1950 Chevrolet COE

In the 20 years of our Feature Truck of the Month series, we look for commercial vehicles that are different and are rarely seen at any truck or car show. This month’s vehicle fits exactly in this category. It is the only one of its kind in the world!

This large Chevrolet truck is a 1950 COE (cab over engine) with many hidden extras. The owners are P.J. and Dane Rosentreter of Carlinville, Illinois.

It was on display in mid-summer of 2022 at the annual convention of the American Historical Society in Springfield, IL. (It is held in a different city each year so more different trucks and owners can attend.) This truck stood out among the better of the almost 1,000 early trucks. In the discussion a few weeks ago with PJ, he explained how this COE came to be. This has developed even more interest to post as a feature truck.

Trailer ball in the middle for pulling a big load with its own wheels.

Great cart for painting the cab, etc...

BIG HELP!

To help with this article, P.J., his wife Melanie, and Dane offered to create this attached article. What great help! The following is their words that only they could explain. They and their son Dane were part of the restoration!

“P.J. Rosentreter and son, Dane’s 1950 COE

Carlinville, Illinois

Originally, the truck was a 1950 Chevrolet 5100 COE car hauler for the Complete Auto Transit Company of St. Louis, Missouri with a 110” wheelbase, a 5th wheel plate and trailer brake handle. On the passenger firewall, it had an engine oil reservoir built by the Stanley Muffler Company and a Dietz spare bulb container under the hood in front of the radiator.

When I purchased it, there was a 1960 license plate on it. A local farmer had purchased it sometime before that and put a wooden grain bed on it. He took it to town for a tune up and adjustment of the Babbitt bearings. They got the bearings too tight and while hauling the very first load of grain to town, the engine locked up. They towed it home and pushed it into the barn. There it sat until March of 1999, when I purchased it at an auction. At that time, I cleaned out the insides of the doors, cab corners, and fenders to prevent further rusting, and I put it in storage until 2012.

Early on, while out exploring the farm, my youngest son, Dane “discovered” the truck while it was sitting in a silo shed that we rarely used. He came running in to me and said, “Dad, did you know there is a truck out there in that shed?” I told him that I did, as I was the one who had put it there. My oldest son, Adam, had already claimed my first truck, a 1967 Chevy step side pickup, as his to restore. Dane, even though only 8 at the time, quickly claimed the cab over as his project to restore. Thus began a ten year restoration partnership project between the two of us. After twelve years of dreaming of how I wanted to build it, we finally moved it into our new shop at home.

I then started collecting the parts I wanted to use for the project as we tore it down. I decided a 5.9 Cummins 12 valve and a 1981 Chevy C30 chassis would be ideal. We cut and fabricated the COE’s front frame into the front of the C30 frame, then fabricated the engine mounts into the new frame. After many hours of thought and building, the truck now features a Dana 80 rear differential, a 6 speed Allison 1000 transmission, power steering, 4 wheel disc brakes, 22.5 rims, Custom NVU gauges, and an antique auto radio with all of the features of a new radio but with the looks of an original.

Our goal was to build it as stock looking as possible both inside the cab and outside, but to enable it to drive and handle much like a newer truck would. It is a lot of fun to drive!

Over ten years and countless unrecorded hours, Dane and I gathered parts, made decisions about how to best marry these components together, realigned and fabricated undercarriage supports as needed and did all of the body work, painting, and interior together. This was a true partnership as Dane and I spent many hours debating these decisions and working side by side. Dane learned and enhanced many skills through the project.

This was a labor of love as we worked when we could after hours and on weekends. Dane was busy with high school classes, and extracurricular activities, and I own and manage P.J.'s Tire and Service Center. Restoration is a family hobby. The project was occasionally put on hold as in the middle of it, I helped my middle son, Jay, restore a 1970 Camaro for himself and a Ferguson tractor for the neighbor.

This project has inspired Dane to choose a career in automotive restoration. He will attend McPherson College in McPherson, Kansas in the fall of 2023 where he will work towards a bachelor’s degree in automotive restoration. Since the program was full in 2022, Dane has a gap year and is currently working full time at D&A Corvette in Gillespie, IL which specializes in 1953-1973 corvette restorations.

A special thank you to my wife and Dane’s mom for allowing us to spend all of the nights and weekends it took out in the shop to finish this truck.”

The open hood does not allow much access to the under cab engine.

The finished product.

A few extra comments related to the above article:

The term COE (cab over engine) is a term also used with other makes of trucks. It occurs when the frame rails are shortened and the engine is forced under the cab. With this shortened wheel base the truck can turn at a shorter radius.

Excellent when a sharper turn radius is needed for turning around sharp corners. The short 5100 series was a success when used as a vehicle with a 5^th wheel on the back OR being used with a tow truck assembly to move disabled vehicles in tight places.

The 5100 numbers on the hood of our feature truck are as follows: The 5 tells it is a COE. In this case the 100 shows it is the short 110” wheelbase.

McPherson College mentioned above (in the heart of America) is the only location in our country with a 4 year program in “Auto Restoration”. It is so popular that Dane is waiting a year for space to start the beginning classes in September 2023.

Additional Photos:

These are from the COE’s first outing June 2022 at Springfield, IL. It was well noticed at this annual national show!