help with identifcation 1944 dodge please

[Brian Gallaghan]

well, I have sanded down to shinny metal with wet and dry paper and still no sign of a number, I'll keep looking and maybe widen my search area.
Yes, truck is RH drive and LH chassis rail is drilled for a steering box. Windscreen is fixed and has only one wiper.
Also was originally a 3 speed and the previous owner changed to a 4 speed which he said was more suited to the steep roads in his area.

[gordon]

Originally Posted by Brian Gallaghan

well, I have sanded down to shinny metal with wet and dry paper and still no sign of a number, I'll keep looking and maybe widen my search area.
Yes, truck is RH drive and LH chassis rail is drilled for a steering box. Windscreen is fixed and has only one wiper.
Also was originally a 3 speed and the previous owner changed to a 4 speed which he said was more suited to the steep roads in his area.

We are combining some trucks then. The 120" wheelbase matches the axles as a 41-47 one ton, either US or Canadian. I'd suspect US as the "chassis" number is on the door plate and not actually on the chassis, though it could be either.
The one ton would originally have come with a four speed, the three speed was only standard on the half ton. It would have been pickup or flatbed originally - there was no 120" WB panel van body, just 116" or 133"

The cab looks like an ANZAC export civilian cab for local assembly, possibly of a half ton 4 x 2, which would originally have a three speed in it and a T112 engine

T110 Engine is Canadian light duty three ton, most likely military ( although there was civilian T110 ). Steering gear and controls could have come from the T110 donor or the RHD export cab.

[David Herbert]

Originally Posted by Brian Gallaghan

Also was originally a 3 speed and the previous owner changed to a 4 speed which he said was more suited to the steep roads in his area.

It is possible that "originally a 3 speed" refers to the truck as aquired by the previous owner and that it had aquired the 3 speed with one of its engine changes.

David

[Mike K]

The T112 engine in my 46 ute was the 3 3/8" X 4 1/16" 25" block . Same engine in the 41 Plymouth utes I had.

I have never seen an example of that 120" 3/4 ton wheelbase here in Aust. , the Dodges here seem to be either 116" or the longer 3 Tonner

[Lang]

Gordon

I have the full production serial numbers for both USA and Canada. They had separate allocations from at least 1933 and I have looked at many pages of numbers and find no vehicle (even those "identical" models produced in each country) which carry the same number series.

The numbers given are unquestionably a Canadian DD-2

The USA production WD-20 and WD-21 were civilian vehicles produced in two batches 1940 and 1941 (before USA entered the war) and in a third batch from October 1945 to 1947(after the war)

I am still trying to get the Canadian DD-2 production dates which MAY include the "British" war period. if this is the case they may have found themselves painted green?

Lang

[Lang]

This is why Dodges are so hard to identify - 50 different models in one year.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X4rhNht0T4

[Lang]

Found It!

The truck in question is:

Canadian built DD-2 one ton either 120 or 133 inch wheelbase.

This serial number was from a batch built 1942 (there were 3 other batches built post war to 1947). It is not listed as a government order. There was a separate batch of DD-2 built in Canada in 1940 for the US Government, they had T98 engines.

IT DID HAVE a T116 engine the same as the equivalent US WD-20/21. This truck has been re-engined with a T110 probably out of a 3 tonnner,

This information comes from the official Chrysler dealer serial code book for every Canadian vehicle from 1915 to 1953. I also have the US production edition to use as cross reference.

Lang

[Brian Gallaghan]

Thank you all so much for your help, I had tried doing my own research but just couldn,t get anywhere.
I now know what my truck started out as, and that it has had a few changes over the years, with a interesting history.

A real credit to Dodge for making the parts of these trucks so interchangable

Thanks again
Brian G