Picked this up a couple months ago and trying to find some history on it. Calif registration shows first sold 2016, obviously not correct. maybe from another state, but possibly out off registration so long it went off record in Calif. '57 392 Hemi, 727 trans, 8 3/4" Mopar rear. Looks like a build from the 50's or 60's. Registered as a '28 Dodge, but I suspect it's actually a '30. No rust on it so it may be a Calif or Arizona car. Frame is boxed and the welding is excellent. Looks like the person who built it knew what he was doing. It also hits me that whoever was building it passed away or had to get rid of it. Stuff that would be needed to make it run does not match the earlier work and may be stuff scrounged from boneyards. At one point there was a frame mounted alt or generator driven by a pulley on the 727 tailshaft. Was purple at one time and the headers were once painted gold (Don't look at me. I didn't do that). Construction of the motor mounts and trans cross member point at it being hemi and 727 since it became a "project." The Weiand 2x4 and Donovan covers are probably a much later install. Not looking to sell it, just trying to find its history
It used to be a 1931 Dodge Brothers truck at one time. Maybe a pickup. Here is a bigger one. Notice the cowl vent detail. The passenger car had them on the sides in 1930 and two on the top in 1931.
31Dodger I believe you're correct. I was able to find a picture of a '31 Dodge 1/2 ton and it appears to have the same cab. It looks like the '30 still had a small visor over the windshield and possibly a 5 window cab with the 2 extra windows tall and narrow behind the doors. The top also looks right on the '31. Somehow, I think that trying to change it to a '31 would be opening up a whole new can of worms. That pretty much clears up the year, now I'm still looking to find who built it and when. If it's any clue, the registration showing it first sold in 2016 is a mobile home park in Bakersfield.
I'd guess it's a more recent build than a 50's or 60's build (unless it started as that and was severely updated). What era does the dash/gauges look like? I'd guess that the builder (at least the last one) was not necessarily a Hot Rodder. Maybe a Trucker, that knew how to fab and weld but didn't have much Hot Rod design sense what with all that diamond plate, running boards, 18 wheeler clearance light tail lights and grille design. What does the name on the grille emblem say? Possibly a clue. The car for sure has THE engine! IMHO, the car would look great with all the diamond plate removed, period correct grille and tire/wheel swap. Where's Moose for a photoshop?...
I agree, that doesn't look like something built in the 50's or 60's. The engine is the only thing that looks older than a few years old to me. I think the registration date is probably correct. My 2¢
What parts of it lead you to believe that it is a 50's or 60's build? I don't see anything obvious that makes me think it wasn't first finished/sold in 2016. Cool engine, and cab/bodywork looks real good, they did a nice job with that roof when I'm sure the easy way would have been to just fill it in, I like that detail. But I would agree with Hot Rods Ta Hell, the truck would benefit greatly from some re-detailing.
I may have turned up the owner who first registered it in 2016. Matter of getting a bit more info on him. The dash panel is not original. There were cheap gauges for water temp, oil pressure, and fuel installed along with an 80 mph Stewart Warner speedo that was never hooked up. The grille emblem was an old, small Dodge Bros. emblem that was passenger car from the mid 20's and it was epoxied on. Way too small for the grill. The linkage on the carbs was installed by someone with no clue. Despite that, the Hemi runs great. The trans has problems and that's next on my list. My welder, who primarily build trophy trucks now, has some background in hot rodding and he feels the suspension set up and welding style is early. He also feels the headers are a clue to that. They've been fabbed from pieces and anything in the last 30 years would have been mandrel bent. The truck really looks like it was built in two stages. First, by someone with a plan. Second, by someone getting it running. How far apart those two things were is an unknown.
The 1931 DB passenger car emblems are like these two. The blue one for the 6 cylinder and the blue and gold for the 8 cylinder car.
The Jalopy Journal
