1942? Dodge
 

In an upcoming clearing sale at Wagga Wagga the following truck is one of the many items up for grabs. There are many trucks, tractors & farm machinery, but as far as I can see, this is the only ex-military vehicle.
I know the owner through business dealings, and it was he who told me this truck was ex-military. I could not see any sign of military markings, and paint under the bonnet was light blue.
Military or not, this truck is a beauty (If you are into Dodges, that is) and has a Diesel motor. The owner is of the impression that this fact makes it quite rare in Aus.
Sorry about the quality of the photos, they were taken with a mobile phone.
I do not have any financial interest in the sale of this vehicle.
Attachment 23839Attachment 23840
What is the opinion of our collection of Truckmen?

Not only a diesel motor but a late model cab as well. Front is civilian as well as it has the chrome grill strips and the mudguards are not cut out to take the larger military wheels and tyres. I believe (but am not 100% sure) that this style front lasted till about 1948. Front wheels seem odd as well from what I can see of them. I wonder if the cab and front body panels were placed on another 50's truck whose body had seen better days? Not a real rare Dodge vehicle even in original form.

It is rare, just not what you think it is.
 

That cab type is 1948-up, so if they are talking wartime it might be Korea.

Heavier duty Dodge trucks with diesels in them are rare, I think the 1939-47 Dodge Group on Yahoo only has two known, one in a museum and one that turned up recently for sale.

I have no knowledge of the relative rarity of the 48-up trucks, but suspect they aren't any more common. If it has a diesel in it and will run, then it is worth something - not sure of cab spares situation 48-up too, as much rarer than the thousands of WW2 trucks out there.

Gordon

Rare
 

Not sure about the truck but that's a rare bloke looking at it though. :yappy: :note:

That cab looks really odd. Looks more like a late 40's General Motors truck cab with a Dodge front end grafted on, but why would anyone go through the trouble? The photo below is of a '48 Dodge truck. Note the deep-sculpted body lines on the doors.
Thanks, David

Mate you obiously don't know Aussie Farmers do you. It would have been cheaper by far $ wise to graft a good front that was just 'lieing in the paddock' onto the old truck which needed it as she was still mechanically sound thus making her roadworthy again!

It does look odd, David.
In fact, the panel work between the cab & the back edge of the bonnet looks like a 'very good home-made job', or a 'poor factory job'. The whole panel looks a bit rough & the lines from the cab do not blend in to the bonnet lines.
HH

Gordon, The engine turns over OK. They have not (and I guess will not) tried to start it.
HH

At least Australian farmers did it with a little sense of craftsmanship. The "cab jobs" our farmers did here in the US look like fitting a square peg into a round hole! :thup2:
Knew I'd seen that cab somewhere before!