So I may possibly be saving a 1939-1947 Dodge dually from the scrap yard.... Coworker was telling me about how his dad had died and they are trying to clean the place up I asked if there where any old mopars or old tools, cool old stuff. He said they have an old farm truck they where going to scrap. I asked more questions and he showed me a picture of the truck with his son standing in front of it. He is going to get more photos/info but from the one picture I saw, the truck for sure is a 39-47 body style. I have always loved that body style and in the picture it looks in pretty decent shape. He will be taking more photos and getting more info about it. He said they were going to scrap it so I told him not to be hasty and that I wanted to save it My hope is to save it and get it driving again. He did say it was a dually so I am thinking it was either a 1 1/2 ton or a 2 ton.... I have looked around but have not really seen any parts resources or info on these trucks as all I find is usually the 1/2 ton trucks but not much info... Anybody have any good resources for parts/ forums to read up on these cool old trucks?

http://39-47dodgetrucks.com/
http://restorationpartssource.com/store/Dodge%20Truck_1930_1939_Sheet_Metal_and_Body_Parts.htm
]
It's really not worth more than scrap which I believe is $220 a ton. The truck probably weighs about 3800 lb. Stress that you want to put it back on the road. Tug on their heartstrings. Don't be specific if you aren't contemplating restoration.

Get a bill of sale from the estate. Get the title if it is available. Get the Executor to sign over the title and get the title into your name. If you can do these things it'll be much easier to license it.

R.

I'd like to be in the world dogdays lives in! Where I live, the cabs alone bring $500, if it still resembles a truck cab, and paper work and still having floors and doors easily doubles that amount. The hood & grill bring pretty good money as well, if they are decent. Big truck fenders are not very valuable, and the chassis isn't worth much either. Its probably worth more in pieces then it is complete.

If you can buy it for, or near scrap value, you will come out ahead unless its pure junk. Its not worth $3,000- $4,000 unless its really nice, and nearly drivable. If you can get a title for it, that nearly doubles the value, and make it many more times easier to sell, and much faster to be driving.

If your not in love with it being a 1 1/2 ton or bigger truck, the cab is the same as the cab off a 1/2 ton, and they fit pretty well on a Dakota chassis, modern 1 ton full size trucks with dual wheels are a bit wide for the old cabs.

It will be interesting to read the link provided above.

There is not a lot of published info on any Dodge truck bigger then a 1 ton, of any model year. Gene

Wish I had bought mine from you.. value really depends on what it is, WC, WF, WFA, and how complete it is.. Windshield frames are hard to find in usable condition so a good windshield frame increases its value without knowing it's condition MHO would be WC---$1500.00 to $2500.00 in decent condition. WF/WFA------$700.00 to $1500.00.... again in decent condition.. if it is a rust bucket then the scrap price would be appropriate..

Well I do know for sure it is a civilian model... I know a bit about vintage dodge military trucks from the same vintage so I believe it is not a WC (weapons carrier) although I wish it was The truck is a red cab and black fender paint scheme which appears original. I will hopefully get some more pictures soon and then I can post them... I hope to look at the truck soon but I also want to be respectful of them as the death was within the past month. I will keep you posted. Here in Oregon we do have a few of these dually flat bed trucks because of the amount of agriculture this state does. I alway enjoy driving in the country looking for old farm trucks

So I talked to my co worker again and was able to get some pictures... He could not find a vin tag on the truck but hopefully these pictures can help us identify the year. I will be going to see it in a few weeks... Looks pretty solid from the pictures! Farm fresh and full of hornet nests in the door jambs and plenty of black berry bushes
Can you guys shed any light on what model/year this is?? It has a cool radio in it below the dash that he showed me but he did not send me the picture

According to the book "Dodge Pickups history and restoration guide" the chrome grill with the straight horizontal grill bars makes it either a 40 or a 41. The horizontal grill bars first appeared in the 40 model year, and the chrome was not available after the end of the 1941 model production due to the war, and the chrome did not return after the war.

1 1/2 ton civilian trucks were available through 1942, and again in 1944 and 1945 in limited numbers and resumed full production in 1946. !947 truck production was stopped early because of and industry steel shortage. Supposedly no civilian trucks were available in 1943.

Of course, all of this is assuming the chrome on the grill is original to the truck, which could be a big assumption. Gene

Highest sold price for a field truck I have found is $2500 for a complete wrecker. People actually collect wreckers.
Here is a PAIR of trucks for $1300.
http://www.ksl.com/classifieds/listing/41605623

My scrap price estimate isn't so far from that. The non-military trucks aren't that valuable. If it doesn't have a bed it is even less valuable as a truck. Converting it into a pickup is the first thing I think of, and depending on the state and the humor of your local MVD person it may be difficult to switch the vehicle from a 1 1/2 ton to a half ton.

The truck is actually worth negative dollars, because you'll put more into it than you could ever sell it for. I own roughly a dozen vehicles that are in that same category.

More VIN information: http://forums.aaca.org/topic/69772-vin-decode-think-its-a-41/


R.

