The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Resources needed for "D" word trucks

I bagged an old mid 40's to early 50's 1/2 ton truck today.. only problem is, it's a D*@GE.

The father in law really digs 'em, so I thought i'd get it and let him have it once it was running.

Ugly as home-made sin, it's like a cross between a Deco truck and a AD truck.. 5 window, gull wing hood.. very boxy looking.

Just checking to see if anybody knows of a resource simular to the stovebolt for these things.

I have always loved my Mopars! '78 Ramcharger, '90 Ramcharger, '96 1/2 ton, and now a '99 1 ton dually....gotta love that V10 power (but not the fuel bill)

This one has a flat head 6 in it, and based on the model number, is either a '51 or '52 according to info i've found on the web.

The tranny is manual on the tree, and has something called "fluid drive" which at first I thought meant automatic, but now I have no idea what it is.

Here's a couple of sites that may be of some help. .......g


1954 restoration

Dodge truck links

39-47 Dodge truck registry

Those old Dodge trucks were a thing of beauty! I always thought that the ones in the late thirties to early forties were very similar to the Chevys, with the big curved fenders etc. The fluid drive thing was a bit different. I think that they were a fluid coupling, designed in the days before torque multiplication was used.

They used a flathead in their cars and trucks for many many years. I think that the truck used them to about 1957.

Chevys in these parts are a dime a dozen, but these D*#GE's are pretty rare here.. this is only the second i've seen (the first was a frame off resto at an ice cream stand).. a point that my father in law brings up often.

I say in responce to his assertion that his new D*#GE is a rarity, "Yea, thats because they're CRAP and all fell apart decades ago!"

But a more accurate assumption is that either there just weren't as many produced, or that in this area, Chevrolet dealerships outnumbered others.. there aren't alot of old F*@DS around here, either.. but there are alot more than D*#GE.

We used the '46 to pull it off the trailor, tossed a chain on its back bumper and wrapped the other end of the chain around the back of the '46. I hopped in the '46, put it in 2nd, and crept forward waiting for the "tug" of the chain tightning.

After about 6 feet, I stopped and yelled, "Hey! Did the chain come off??"

He forgot to put the D*#GE in neutral, and i'd just drug the trailer, truck, AND his '89 2500 Scotsdale 4wd 4 feet thru the grass.

"How's THAT for 60 year old inline 6 Chevrolet power, baby!" I shouted.

"Yea", he said, "that's a strong motor."

Fumblin, Dodge never had a good following in the plains states. There was a Chevy dealer in every town, a Ford dealer in every other town, and a Dodge dealer in the bigger cities.

I have a 52 i am fixin' to start on for my 4 year old son. I asked the same question a few months ago (type in "Imay get banned for this" for the thread). These fellas here really helped me out. Proud to know i am not the only one that feels sorry for these old ugly trucks.

http://woogeroo.home.mindspring.com/autolinks/trucks.html

scroll down to Dodge Truck Parts - a few of those links might lead ya smewhere.

-W

Sounds like your're describing the, 48-53 Dodge B Series Trucks. Alot of people call them "Pilot House" Dodges. I had a 1950 Dodge 2 ton, Holmes Wrecker, a few years ago. Check out, www.pilot-house.com , for more info.

Oh yeah, I also had a 1951 Dodge 2 ton COE, Holmes Wrecker.They were both, neat 'ol trucks, especially the COE. But they were not G.M., so they had to go. You can see them both here, http://community.webshots.com/photo/116208177/116210806xwRdKR , & http://community.webshots.com/photo/116208177/116220066jSMhsx

I have two good buddies that are Dodge boy and they ride me all the time for working on Chevy's but, my comeback is parts are alot cheaper and easier to find!!

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60 Chevy Bel Air
66 Chevy 4x4
68 Chevy "CST"
71 Chevy Monte Carlo
72 Chevy PRO-STREET 4WD Pulling Truck
84 Chevy 4x4

http://merc583.addr.com/cgi-bin/webbbs_ph/webbbs_config.pl?#7528

This is the Dodge site for '48-'54 Pilot House trucks. When I had my '50 Dodge HHA 2-ton truck, this site was invaluable in its help!!!

Pilot House Dodges rule!!!

I really dislike Dodge ANYTHING.. i've never owned one that was a pleasure to work on, or that didn't have that "home made" or "idiot hour" feel about it.

I got this one because the father in law likes 'em, and has wanted one for awhile.. he's just too pratical of a man to justify getting one, so I got one for him.

