Features 1948-1960 Dodge/Fargo/DeSoto Truck only picture thread.

Thanks alot Gene, Steve, and Joel! I went over to see the owner yesterday to ask if he would sell it. He said yes and we agreed on a price. He is currently building a hemi powered T and he said he wants the drive shaft off of the truck to use on his project. He is in the process of junking a lot of old cars and he said he should be able to get to it by the weekend. Hopefully there will be a new old Dodge in my yard by next week! Thanks again for helping me get an idea of a good price on the truck.

I didn't take a good look at the windshield but I glanced inside the cab to look at the seats and I don't recall the windshield being broke, hopefully it's in good shape!

 

Anyone have additional info on this? Was it just a rendering or did someone build it?

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come on guys, keep posting, this is an awesome thread.

 

Ive been trying to find the back gound on that Dodge 57ish royal/sweptside custom its trick! I also wana know more but coming up empty handed...

 

I want too know more as well...it's awesome! Someone needs to build it.

 

This place needs some activity! here are some from a scottsdale cruise in I went to last night and last weekend. Mines in the back


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Last night I was also having a conversation with A guy at a cruise in and we started talking about 57's and he made the statement that "57's were the last year in these trucks with the Single headlights" and I had to correct him that 58 was, and he didnt believe me and I have run into this before talking to people so maybe I should shed some light on the matter....58 WAS the last year with single headlights on the Dodge trucks a very few EARLY 58's were made with single headlights but the rest of the truck was a standard 58 as most of us know them I have seen a very few examples of these trucks in person and they are on the internet and are still very rare and hard to find but these are NOT customs these are factorys and for those of you that do not know what im talking about here is a picture of a local truck Here in PHX that I see all the time and when I talked to the owner of the truck he thought all 58's were single headlights and was not aware of the rarity of his truck...


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Here is a kina famous local 60 Dodge located in the ghost town of Jerome, AZ It seams everytime I watch travel channel this yellow dodge is on tv, shown inside a underground garage in a town thats built on cliffs.


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Am I the only Dodge truck guy left?! Come on post some cool pictures. Heres one I posted in the T-shirt Thread but it didn't seam to get much love over there but I think you guys might appreciate It more... I used to were the shirt every car show but it was a medium and I gained a little weight, so now its on display. I cant find another one anywhere though!


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Carl Casper is in a couple weeks here in kentuckiana, & I will be taking pictures, & in a couple months, the Friday & Saturday local car shows will be starting up again.

 

Your not the only one left!! I have a little dedication to mine as well.

 

One I tried to buy but of course not for sale....has a hemi in it as well

 

This is my 52 that terrag showed a picture of earlier. It has a 241 hemi, torqueflite trans, torsion bar front end, and 8 3/4" rear end. I drive it almost every day and would really like to paint it.

 

Still a lot of truck guys here, but we can't post something we don't have.

About the headlight deal, 58 was the first year ever for the smaller dual headlights. Few know that back in the 50s & 60, several components on cars and trucks were under the control of the state and federal government. Things like headlight and tail light like, location, and quantity were limited by laws. Auto designers had to have the government modify the laws in order to change these things. They likely had to prove the new stuff was as good or better then the old stuff. 9its still that way today to some extent). If the government was moving too slow for production time, sometimes car companies had to make quick temporary or permanent adjustments. It was also possible to get the federal government to agree to something, but many states still were able to control what was sold within their borders, so they had to get each states approval as well as the fed approval.

Mopar added the dual headlight system to a lot of production vehicles in 58. I suspect the approval was a little late for the new model kickoff, at least in some states, so vehicles like the example of the single headlight trucks were sold. Since the single headlight production was only on early model year trucks, it would indicate the approval of the dual headlight system finally came through. I believe I remember reading some 57 cars were designed for the dual headlights but had to have parking or turn lights replace the 2nd headlight for the production year. Chrysler ran into a similar situation in 39 with the square headlights, some stated approved them, and some didn't. In the states that did not approve the square lights, Chrysler had to make a round light conversion kit to install in the 39 cars. Rather then fight that fight, all the 40 model year vehicles came with round headlights.

Leads one to wonder how many one year only vehicles were the result of government intervention, or lack of? Gene

 

Freaking sweat!

I never thought of it that indepth, makes alot of sense. thats pretty cool Info to have on here, this is what makes the HAMB so great.

 

great thread

 

This is my Fargo firetruck which served loyally for decades in my hometown. Thanks to its original Red Ram Hemi it always made it to the fire call before the newer Ford firetruck which the local dept also used.

 

that is cool!!

 

Interesting, I never noticed how the later trucks had a one piece fender/flare where as the old trucks had a two piece design. I always thought they were pretty much identical with a different grill shell.

 

When Dodge/ Fargo went to the one piece windshield in 54, the cab and front sheet metal was all new, few body parts, cab forward, interchange between a 53 and a 54. The windshields changed again in mid 55, so the cabs and doors were different between early 55 and mid 55! Front sheet metal was unchanged from 54 to the 57s came out. Gene

 

I was wondering if anyone knew if a '54 1/4 chassis is the same as the '55+ 1/2's? I have a '54 that is on a Toyota frame, and I am thinking about changing it.

 

Lot easier to come up with a 1st gen Dodge Dakota Chassi.

Do a search here on the hamb as there are several builds using the Dakota Chassi.

 

I agree with the guy above about a Dakota frame.
To answer your question, I believe the frames are the same 48 through 1959. At least they would be useable, there may be minor differences, but the trucks were all new in 60, so that was probably when the frames made any major changes. I suspect 48-59 would be interchangeable as a unit, same size truck to same size truck. Gene

 

I don't claim to be an expert on Dodge frames, but from what I have seen and read, the 54-56 frames should be the same. They differ from 48-53 pilot house frames in that the front frame rails are squeezed in to give a tighter turning radius. That is the only difference I can see comparing my 56 frame to blueprints of the 48-53 frames.

But beware, during that time period Dodge made a lot of changes during model years.

 

What year and model toyota..........?

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. I have a '55/'56 Dodge that is complete. I also have the '54 that is sitting on the Toyota frame. I was contemplating "copying" the '55/'56 frame and building one for the '54.

I knew about the Dakota swaps, but I generally think it is better to modify suspension to an original type frame then modifying a the body to a newer frame. (I got the '54 already modified to the Toyota frame - I didn't do it)

I have a couple pictures of both trucks on page 2 - post#35

I bought the '54 in a weak moment, as it had some sentimental value. A good friend of mine/ mechanical mentor built the truck in '99 and I helped. It was actually built in 1 week - from a complete '54 1ton Dump and a complete '90 Toy Box truck. Including me building the motor. I never got to ride in the truck. He sold it to a friend where it has been sitting since 2000. I got the opportunity to buy it, and now I might have a small amount of buyers remorse.

While we are on the subject, how about some advise on how to proceed with the '54 project.

#1. Keep the Toyota Dually frame, but make it fit better. I would have to take 3" out of the wheelbase. I assuming that the ride quality will suffer more than it already has.
#2. Copy the '55/'56 Frame and do the MII front end
#3. Gasser? - seems to be overdone lately
#4. Just turn it into a Drag truck - and concentrate on doing the '55/'56 wraparound truck the correct way.

 

If you want to make a new frame for your Truck? Then you may want to check out this thread:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=520334&page=23

 

I am looking for a Dodge Route Van...any leads? email me please [email protected]

 

Here's a updated picture of my truck,finally got the running boards back on and some different wheels I borrowed for a show this weekend.

 

Looks good! The wheels are perfect for it.