Ford C series COE trucks

[JHZR2]

Call me crazy, but I kind of want to find an old roadway or other C-series COE tractor and rebuild/refurbish it. Nice paint, nice seat, new exhaust with the flapper on top. I'm not a pro driver, don't think I'd even put a load on it.

But where can you even find say, c900 or c9000 diesel Coe trucks for sale? They were made for years and a lot were made.

Was there any fundamental difference between those made for taking bodies vs trailers? Since I wouldn't be working it, the shortest wheelbase would be best.

I'm a big diesel fan, and an mt fan, but have heard that the mt linkages are really sloppy. I think a Lincoln y-block with the auto would be neat.

Do you think id ever even find one and enough parts to have a half-decent shot at this?

Just seems fun.

Like this.


http://cars.smartcarguide.com/listing/30457566/

http://cars.smartcarguide.com/listing/14519270/

 

[SwampSurvivor]

That body style spanned 40 years! They made it up to the late 80s.

 

[c502cid]

Very cool project idea. Tons were made, most were rode hard and put away wet. I'd start with searchtempest....

Now you got me wanting one... thanks...lol

 

[NHGUY]

I'm thinking somebody has been watching Counting Cars and seeing a lot of The Count's COE GM ramptruck....

 

[Pop_Rivit]

We had a 1963 C600. It was the most hideous creation ever known to man.

My dad bought it for running produce deliveries and it had a 12' van body on it. By that time I was starting college so I helped out on weekend mornings running sweet corn to the grocery stores in town. It was incredibly uncomfortable, hard to get in and out of, and since the engine sat right under the driver, if the outside temperature was above 65 degrees and sunny, the cab was like an oven. Any time we did any maintenance on it, everything in the cab was dumped to the front when it was tilted.

The gas engine examples were possibly the most gutless truck I've ever driven, and the cabover design would beat the daylights out of a driver. I did some programming work in the late 1970's for Roadway, and those tractors were universally despised by the drivers. The only redeeming quality was the short wheelbase-coupled with a pup trailer it made for a very nimble city unit, much better than a straight truck.

There were quite a few differences (besides the obvious length) in the trucks designed for van bodies and those designed for use as tractors. The tractors used air brake systems, and the trucks designed without a 5th wheel were usually hydraulic braking systems. The straight trucks, without an air system, would have a standard bench seat, while tractors had air seat options. The air seat in a tractor was pretty much a requirement otherwise the short wheelbase combined with the cabover design would beat the daylights out of a driver.

Of course, before you could actually drive one today you'll need a commercial drivers license. Since you're interested in a tractor, you'll also need an air brake endorsement. A decent restoration can run $20,000 or more, and upkeep is pretty expensive. There are still a lot of them around here-farmers use them in the fall to run corn or beans, and the rest of the year they are parked in a corner of the machine shed. It wouldn't be unusual to find one with less than 10,000 miles on it. Most were trucks with grain bodies, but there are a few cabover tractors with old hopper trailers.

If you're going to get one and drive it, skip your auto transmission idea and learn to drive a real, non-synchronized manual transmission. It's a transmission that takes some skill to learn, but there's nothing like the sound of an old diesel getting wound through the gears.

And if you're driving one of the Ford C series cabover tractors without a trailer it's very easy to stand it on it's nose. The weight overhang in front of the front axle, combined with a light rear end makes for some interesting bobtailing.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Roadway got something like 75% of the production...they pretty much drove them into the ground. Most that didn't go to Roadway seem to have made into fire trucks. Their tractors are short-wheelbase & ride like oxcarts. Most outside the south rotted away. IIRC, they were dropped after 1992.

The rollback Liz drives is a C6000, IIRC, it's a 1989. Like most of the later ones, it has 3208 Cat power...it's a class B truck (IIRC, 33,000GVWR, 12K front and 21K rear) with air brakes, air-ride seats, and a Spicer 5+2 trans. Ride isn't bad with the air seat, though the rear is very bouncy empty. It's the longest wheelbase I have ever seen and has, IIRC, a 28' deck.

Many were non-CDL...I drove one (late-70's) with a 22 or 24' box on it...it was air braked, no CDL (GVWR was, IIRC, 24,500), with 6V53T Detroit power. Now THAT thing was loud!

 

[TFB1]

If I were going to run something like a old C with a gas engine and automatic trans, it'd have a 460 & C6 in it from old Town Car or similar... No it wouldn't likely be orig as those engines didn't exist before 1968...

The 1957 with the large head lights in the link is cool, quads ruin the looks for me...

 

[Chris142]

Any old truckdriver will tell you how much they hated cabovers. Besides the rough ride your feet were always the first to the scene of the accident.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Any old truckdriver will tell you how much they hated cabovers. Besides the rough ride your feet were always the first to the scene of the accident.


As I said, I'm not a pro driver and would want one more for fun. Maybe not a tractor (though that's what I remember growing up seeing the roadway trucks around), something with more mass behind it but also not overly long and large.

Just thinking out loud here, since it seems it would be like a time capsule of a product that spanned a LONG time. No problem driving the MT, and a diesel would be fun. I just heard that the linkages were so poor that with a little wear, you couldn't get it in all gears.

Ok, this is on my to do list, though I have a few other things to do as well..

