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Custom Race Car Hauler: 1969 Dodge L600 COE

Custom race car haulers are an under-appreciated part of the car hobby, as they are seemingly the perfect accessory to your collector car or project while also serving a practical use as a transporter for said vehicle. This 1969 Dodge L600 COE appears to be a one-off with a fully-enclosed transporter bed that should accommodate a vintage track car or hotrod nicely. Find it here on craigslist with a $12,000 asking price. 

This rig has a few things going for it beyond the novelty factor. COEs are hot right now, with nicely preserved (or even slightly ratty) examples commanding a fair price. The paint job doesn’t match from one side to the other, but what’s visible doesn’t appear too rusty. I would like more pictures of the cargo bay, to see how road-ready it is to safely transport a vintage car or truck.

The interior presents well and it’s a sleeper cab to boot. The truck has plenty of heavy-duty features, including: “…2K winch, 361 vV8 big block doge industrial (motor), 5 speed stick with two speed diff.” The cab corners don’t appear rusted, nor do the areas where water tends to pool in the footwells of this COE trucks.

Pardon my potential stupidity, but could this be a swing-out engine hoist? If the answer is more obvious, don’t shame me too much. While this car transporter may be a one-off custom, the sleeper cab and decent looks make this Dodge L600 an intriguing buy if it’s not a total basketcase inside – and for the asking price, I hope it isn’t. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Andreas for the find.

Comments

  1. HoA Howard A Member

    I’d have to say this is the coolest use of an A series cab. It looks like it was really well done, for it’s time. That is a swing out hoist and I bet someone put the miles on this thing. I like the slip ” 361 doge motor”. The 361 was kind of a dog, but probably did alright. Being a drag racer, I’m sure it wasn’t stock. Certainly needs updating. Make a better motorhome, really.

    Like 4
    • BR

      Howard, which 361 engine are you referring to? One of them was a bullet proof truck engine you know.

      Like 3
  2. geomechs geomechs Member

    There is kind of a revival for COE trucks. For what they can sometimes be obtained for, plus a little imagination, they can be turned into a very handy conveyance, plus provide some entertainment. And, Howard, I sure do agree with you on the 361 being a dog. They sure weren’t a speed demon, but they got the job done…

    Like 25
    • Cattoo

      Now that is a nice looking RV. Look at all that glass. Wouldn’t feel as if one was sitting in a box peeping out especially when out somewhere with a fantastic view to take in.

      Like 5
      • geomechs geomechs Member

        That unit caught a lot of attention. I understand that the owner bought it about half done and finished it himself. I wanted to talk with him a little more but I was being summoned by my better half who apparently had an appointment to make, or at the very least, wasn’t interested in talking about trucks…

        Like 8
    • Peter K

      those upper glass windows would surely make the insides like a hot box in the summer

      Like 2
      • geomechs geomechs Member

        I sure agree. But I see that there are a lot of vents so all that glass was probably taken into consideration. Definitely want to find a campsite with lots of shade just the same…

        Like 2
  3. Tort Member

    Great idea to repurpose a COE. For mileage and reliably a Cummins under the cab would really make this a hauler.

    Like 6
    • BR

      The L700’s were available from the factory with Cummins power.

      Like 2
  4. Jimmy

    Pretty cool, looks like the owner cleaned up and painted one side and then lost interest and didn’t do the other side, decided to sell instead.

    Like 1
  5. Ike Onick

    I would drive it with the cab in the position shown.

    Like 5
  6. BR

    Where do you get sleeper cab? The L series never had a sleeper, and the 361RB gas pot was a bullet proof truck engine.

    Like 2
    • Shaggin’ Wagon

      I was thinking the same thing on the sleeper cab. I wonder if they put in a sliding window in the cab to access the rear box? Looks like there is an opening visible and maybe some attempt to make a seal with the cab around it. But, I can’t see it too well on my phone.

      Like 0
  7. chrlsful

    too small for a sleeper?
    I’m thinkin 3/4 of the back is where U drive in the vehicle. U got 1/4 for tools’n such toward the front. May B he has a loft over that 1/4 to crawl frm the cab back into the sleep loft?

    Like 0
  8. Rock On

    Maybe you just sleep in the back beside your race car.

    Like 3
  9. KevinLee

    The paint isn’t the only thing that doesn’t match from one side to the other, neither does the siding, one side corrugated, one side flat.

    Like 3
  10. stillrunners

    cool it survived…… and I thought Tommy Ivo had one similar..

    Like 1
  11. Del

    At first I went past this as uninteresting.

    I came back. The trucks interior looks great. Its is the Sportsman trim.

    The motor will be great. The car hauler part looks amateur build.

    I would offer 5000 and get rid of the car hauler junk. Replace it with a flat deck hauler.

    These COEs are rare and cool.

    Like 2
  12. Philip

    I worked on some Ford COE’s in HS, being from farm country. They weren’t sleepers, but had a shelf behind the seats where the owners would put stuff, sometimes heavy. First thing the shop foreman told me was to be sure there wasn’t anything on that shelf when you lifted the cab.

    Like 5
  13. Robert M

    Price has been lowered, still available!

    Like 0

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