Thinking of buying this and using my dakota extra can 318 magnum donor for it. I could do a lot with this.

anyone here build one?


RUMBLON

Anyone know if these rigs came in 1/2 3/4 and one ton and what these may be? Im trying to find the wheelbase but can only find 1/2 ton at 116 inches?

RUMBLON

My book lists a 1/2 ton as 116" wheel base. 3/4 ton as 120" wheel base, and a 1 ton as a 136" wheel base. There is also mention of a 1 1/2 ton panel, but does not give any specs. The book says the grill and grill surround were the primary differences between the 1936 through 1938 panels, and light duty trucks. Gene

Here's a link to someone who "restored" one.

http://1937dodge.blogspot.com/

According to his tag breakdown it's a 1/2 ton 116 wheelbase.

buy it ! those are not as rare as the 33-[halve year] 35 suicide door trucks, but still very rare. buy the one next to it too ! i love humpbacks ! just don't take as long as me to get it done.......

I read that as well and these look longer and heavier than a half ton. To me the the rear cab looks longer than the half ton pics I see on line. I am in email conversation with the guy. The rigs are many hours from me. Hes asking $5500 for the pair.

I am waiting for pics.and wheel base measurements. However, no titles.

any idea what the heavier ones weigh?

RUMBLON

Dunno what it is like in ID, but I run from no title vehicles. Too much can go wrong and the costs to do the paperwork too much, imo.

I didn't know there were any Dodge humpbacks left to be resurrected! They were so hot in the '70s.

Both states with which I am familiar have a bonded title program. It is necessary to get a bill of sale from the seller, I'd suggest getting it notarized. Get his name, address and driver's license number at minimum.

It really helps if you can find a VIN or serial number or whatever the manufacturer was using at the time.

Then you take all this plus a few hundred dollars to the MVD and be patient. Bonded title FAQs are all over the internet.

Generally I tend to agree with Supercuda about the titles, although the requirements (hassles) and costs can vary greatly from state to state. Here in Arizona it's not too bad and if it were here and I was interested in it it would not necessarily be a show stopper.


"....It really helps if you can find a VIN or serial number or whatever the manufacturer was using at the time....."


If it's still there there should be a tag on the firewall (drivers side) with the body number. The main VIN is hand stamped at the very front of outside the drivers side frame rail (forward of the front tire. As I recall those numbers should match. I personally would run the numbers thru DMV prior to parting with any money.

I would also get the engine serial number (stamped on boss on left side of block between 1 and 2 cylinders) assuming it still has an engine in it and run that thru DMV to. The reason for that is that many states titled the vehicles by the engine number instead of the body numbers.

As soon as the truck is in your possession I would get it and/or the paper work to DMV and get a good title in your name before spending another dime or putting a single new part on it.

Ok, so I have some more info now. Title aside, what do you guys think of the rigs. The issue is tat they are both one tons and that means 136 inch wheelbase. S o they are not the shorter 1/2 mods. I am guessing the 1/2 tons are more desirable? Next I would need a few parts and I am GUESSING that they would be hard to find in the one ton variety.

The seller says that the better one is the 37 which is the complete one. However it has no engine or trans, and I need an engine/trans in Idaho to get a title.

The 37 is missing the front bumper, comes with extra front fenders, extra hoods ect.

The 36 is missing the rear fenders and the rear bumper. I am guessing to complete it, I would need one ton rear fenders or are they the same as lighter trucks? ANY IDEAS?

In all honestly I may be better off buying the set and trying to put the second one together as a more complete rig to sell it and try and offset my buying price. That is if there is enough people out there looking for suck a rig. I would hope to buy both, get idaho titles on both and sell the lesser one. THATS A LOT OF HOPING however.

I honestly appreciate the opinions of the guys on here and appreciate any input. Also where is Ron on this issue. I need your advise.

RUMBLON

MORE PICS Shows some rust on the bottom edge. Guys says the floors are all wood, I didnt know that.

I ran thru the bonded title circus last summer. There are certain DMV offices that handle that out here, closest one was 1.5 hours away, no one knew what they were doing and I ended up paying for an appraisal that I didn't need, appraiser (used car lot) told me I didn't need it as the law had changed but the DMV said I did, returned paperwork from DMV said "not needed". I suppose I could have paid even more for one of those places that do this kind of stuff for you, but geez it was already too much just for the DMV fees, I essentially did a mail order bonded title, lots of fun. You couldn't pay me to do it again.

But if I ever was dumb enough to do it again I can guarantee the purchase price I'd be willing to pay for your "all it needs is a bonded title, it's easy" vehicle will be no more than half of what you want for it and likely much less than that. If it's so easy, you get it and sign it over to me when you do.

