Restoration: 1942 COE carhauler

This 1942 cab-over-engine truck was built in the final weeks of civilian production before World War II, at a time when strict length limits made COE designs the workhorses of American trucking. Today, trucks like it are prized by collectors and often converted into ramp-bed car haulers, though restoring one is frequently harder than restoring the muscle car it will carry. Read on to find out what it takes to bring a forgotten 1942 hauler back to the road and onto the show field.

Long before flatbed trailers and enclosed haulers became the standard way to bring a car to a show, people were doing it with trucks like this one: a 1942 cab-over-engine hauler, nose stubby and blunt, built at the tail end of civilian truck production before World War II shut the factories down for tanks and troop carriers. COE trucks packed the cab directly over the front axle, trading ride comfort for a shorter overall length, which made them ideal for hauling long loads, including race cars and show cars, without the truck itself eating up the trailer space. Seeing one pulled out of storage and brought back to life is its own kind of muscle car story, even without a single horsepower figure attached to the truck. What is it going to take to get this old hauler back on the road?

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Why Cab-Over Trucks Ruled Before the Interstate

COE trucks were everywhere through the 1930s and 1940s largely because many states enforced strict overall-length limits on commercial rigs, and putting the driver over the front axle instead of behind a long hood let haulers pack more cargo into that legal length. Chevrolet’s AK-series COE, built in this era, became a workhorse for farms, fire departments, and everything in between. This particular truck’s 1942 build date puts it right at the edge of that run. Wartime material rationing ended civilian truck production early in 1942, which makes any surviving truck from that year a small piece of history.

The Last Civilian Trucks Before the War

When the United States entered World War II, the government ordered automakers to halt civilian production and retool for military vehicles, and the changeover happened fast. Trucks built in early 1942 often used up existing parts stock, sometimes with painted trim replacing chrome as metals were diverted to the war effort. A 1942 COE is therefore both a prewar design and a wartime artifact, built by a factory that was weeks away from making something entirely different. That context gives these trucks a story that a 1940 or 1946 model simply does not carry.

From Working Truck to Cherished Car Hauler

Today, preserved COEs, often left with honest patina rather than polished to showroom shine, are prized by classic truck collectors, and a subset of builders convert them into dedicated car haulers by adding a ramp bed, turning a piece of forgotten trucking history into a functional, trailer-free way to bring a muscle car to a show. That dual appeal, as both a standalone collectible and a working hauler, is a big part of what keeps these trucks in demand. A COE hauler with a period-correct muscle car on its back is often the most photographed combination at any event it attends.

The Hard Part Nobody Warns You About

Restoring one is its own project, and often a tougher one than restoring the muscle car it is built to carry. Period-correct inline sixes or flathead V8s, depending on the make, non-synchronized gearboxes, and parts networks that are a fraction the size of what exists for a classic Camaro or Mustang all add difficulty. Cab-over trucks also have unique mechanical layouts, with the engine sitting between or beneath the seats and the cab often tilting or unbolting for access. A restorer has to be part mechanic, part fabricator, and part detective just to source the pieces.

What Powered a 1942 Cab-Over

Trucks of this era were built for torque and durability rather than speed. Chevrolet’s COEs of the period relied on an inline six-cylinder engine paired with a manual transmission, while Ford’s competing cab-overs typically carried the company’s flathead V8. Neither was powerful by modern standards, but both were built to run all day under heavy loads and to be repaired with basic tools. For a restorer, the choice is whether to rebuild the original engine for authenticity or fit a modern drivetrain that can keep up with highway traffic when hauling a car to a distant show.

The Restomod Route Versus the Survivor Route

COE owners tend to fall into two camps. The survivor crowd keeps the original engine, the faded paint, and the worn interior, celebrating the truck’s working history and accepting that it will never cruise comfortably above the speed limit. The restomod crowd swaps in a modern engine, air brakes or upgraded hydraulics, air-ride suspension, and a fabricated ramp bed, producing a truck that can tow a full-size muscle car across the country in comfort. Both approaches produce head-turning results, and the choice usually depends on how far the owner plans to drive it.

Building the Ramp Bed

Converting a COE into a hauler means fabricating a bed that can carry a car safely, and that is not a small job. The bed has to be long enough to fit a full-size muscle car, strong enough to carry its weight, and equipped with a ramp system, whether a tilting bed or slide-out ramps, so the car can be loaded without a separate trailer. Builders often add a winch for cars that do not run, tie-down points rated for the load, and lighting that meets current road regulations. Done properly, the result is a self-contained show rig that needs nothing else.

Why Cab-Overs Photograph So Well

There is a reason COE haulers have become social media favorites. The stubby, upright cab and the enormous flat face give the truck a cartoonish, almost friendly presence that contrasts perfectly with a low, aggressive muscle car riding on its back. The proportions are unlike anything built today, and the combination of prewar truck and postwar performance car tells a story in a single image. A well-built COE hauler often draws a bigger crowd at a show than the car it carried, which is a strange fate for a vehicle designed to be invisible.

Where to Find One and What to Expect

Original COEs of this vintage tend to turn up in the same places as other forgotten trucks: behind barns, in the back rows of farm auctions, and in the estates of families who kept a working truck long after it stopped working. Many have spent decades outdoors, which means rust in the cab floors, seized engines, and missing trim. The ones that have been stored indoors are rarer and command a premium. Finding a solid, complete example is the hardest part of the project, and it often takes years of searching before the restoration even begins.

Why This Truck Belongs on a Muscle Car Site

It might seem odd to celebrate a 1942 commercial truck on a site devoted to muscle cars, but the connection is direct. These trucks were the original car haulers, carrying race cars and customs to strips and shows decades before purpose-built trailers existed, and they remain the coolest way to arrive at an event today. A restored COE with a Chevelle or a Charger strapped to its bed is a rolling tribute to the entire history of the hobby, from prewar hot rodding to the muscle car era and beyond. That is a story worth following from storage to the show field.

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