I am fairly certain that it is all original including the sweet fabbed push bumper up front. I will be going to see it in a few weeks and hope to find the vin tag then and maybe I can find more answers then. I know this truck could possibly be negative equity if it was fully restored but all I am looking to do is lovingly preserve the left over paint and make it road worthy then. My coworker said the cab and floors are very rust free and if this is the case I could just fix the problems with the truck to make it road worthy! I have always liked this body style and would not be afraid to drive it with such luxuries as am radio and heat I am wondering what top speed on this would be with a 2 speed rear end?As far as the grille I believe this truck has been in this family since it was new or fairly new so I would find it hard to believe it was swapped on early in its life. I did see pictures of the radio and it is chrome so I would imagine it was done to tie into the chrome inside the truck and the chrome emblems outside. What can I say, i am a sucker for old dodge trucks I am still trying to figure out a price but from my conversations with my co-worker I believe I can get this truck for well below $500 which seems worth it to me!

As I read the book, the chrome grill was standard equipment, but the chrome headlights were an option.
Nothing is to say someone added the chrome grill and headlights early in life because they really improved the appearance of the trucks over the painted pieces. Adding the chrome would have been a pretty east bolt on upgrade, especially if the parts would have been pretty easy to come by.

The serial numbers are on a tag on the driver side door post (cowl), and there should be a data plate screwed to the firewall under the hood. The motor also has numbers, and several states issues titles by the motor numbers rather then the serial number. Also keep in mind, some stated titled a truck by the date it was sold, not by the date it was manufactured, that probably wouldn't have been an issue during the war, but it sure showed up in the late 40s and through the 50s.

I gave $500 for rusty sheet metal, no frame, no motor, nothing but sheet metal, and then it was even missing the fenders! Here in IL, that would be an easy $1000 truck, and I'd turn it into a pickup in a heartbeat.

Even with a 2 speed rear end, top speed was likely in the 50-55 mph range. The 2 speed rear end was to reduce the gearing to get a heavy load moving. Though the brakes were probably among the best in the industry for trucks at that time, they really suck by today's standards.
Good luck with the truck. keep us posted. Gene

Thanks for the help Gene! I will keep you guys posted on the truck. I already told my co-worker I want the truck and now we are figuring logistics of getting it back to my house from the farm. I am thinking a heavy duty truck and a flat bed trailer could haul it! It is about an hour away and has 6 flat tires I will be posting more info as I get it. Thanks for all the help you guys have been! I know tons about the newer 72-80 trucks but am pretty lost when it comes to production dates and number on the old stuff!

Well, $500 is a really fair price so since you want to do it, go for it. The drivetrain is about bulletproof except for the engine, but it shouldn't be hard at all to find parts for the old flathead 6. They were in use into the '70s here and there but in passenger cars they stopped in '59 or '60.

Don't expect to find any synchronizers in the transmission, it'll be a crashbox and you'll need to learn double-clutching to shift down.

The two speed rear would be something like 7.17/5.83. At 4000 rpm that six will sound like it's going to fly out of the engine compartment. You can figure out speed from tire size, gear ratio and 4000 rpm.

One of my first vehicles was a 1933 Ford 1 1/2 ton with no bed. I drove it around but never did license it. The ride was pretty rough, the rear end bounced around like mad. I had to sell it during a cash crisis.

Good luck and I hope you can find some low cost tires!

R.

Once I get the truck i will try to find the necessary parts for it... I am wondering if napa stocks stuff this old as I can get pretty good discounts through my local store I am such a frequent flyer they know me by my first name As far as the double clutching, i knew i had to do that as I did ride in a vintage truck of the same era but another brand and know they did not have synchros back then. I was a commercial tire technician so mounting tires on those split rims is not intimidating although I am curious if any one knows what size they are stock?? There are tire stores around here that sell used tires so I should be able to scrounge something up. If I had my druthers I would put some repop coker tires on it for the old school look but they are kinda expensive at the moment but in the future I would be able to do something. I know it will not ride or drive like a new vehicle but I am pretty hard core in terms of my appreciation of old vehicles so I am well aware this will have different road manners. I am mostly looking at this to be able to haul lumber, big items, home improvement items home all of which are local so I think this should work pretty well!

Something that complete, or solid,
if you can call it that,
would be well over a grand here in northern rust belt U.S.A.
Scrap price is not even a concern for this type truck here.
There are several around, but the tin worm has rendered them useless.
There seems to be an up-welling of just this type of truck.
Most are being turned into over sized "Rat Rodz", with s.b.c.'s for motors...
I would be putting it on a Dakota frame,
if I could find one,
just for fun.
Just getting to use it would be supper-kool for me.

If you do get it I may have some gauges/instruments for it... If needed..

I agreed on a $500 price for it... now I just need to offload a few extra car parts to finance the purchase and this girl will be home with me I will be keeping it together for the time being but will probably not start on it right away as my duster has been getting put off for way to long... Mopar2DBone I will look at the gauges when I get it and if I need some I will holler at you!

Tires are most likely going to be 7.50 x 20.

They might also originally be 6.50-20 which would make them less expensive. But you're looking at $200+ per tire.

Here's a picture from a similar Dodge truck being gone through.

http://imageevent.com/dad2nick/1947wf31 Here's some inspiration.

R.

That is pretty much exactly what I want to do to this truck.... Just fix what needs to be fixed and preserve the rest... It is not perfect but could benefit from some love and care! I can imagine there are not to many left out there. I just spent 45 minutes looking through that thread and that guy did a fantastic job on that truck and really documented everything well! Really had some good pictures that I am sure will come in handy! I will keep you guys posted as to how things go!