The process for a bonded title here in IL is not so bad, if you have a friend that is a licensed auto dealer registered to sell used cars here in IL, and a friend that can run the numbers through the police data base before parting with your money.

If the panel was ever sold with a lean against it, you will have to seek out that lean holder and have then sign off on it, and if it was ever reported as stolen, it goes back to the person it was stolen from, or their insurance company.

If there is no serial number or motor number, you can't get a bonded title, at least in IL.

Any of the above circumstances exist, they are reason enough to leave the panels stay where they are sitting.

The 1 ton trucks were pretty big, 9' long behind the driver seat, not nearly as desirable as a 1/2 ton, or a 3/4 ton. Definitely wood floors behind the driver seat, can't say about the rest of it. From the hump forward, they are standard pickup ware of the same year, from the hump rearward is humpback specific parts, including the rear fenders (but probably fit several years). The frames are the heavy duty commercial version, rather then the car or light duty pickup. Gene

Relatively speaking the Idaho title process doesn't sound overly expensive or horrible.

https://itd.idaho.gov/dmv/vehicleservices/documents/conditional_titles.pdf


That being said, you can always expect to run into an employee who is not familiar with the process and that gathering the required paperwork/inspections will take longer than expected.

The only thing that would concern me about the 37 is if you are correct about it having to have an engine to get a title for it. I personally would not put any additional labor or parts into it until I had a clear title in my name. Of course I would not be above throwing any old junk engine in the back of it and telling them it will be going in the truck when I build it if I could get away with it

I dunno, the conditional title requirements, which would seem to apply here, look to be tedious to say the least.

All it takes is for the titled owner to say "hey I want my vehicle back" and you are out your $5000, or for him to say "I want $5000, too" and you are out $5000, either another $5000 to pay off the owner or the original $5000 you spent to "buy" them to begin with.


Which is why I run from this problem.

It looks to me like if a serial number is present, the process is neither overwhelming nor expensive. There is a 3 year limit anyone can claim the panel belongs to them, and they will have to prove that it belongs to them. If no claims have been made within the 3 years, the new paper work is binding.
Id start out with having the serial number/vin search done. If that comes up clean, buy the truck ($5,000 is a lot of money for something without a title and has stuff missing), and start the process. once the paper work process has been started, start on the build, it will probably take almost 3 years to build the thing. Register the thing after it is road worthy, and as soon as the time limitation has been met, get the branding off the title. 3 years goes by quicker then you think. Gene

having to hunt down the titled owner, send certified letters for release and even then if the titled owner wanted to they could take it back, or demand money to release it, etc all make me nervous about plopping down any cash to begin with. Especially $5k worth of cash.

I suppose one could get the release before paying for it. Then you'd be ok, aside from the legwork.

What about a special construction or street rod title for a vehicle being built from parts? Which It will be when you are done,new engine,possibly frame and salvaging only the body. RT

Just do it the easy way and go to a rod show and buy a title.No hassles and most rod guys could care less.

That approach works OK until you get caught up in some small town speed trap and they start looking for a vin/serial number that matches the numbers on the license registration. They can throw you into their crow bar hotel and impound your ride until they think its OK to release your ride, which may never happen.

The deal is, most states only keep records back 7 - 10 years, except for stolen vehicles. The odds of finding the original owner are pretty slim. If there is a company name on the panel, you may want to start looking there. Its possible a company may still have the original title, and the whole deal might solved pretty easy. If you can get the original title, you can go to the seller and get your truck!

If the state can't identify the last registered owner, it will revert back to whoever signed the bill of sale receipt. That was probably the guy that happened to have been given the panel from his great uncle Ed that passed away back in ????. You would be required to send the registered letter to his uncle Ed, who is now dead, so the registered letter comes back as undelivered, which meets the state requirements. You have done so with good faith.

In the unlikely event, someone shows up at the DMV with an original state issued paper title that matches the serial number on the panel, in their name, within 3 years, there will probably be an issue, but the value of the panel will be whatever it was appraised at when you started the project. The reality is, if you buy something with a state issue title, and someone shows up with a title dated earlier then the one you have, you will also have some issues to deal with. You can buy a surety bond to protect yourself, and do a Bonded title, if you are really concerned. A bonded title has some degree of protection. Gene

Gene posts some cogent things, I guess it boils down to me having 13 letters in my last name and figuring the way my luck goes I'll lose the truck and be out the $5k too, which I can't afford.

