Photo: Mecum
Cab-over-engine (COE) trucks are a special breed of monsters. A fairly common design over in Europe and elsewhere, where they serve transportation and logistic needs on a daily basis, these things can be seen over in the U.S. performing mostly trash collection. But the States use COEs for something else too, and that is turning heads around and pockets inside out as custom wonders.
Americans got their first taste of a COE at the turn of last century, but for one reason or another these things haven't become as popular for the transportation industry as the trucks with the engines up front. Yet, American carmakers produced their share of cab-overs.
Among them is Chevrolet, which experimented with such things from the days of the Advance Design series, in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It is from that era that the example we have here comes from, but in such a modified state it's expected to snatch a fortune when it sells at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis later this month.
The truck is the work of an undisclosed American custom garage, and came to be in this form after the ones working on it cannibalized parts from five other trucks. We're not told exactly what those parts are, but the end result is spectacular enough to make us not really care.
The black and orange beauty is a one-of-a-kind crew cab by trade, sporting the original cab up front and a second one further back, about halfway to the rear. At the back a polished wood floor bed can be seen, guarded from the sides by fences made of the same material.
The interior of the truck comes in black with orange accents on the dashboard and the doors. It's a fairly modern habitat, with air conditioning and an updated stereo radio included. Why, there is even a rear view camera to make backing this monster a bit easier.
Right beneath the cab there is a 366ci engine of undisclosed capabilities, running an automatic transmission and sending its power to the wheels with the help of a 14-bolt rear end with 3.23 gears. The builders also tied the truck to a cruise control system to make it more boring to drive.
Sporting a trailer towing package at the rear, the 1948 Chevrolet 5700 is going under the Mecum hammer on May 16. The reserve on it is $90,000, but the present owner is quite hopeful that, if the right crowd is in the house, the sale price might ultimately land at $140,000.
We will keep an eye out for this wheeled wonder with a bed at the rear and report back as soon as we learn how much (and if) it eventually went for.
Among them is Chevrolet, which experimented with such things from the days of the Advance Design series, in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It is from that era that the example we have here comes from, but in such a modified state it's expected to snatch a fortune when it sells at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis later this month.
The truck is the work of an undisclosed American custom garage, and came to be in this form after the ones working on it cannibalized parts from five other trucks. We're not told exactly what those parts are, but the end result is spectacular enough to make us not really care.
The black and orange beauty is a one-of-a-kind crew cab by trade, sporting the original cab up front and a second one further back, about halfway to the rear. At the back a polished wood floor bed can be seen, guarded from the sides by fences made of the same material.
The interior of the truck comes in black with orange accents on the dashboard and the doors. It's a fairly modern habitat, with air conditioning and an updated stereo radio included. Why, there is even a rear view camera to make backing this monster a bit easier.
Right beneath the cab there is a 366ci engine of undisclosed capabilities, running an automatic transmission and sending its power to the wheels with the help of a 14-bolt rear end with 3.23 gears. The builders also tied the truck to a cruise control system to make it more boring to drive.
Sporting a trailer towing package at the rear, the 1948 Chevrolet 5700 is going under the Mecum hammer on May 16. The reserve on it is $90,000, but the present owner is quite hopeful that, if the right crowd is in the house, the sale price might ultimately land at $140,000.
We will keep an eye out for this wheeled wonder with a bed at the rear and report back as soon as we learn how much (and if) it eventually went for.
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