Today I took the starter and battery cables off. What should have been a 30 minute procedure turned into close to two hours.

You can't put a wrench on the bolts holding the starter on and turn it more than 1/8 of an inch at a time because of all the crap in the way.. you can't put a socket on it because there just isnt a straight shot to the bolt.

The two straps that hold the positive cable to the frame were also well thought out.. they're bolted to the friggin frame, which isnt all that bad, except for one is directly underneath the floor with next to no access to it. I ended up putting a 3/4" hole in the floor to give myself access to the bolt to get it unstrapped from the frame.

Why do I love my Chevys? Because they're cake to work on, parts are plentiful, and they look cool.

Fumblin: Thats why God made whiskey ugly women and uglier trucks. BUT! In a clear head and clear eyes of an Indiana farm boy "GIVE ME A POWER WAGON". Love those beautiful bad boys and still the best 4X4 made.

popcorn The Truth is Out There (Ok I'll go work on the Chevy and put my Dodge dreams back into the closet)

I'm starting to wonder about some of you boys out there with all that D*@ge knowledge. Are some of you coming out of the closet on other issues as well. Fumblin, dump that D*@ge before it corrupts you. Ha, Ha

Only reason, I bought those two Dodges, was for the Holmes Wreckers, on their back. Took the entire Wrecker unit, off of the, '51 COE, then sold the cab, & chassis. Swapped out the wrecker service body fenders, & running boards, off of the '50 conventional, & removed the Holmes Tow Cradle, & then sold the truck. Nothing stay's here, that isn't G.M.

I put a rotor in this thing (rotor was missing all together!) new cap, plugs, wires.. silly Dodge is POSITIVE GROUND!

I had my nephew take the distributor cap off, and he neglected to keep track of where the friggin' wires went on.. so now i'm stuck trying to figure out where the plug wires go.. not alot of free info on these things on the net, and the one message board I found on the subject looks like it's from 1990.

I guess I can take the cap off and turn the motor.. I figure the piston thats up outta go to the spot where the rotor is at the time, right?

My first ever car was a 1937 Dodge 4 door sedan that my grandfather had had since 1939 and donated to me in 1964. Had the straight flathead 6 and gotta say that motor was bulletproof. I tried to blow that motor up so I could install a small V8 in it and that hing would just not let go. A valve job is all I ever did to that motor and when I sold the car years later it was still purring, never overheating or using a drop of oil.
Sure wish I had that car back.

A user over at the ancient Dodge board hooked me up with the firing order and cap numbers, so I got it wired up, dumped some gas in the carb, cranked the [censored] out of it, and got it to run long enough to burn the gas out of the carb.

Now the battery is just about dead.

Thats OK, because the cloth hose that went from the main fuel line to the pump is shot (read turned to dust when I grabbed it).

So a new chunk of fuel line, and a charged battery, and I can give it another go.

One thing I will say about this engine, is unlike my 216 in the '50 and the 235 in the '46, this one is quiet. When turning it over its quiet as a mouse, just a very faint "thunk" noise when the chambers fire.. and when it's running, it's very, very quiet.. too quiet for my tastes.

I'm not even close to looking forward to messing with this "fluid drive" BS.. I can only hope that it's working, and once the engine is running from the fuel tank, i'll be able to pop it in gear and go.

dodgeclassictrucks.com is a great site with lots of info and technical! the links and contacts are friendly, helpful and seem to be a great bunch of guys

i'm an old dodge truck guy at heart that happens to be stuck with a 57 chevy pickup street rod

Fluid Drive is very simple to work on. It's simply a manual tranny with a torque converter. Simplicity itself! Once you've driven an old Mopar with one, you'll be amazed how easy and effortless it is. And you're right about the Mopar Sixes being quiet-running, too!

How horrible that must be for you!

In the intrest of humanity, and as a show of compassion for my fellow man, i'll trade ya even up.

thanks! i appreciate your kind heart. however my wife would kick me and my sawzall out if i sold that big ole yeller truck.

i really did spend almost a year looking for an old dodge - i missed a sweptside at a low price with minmal needed work when someone showed up an hour before i did. found 2 local 52's with hemi conversions that needed more work than i wanted to do. my dad and granddad were dodge fans from way back so i always had a love for the old slant six. i found this 57 while on the trail of a 58 dodge and just couldnt pass it up. good driving, straight axle with disc brakes, seems well done, at an incredible price. i called the guy that built it almost 10 years ago and he sold it to the guy i bought it from for the same price i just paid!

http://dodgepilothouseclub.org/index.htm

Another good link.