on the other hand it looks like bed of the COE will end up around 11 foot. Lets see here...from nose to rear tires on the Cobra is 10 1/2 foot.....you see where this going.
Rob

[47 Fasttoys]

OK, so with the bed off it was time to address the cab, after doing some measuring it looked like with the radiator support out of the way the cab could be lifted and the chassis rolled away. The cab removal and stripping the wiring harness from the engine/trans took 2 days.
All kinds of connections to figure out.



It all cleared with 1/2 inch above the cab and 1/4 inch above the bumper cap on the way out.

Now I have a solid donor chassis to work with, a good running drive train and a solid body. How hard could this be?
Rob

[ghettoluxury]

Looks like you have a very nice foundation to start from.

[99 to Life]

man that lift came in handy. again your donor is better than my daily!!! Keep the pics coming.

[ibanezer]

Subscribed. Looks like this will turn out cool...

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice progress! One of my buddys said he used his cherry picker to put up his hoist and I thought it was sketch. Have any better pic of how you hooked it to the hoist? Your donor truck does look super clean too.

[47 Fasttoys]

Actually i do Deisel, I will upload some later tonight when I get home.
Rob

[47 Fasttoys]

Alright Diesel, this may clear it up a little. It was a little tricky to get the column off the lift once it was upright but overall it worked good.


Rob

[47 Fasttoys]

Now with the chassis free it was time to pull the engine and trans. Once again the lift works great for this also.


Once I had it free I went ahead and swapped the oil pad for the F-body pan. I did this for ground clearance as it will be mid-mounted. I also flipped the valve covers and intake, also needed for mid-engine clearance. Engine is good and clean inside.



The PS will also be relocated to the lower passenger side (current AC location) to make the front of the engine as low profile as possible. The plan is to stick that part under the seat.

I then started on the engine cart, the idea is to set the engine at proper ride height and angle so I can roll it to the back of the cab and start the cab mods.
That is a condensed version of my first of two weeks of work, I'll start tomorrow on next week and finally I will bring the COE back into the game.

Rob

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice work and thanks for the pics of the hoist hook up on the post. It just makes me think the hoist would be trying to tip over while picking it up that far out in front of the hoist. That's my kind of luck.

[47 Fasttoys]

OK, with the engine cart complete it was time bring the cab into play. On my last trip I built a cab cart, with this cart I have the final ride height and angle set. I rolled the cab and engine in line to see how things lined up.


As expected some trimming is required.


With the rear of the cab trimmed things are looking good without to much interference into the rear area.

[47 Fasttoys]

With a hole in the cab it was time to set the cab on the chassis.


After setting the center using plum lines I set the front to rear by where the tire looked in the fender, I chose a little forward of center.

This also gave me the first look at how the steering would work out.


Yeah I know the welds look like crap at this point, I will redo them later.
You can also see I have removed the springs and installed tubes to set the ride height.


Rob

[Dieselwrencher]

Good work setting the cab on the frame. Not trying to nit pick, but did you clean or grind any of the grime away before you tried welding your bracing to the frame?

[47 Fasttoys]

Yes I did, that is the worst of the bunch. I will be pulling the cab back off a few times to redo the welds, add some gussets and do a general clean up the chassis. Nit pick away, I'm always open to advice, I looked for a build manual for this truck but couldn't fine one.
Rob