Another day, another tempting cabover project. This time, it’s a 1968 Ford C600 that was used as a sheep truck until its retirement in the dusty confines of a New Mexico barn yard. Before that, it hauled refreshing bottles of delicious, high fructose soda pop to millions of consumers everywhere, as evidenced by the remains of the iconic brand colors on the cab doors and rear section; the nose is clearly a used replacement, as the flat face undoubtedly made itself a target for unintended contact around the farm. Regardless of the history, does anyone else envision a rat rod soda hauler in their future? Find the Ford here on eBay with a Buy-It-Now of $2,000 and the option to submit a best offer.

Over the years, we’ve seen various trucks come up for grabs that used to do heavy hauling for Coca-Cola. It’s amazing how many have survived with some or all of the original paint and stripe intact, which seemingly suggests that once they got into private hands, the owners saw some value in preserving the history. For a truck like this to end up hauling sheep on a farm and not have the owner just spray paint over the faded graphics, that’s saying something about the significance an ex-corporate hauler holds for some people. Of course, yesterday’s cabover entry was a former Allied Van Lines truck still wearing its brand-specific orange paint, so it’s not limited to formerly Coke-owned vehicles.

Now, what’s interesting is the yellow paint on the door jambs and the inside panels (you can also see yellow paint in the wheel wells, too). One thing I’ve never been clear on is whether companies like Coke bought brand new trucks in any color scheme and simply painted over the exterior, or if they were able to call the manufacturer up and ask that the trucks be shipped in white to make re-painting easier. I suspect at the time, it wasn’t quite like it is now and even large brands like Coke just bought what was on the dealer’s lot and then repainted them in an in-house bodyshop. In this case, I doubt highly that the owner of a yellow COE decided to paint his truck as a tribute to the Coca-Cola company.

The seller mentions that the stake bed used for keeping the sheep in place will be disposed of prior to sale, but it’s unfortunate he doesn’t know where the original box compartment went when it was still hauling soda. As you can see from this photo of a retired transport truck, the rear configuration is fairly novel and likely hard to track down. The seller notes this Ford is powered by a 330 engine, that is closely related to the 390 and 428, and distinguished in the parts books as being the “Industrial” model. Parts availability is still said to be generally good, but finding the door glass may prove challenging. Would you restore this COE back to its in-service appearance or leave it as-is to build a Coca-Cola rat rod?