 

[fdcg27]

We had two firetruck bodies built on these chassis when I ran as a volunteer firefighter back in the day.
Both had five speed transmissions, with first being a granny gear to the left and 4th-5th in the H IIRC.
Both also had hydraulic brakes and Ford gas V-8s.
The shift linkage is sloppy, but you could shift very quickly once you got used to it, kind of like an old VW or a Porsche.
The clutches had nice take-up but were fairly heavy.
One of these trucks was on a short wheelbase chassis, and it was actually fun and even a little sporty to drive.
The short wheelbase also made for a bouncy ride when you rode tailboard, something no department does these days.
I'd recommend a short wheelbase straight truck with a cheap to fix gas engine and hyraulic brakes, which would not require a CDL. You could put a flatbed body of either oak or diamond plate on it at reasonable cost and end up with a useful and unique hauler, sort of a king-sized pickup.
Remember that tires for these things won't be cheap, incidentally.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Any old truckdriver will tell you how much they hated cabovers. Besides the rough ride your feet were always the first to the scene of the accident.


My uncle LOVED his COE Kenworth! 400HP Big Cam Cummins, 13-speed, and he could spin a 48' trailer in about 80 feet! (That's not a typo.) With air-ride suspension, cab, and seat, the ride wasn't bad at all.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: TFB1
If I were going to run something like a old C with a gas engine and automatic trans, it'd have a 460 & C6 in it from old Town Car or similar... No it wouldn't likely be orig as those engines didn't exist before 1968...

The 1957 with the large head lights in the link is cool, quads ruin the looks for me...


C-series came factory with Lima engines...370's and 429's. Older ones used the 361, 391, and (get this) the 300ci six.

 

[SatinSilver]

I'm sure there's quite a few of them available at the local junk yard. Just look in the back next to the Pintos. The front end reminds me of a garbage truck.

 

[JHZR2]

The front end is what I like about them - like classic ugly.

It would be neat to make it some sort of an incognito camper. Not a ridiculous RV with all kinds of fanciness, just a sleeping place for two - like a big metal tent on wheels.

Aah, the options.

Problem is I probably need to buy a steel building or barn to go with my c-series truck. Doubt it would fit in my existing garages.

Love diesels but the Lincoln y block seems cool. I'd guess that the 300 while slow, would be the cheapest to upkeep and easiest to find parts for. I'm used to slow though, and have zero issues driving my 67 HP 240D anywhere and everywhere.

 

[Kruse]

Before all the farmers in my farming area owned semi trucks to haul their grain, these trucks were common. Our family actually owned one of these back in the early 80s and it had a (approximate) 350 bushel box-bed (with hydraulic hoist) on the back. The truck did the job, and the ease of engine work was nice with the tilt-hood, but even back then I worried about being in a head-on collision with our truck. It's too bad that I didn't save the operator's manual when we sold the truck because I remember them having a diesel option, but I can't recall from memory exactly what diesel engine was available.
These was also a local company that bought these trucks and made aircraft deicers with this chassis. A simply explanation of an aircraft deicer is that it was a firetruck/boomtruck that was able to heat the deicing fluid and spray the juice on the wingtips so that the rudders don't freeze up. This company bought these trucks by the hundreds and it was actually an ideal truck because they spent most of their working time on the tarmac instead of the highway.
Good luck with your purchase, but as someone who has a CDL, I'd avoid this truck for any long drives.

 

[Chris142]

Shoot. If you want a fun toy truck you should have bought my 62 pete with its butterfly hood, 280 cummins with the fuel turned up and a 5x3 set of transmissions.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
The front end is what I like about them - like classic ugly.

It would be neat to make it some sort of an incognito camper. Not a ridiculous RV with all kinds of fanciness, just a sleeping place for two - like a big metal tent on wheels.

Aah, the options.

Problem is I probably need to buy a steel building or barn to go with my c-series truck. Doubt it would fit in my existing garages.

Love diesels but the Lincoln y block seems cool. I'd guess that the 300 while slow, would be the cheapest to upkeep and easiest to find parts for. I'm used to slow though, and have zero issues driving my 67 HP 240D anywhere and everywhere.


With Limas as factory options, a 460 would work. Here's an idea: a 1988-98 MPI 460 truck engine with a Spicer 5-speed.

 

[The_Jeff]

In Maine any licensed driver can drive any unloaded truck rocking antique plates for parades, club events, and ice cream cones.

Also RVs with air brakes are somehow exempt most of the time in most states and can be driven by rich mucky mucks with more money than sense. They probably have to be born RVs, not converted, with some sort of NHTSA idiot proofing, but maybe not.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Nope...many Escapees tow huge trailers with converted OTR tractors (generally Volvos) with regular licenses! Yes, that DOES scare me.

 

[JHZR2]

Thinking this would be optimal. If it fit in the garage with one car on it, it would be ideal!

Tis would be perfect for tooling around, but y'all have me scared of putting her on the nose!

Optimally I'll find one or paint one in the smart two tone coloration with a white roof.

Though units with AC seem to exist.

A 4x4 version would be double cool, but I think they were custom, and the cabs were just bought from budd under license from ford.

Ah, the options!!

Too bad these trucks are tough to find!