1951 Chevrolet COE: Owner moved engine from cab to bed of an already unusual truck

The look of Garry Mayes’ 1951 Chevrolet Cab Over Engine (COE) draws people to the vehicle. It is the type of pickup truck that is rarely seen on today’s highways.

A closer inspection of the vehicle shows that Mayes’ Chevy COE is unique. One passerby at a car cruise looked in the bed of Mayes’ creation, saw the motor and asked about it.

Mayes, a resident of Leavenworth, quickly explained.

“I have a Chevy 396 motor in it,” Mayes told him.

“This is a V-8. When they were built, they were six cylinders and they sat in the middle of the floor (under where the driver and passenger sit). It had a big hump where you had access to do whatever you had to do. I extended the bed. Chevy never made these.”

Mayes’ ’51 Chevy CEO is his creation. It started three years ago when he spotted it on a hot rod website. It was in a barn in Jefferson City.

“It was pretty rough,” Mayes said.

Mayes’ wife gave a more descriptive view of the vehicle.

“It was a piece of junk,” she said.

The truck arrived in Leavenworth on a trailer. The good thing about it was there was no rust. It had sat in a barn for 30 years.

Mayes, though, knew it was going to take more than a few months to restore it. Almost from the beginning, he planned to move the engine to the bed.

“One thing was to get the heat out of the cab and access to the motor to work on, otherwise you would have to pull the seats out and carpet and everything else,” Mayes said.

For Mayes, these kinds of vehicle restorations are fun. Every seven or eight years, he works on a project like this one. With the help of friend, it took Mayes 15 months to get the ’51 Chevy COE in working order.

Sure, there were a few setbacks and a bit of apprehension when he thought the restoration was completed. The first year he had some doubts about its reliability.

“When you make something like this you have to expect some failure,” he said.

By the summer of 2014, Mayes had enough confidence in his ’51 Chevy COE to take it on a road trip. The truck traveled more than 2,000 miles to Colorado and back.

“My wife has a sister and three brothers who live in Denver,” Mayes said. “I have a great friend who I have known for over 50 years. I spend time with him. We go up in the mountains to what is called the Golden Cruise, which is the first Saturday of every month.”

In the spring, Mayes and his wife will go on a longer road trip, hitting Montana and Wyoming. He knows there will be people along the way who will enjoy seeing the unusual truck traveling down the highway.

“Something like this is so very rare,” he said. “You go down the interstate, and people are taking pictures or semi truck drivers are honking their horns.”

Those moments give Mayes a sense of satisfaction that he created something different.

“It is so neat to have people comment about it,” he said. “A lot of people ask questions, and I like to sit around and explain it to them.”

Mayes also likes the fact that he is preserving a piece of automotive history.

“I think it is neat to save an old vehicle like this from a crusher because they don’t build these things anymore,” Mayes said. “They are gone. You can’t go in a showroom and buy one, that’s for sure.”

It is likely that this will be Mayes’ final restoration. He enjoys the process and the anticipation of a finished job.

“But actually I think I am done,” he said. “I don’t want to get involved again.”

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 7:15 PM with the headline "1951 Chevrolet COE: Owner moved engine from cab to bed of an already unusual truck."