One of the really cool things about this job is the ability to meet you (our readers) all around the country. There are so many really cool and talented individuals building some amazing things. When we first launched the magazine, we featured a 1939 Cummins powered rat rod drag truck. The owner and builder of that truck was a man by the name of Doug Brarens or “The Metal Man” as his friends call him.

Recently, Brarens started a very unique and cool hauler project. The COE (Cab Over Engine) started out as a 1939 Chevrolet, 1946 Suburban, 1970 C30 and a 1991 P30 (think bread truck). For those of you counting, that is 4 very different 4 that are uniquely blended together to create a very cool one off COE.

How are they brought together?

Well, Brarens knows that without a solid foundation, it doesn’t matter how good the body looks. So, he cut the front part of the ’70 C30 chassis and welded it to the rear of a ’91 P30 chassis. By doing this, he was able to set the wheel base exactly where he wanted it and basically had complete control of everything.

The white lines on the Suburban body are where Brarens planned to cut.

With a solid foundation, Brarens turned his attention to the cab and the bed. For the bed, Brarens opted to use a reproduction ‘30’s style Chevy truck bed. These are readily available and easy to put together. The COE cab needed some bodywork, but the main thing was setting the position of the cab and cutting the back off.

Once the cab was in position and the bed on the truck, Brarens started tweaking the rear suspension to help with the towing. So, 10 of the original 14 leaf springs were removed from the spring pack and some Firestone Ride-Rite air springs in the rear.

Bring on the power

The power train has been an ongoing process for Brarens. Originally, he started out with a 4DB2TC engine and a Jatco automatic. “The engine had overheating issues (cracked head) and didn’t have enough horses to pull the trailer. So, I changed to a 6 cyl. Isuzu with an Allison automatic transmission but no overdrive. It pulled the trailer good, but you have to have your foot to the floor to do the speed limit,” said Brarens.

So, in the coming weeks he will be replacing the entire powertrain again. This time, he is planning on using a 5.9l Cummins backed by a 47RH transmission. Hopefully this will give him the power he needs and fuel economy he wants while cruising.

Blending of two bodies

COE’s aren’t exactly known for their roomy and spacious cabs. So, Brarens picked up a ’46 Suburban because he wanted to merge the two together. So, the Suburban came off the frame and he cut the B-pillar forward off. The he turned his attention to the rear, where he squared up the back to fit against the bed of the truck. With the Suburban mostly worked, it was time to start blending the COE and Suburban together.

With everything mostly together, he made the maiden voyage to the Diesel Truck Nationals where he won the “Older Than Dirt” award. While this is still a work in progress, we cannot help but admire this cool project.

Have a project that you are working on? Let us know!