Call me superstitious.

another option could be a "mechanics lien", or a "storage fee lien". you can, if you have a repair business, in some states request title for something left at your property and no fees have been paid over ??? time period. that takes some time, and advertising in local media outlets, then the courts award you ownership due to unpaid bills or storage fees. a local body shop does that year round because people break down, then leave behind all kinds of vehicles and items, then never return to pay the tow bill or repair and/or storage fees. perhaps that route may be a viable action ? would depend on the laws of your state however.

I came across a couple more links that might help you.

http://www.usri.org/legislation/

http://www.usri.org/Legislation/ID_titling.htm


Keep in mind that state laws vary (sometimes a LOT) so the best place to start is going to be the state DMV web site and the DMV you will be working thru.


Gene’s post pretty much explains the process. From firsthand experience I can tell you the waiting for the paperwork to go back and forth and wind its way thru the system can be a huge PIA (as I said states vary but here in AZ it can take 3-6 months to get everything done and finally get a clear title in hand).


Whatever you end up doing, do it legally and jump thru the necessary hoops. Also avoid the temptation to get started on it while you are waiting on the paperwork. In the unlikely event that a legal owner comes forward to claim the truck it will go away with any of the parts that are bolted to (it won’t matter if you have a receipt for the engine and transmission that you bolted in the truck it is now part of the vehicle and will go away with it).

If it was me (which it’s not) and I was interested in building one of these I would start with a title search and see where that goes. If problems don’t turn up there I would likely pull the trigger…… realizing that there is a slight chance while going thru the title process that I might end up being out my original purchase price.

Dave Yes the shorter 1/2 tons are worth more and are more sought after. but these are cool and have a lot more room inside.
I like them all and they are getting SOOOO hard to find these days.

I had my 36 humpback for over 12 years and drove it cross country and put over 130,000 miles on it, drove it every where and even towed the chopped van to the races

don't let them get away... Ron...

also Big Red was made from a very rough 34 humpback

see a 1 ton can look cool too.

the red one looks to be sectioned through the middle
and has a custom grill...

i agree with ron. humpbacks are something that should be tried to be saved if at all possible. those two are a LOT[he, he, i mean TON -get it ? ] better than what i started with. as to the paper work issue, all i got with mine was a bill of sale because south carolina was a no title state back in 73-74 for the old "junkers". it takes hoops to be jumped through to be sure, but sometimes it's well worth it due to the rarity of the beast.

Dave as far as the title goes.
I haven't registered one recently here in CA.
cars go out of the system after 7 years.
and I don't know if anything has changed but,
the last 2 we registered all we had to do was
show a bill of sale saying that the cars were
on the sellers property for like 30-40 years
and have not been on any CA streets.

they will get the paper work going and you will need to
get the VIN verified
by DMV
or AAA(if you have it)
or a law enforcement officer.

and because they are trucks they will need to go and get
a weight slip,
to get the paper work finished.

I hope nothing has changed I have like 6-7 cars(trucks) to get titled
.

I would check with DMV where you live
it might be easier than you think. Ron...

I have done some checking and here you have to have an engine in the engine bay before they will even look at it. Then it can take months. Probably not impossible but Im a little worried about spending cash and not getting them titles. If I were in Nevada still, it would be $125 each and a title in two weeks.

RUMBLON

All I have to add is, I hope you can save these trucks.
I know a title can be a problem. Been there.
73 Harley.

Glad I took the time to clear it up.

Also have to say, Ron your work tickles me.
It's guys like you that got me interested in customs.
The chopped van? Just plain KOOL!

Hopefully some day I will get my hands on something older than the 60's stuff I have so far.

Sadly I didnt buy them. The whole title thing is this state is tougher than Nevada, where I get a title easily.

Im probably picking up a 39 plymouth coupe I posted on recently.

Here's a nice one from our 2014 Car Show..

where???

At the car show!

Maybe this one?????

Ron, what is lurking in the corner?

Could it be?

[img:center]https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t...amp;oe=582E9CBE[/img]

The picture is from this thread

http://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=457950&page=297

wow good eye, I can't even place where that is(maybe lancaster dragstrip?)or (car craft nats in Syracuse NY)
but it sure looks like my old humpback with motor wheels...

Wish I never sold my '36...

nice humpback !

Thanks. It is one of the 3 or 4 cars I regret selling (out of about 50).

i noticed those pics were several years old. i wonder what the truck looks like now ? any more, you don't get much for 17k, let alone trying to build something from scratch unless you have very good fab skills and lots of parts stashed. i know this well.

I WANT IT!!!!! Somebody want to buy it for me? LOL

That's It!!!!! Thanks Ron.....

I saw that at Carlisle a few years ago.

As magazine pretty as they come.

Kevin