The Dream

This build started about two years ago as a idea that I had seen in a restaurant trade magazine. A couple had taken a old ford flatbed truck and put a wood fire oven on it to cook pizza. They used it for catering and special events. At the time I didn't really think about doing something like that till I saw my first COE. It was the Wescott COE, and I said wow that would make a nice cab for a mobile pizza catering rig. So the hunt was on to find a 1947 Ford COE. I put the word out to all that would listen that I was looking for one to restore. I also began to search the web and start to do research on what was involved in building a COE. In my search I came across the H.A.M.B. and boy what a help it has been. I have spent hours and hours looking though threads, post, and pictures. Thank you for all your input, it has help me out a lot. A year or so goes bye with no luck in finding what I wanted. I decided to widen my search to 1948 and on. I came across a complete 1948 COE in St. Louis, and lucky for me I have a sister that lives there. I ask my brother in law if he would check it out for me. He calls and said it looks real solid and that it was all there. I'm thinking this could be the one. The only problem it is about 2000 miles away. I decide to do one more search before I commit to make it happen. And came across a restored 1948 in California with a work box on the back that had been updated to newer chassis and drive train. All I needed to do is pull the box off and fab a new one to work for my needs. I'm thinking this is the one and call my other brother in law and ask if he wanted to make a road trip to California. He agrees and we make plans to leave Thursday night after he gets off work. I was ready to drive it back home if it look as good as it did in the pictures. I call my brother who was one of the guys looking out for the 1947 to tell him what I found and that I was heading to California to buy it if it all check out. He tells me I didn't think you were looking that serious, and this is Wednesday the day before we leave. It's now Thursday morning and it's my brother on the phone to tell me he was talking to some of his customers and ask them if they knew of any 1947 COE that were available in the area. One said I know where one is less then a mile from here, but don't know if it's for sale. So my brother tells me that he's on his way over to talk to the guy and will let me know what's he finds out. He calls me back about a hour later which seem like days. He said, Don, get in your car, go to the bank, bring cash, and get here fast before he changes his mind. I ask what do you mean before he changes his mind? Well he's kind of a hoarder, but his health not that good and I showed him your drawing of what you wanted to build and said he would look for the title and to come back later. I saying to myself that there is no way he is going to sale, but got in my car and drove 50 miles to find out. I get there and pick up my brother to see if we could make this deal happen. We walk up to the door and his wife answers and said he was taking his afternoon nap and that he would call us in two hours. The worst part of this is that I got my first look at the truck that was about 100 yards away. I ask my brother to pinch me because I thought I was dreaming. It was a prefect 1947 Coe that was all there, and original. We went to lunch and bet if he would even call us back. I was really hoping he would, because I wasn't looking forward to a all night 1100 mile trip to California. Almost exactly two hours later my brothers phone rings, I found the title. We couldn't get in the car fast enough, I think we were there before he hung the phone up. Before the night was over I was a proud new owner of a 1947 Ford COE. There was only three condition, that we had to clear a path to get it out, unload a 8'x16' flatbed of its cargo of twenty years, and it had to be my brother and I to do the work. He was worried that someone would take things from his property. He doesn't know it but I would have agreed to clean up his whole yard to get that truck. In the long run my brother pull through with a great save and a great truck, thank you Benny! Sorry to be so long winded, I promise the rest of the posts will be short and sweet with more photo's. I hope that some of the build thread and information will help someone else someday. Here are some pictures of the truck as we found it.

The two candidate COE that didn't make it.