i was wondering if anybody has any pics of a 1954-1956 dodge truck they can post,the wife and i have a 55 dodge truck that we are wanting to hot rod but we are wanting to see what everyone else has done,i appreciate everyones help.
www.dodgeclassictrucks.com Good website, many 54-60 Dodge truck pics. Check it out. I'm currently Building up a 54 Fargo/57 Dodge Always good to build something different from the cookie cutter Hot rods.
Here's a few pic's of my 55 1/2 ton....still in progress, but these are very much the "before" pics........send me some of yours! http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w244/mbmopar/?action=view¤t=arizonaincolorado.jpg http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w244/mbmopar/?action=view¤t=IMG_0347.jpg http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w244/mbmopar/?action=view¤t=pass3-4front.jpg Best regards, Derek mbmopar@hotmail.com
check out carnut.com and click on index of pics, the make of car/truck and the year and they will have pix of them...I have a 56 that I am selling and have been referring people who don't know what they look like to that site and there are several pics of them...they make a nice departure from the bowties and effies that are everywhere
Here is our 55 dodge that we chopped 31/2in. and channeled 2in. We frenched in the headlights. We had the cab in the way so we used any spare parts we could scrounge and tried to make it a work ing progress custom. We reset the windshield frame and leaned it back2-3in. for flat glass. We never had time to give it more finishing. The bed was just temporary but we had to sell it because of lack of room and garage space. We used a 70's buick frame and 455ci motor for the donor. It was just the most fun you could have with no $$ and spare parts. The power to weight ratio was incredible. I think its in NJ somewhere. You might think its ugly but it launched like a rocket. It did have some good aspects too. Joe
My 54 1/2 ton. This one was clipped with the marada clip like the tex smith book shows. We ran a 360, 727 auto, and an 8 3/4 with 3:23 gears. We put over 40,000 miles in the 4 years we had the truck, it was a great driver.
I know it not the right era Dodge, But I love "The Dude" It was endorsed by Don knots who is not really the pillar of Tough Dude but it a good laugh. Here is a pic and a link. http://www.sweptline.com/hist/68-71.html
I had a 54 Panel truck for a few years. First thing I did was chrome the grille bars, cut-off the bumper and fill the bumper holes, and then the biggest mod was to cut-off the Dodge "Buck Tooth." This is the hunk of metal that has the round Ram, or V for V-8 symbol in the middle. If you take a disc wheel cutter to the metal behind it, fill it in with a replacement panel, and then cut the buck tooth off with about an inch hanging down, you can fold this under to make a nice lip. Really makes the front-end look a lot better.
Sorry thats not a 55. It looks more like a 52-53. 54 had 1 piece windshiled and 55 has a wrap around windshiled with different cab design. Check out that classic dodge webpage I posted earlier, you'll see the difference
I agree, that one is a 52 or 53. On the bright side, its easier to find parts for that truck as the cab and front sheet metal (except for the grill opening) are the same from 48-53. 54 and early 55 are the same truck and mid year 55 through 56 are the same truck. 57 is a stand alone, and 58-60 are pretty much the same. Gene
That is a "Pilot House" era Dodge. 1948-1953. Here is information that will not aid you whatsoever. Did you know that the the mid-year 1955 "Power Giant" cab with the wrap around windshield was in production until about 1972? Dodge pickups used this cab from 1955 until 1960. The sheet metal from the cowl forward changed for 1957 and again in 1958 making the hood, fenders and grill of the 57s unique. The cab continued in production with further changes to the cowl forward sheet metal and was used on a series of conventional tractors know as the "Big Horn". Not real common but you can immediately identify them by the same wrap around windshield. AMAZING BUT TRUE!
So, the title on my truck says 50, but the cab came off of a 53...What we are telling you is the truck sure looks like a 52-53 and you will probably find the parts from a pre 54 will fit your truck much better then the parts from a 55 will. Maybe your truck was built in 53 that sat until 55 before it was sold, so it got titled as a 55. Been known to happen with the big trucks (2 ton and larger). Some of those sat on some dealers lot for a year or so until it was sold and was titled in the year it was sold. A practice Mopar used during the 46-48 year cars & trucks. I have a book that tells about the things that changed with each model year. The book states the the only distingushing features of cars built between 46 and 48 was the date on the title. Or the list of posibilities are endless as to why your truck has a 55 title. Better that we don't go into it, just put that 55 title in your name and proceed on. Gene
thanks for the info. i didnt realize that if the sat on the lot for a year or two they were titled for that year.
It depends what state it was sold in when new. It was more common to do this with trucks than with automobiles.
Anybody done anything fancy besides swapping out front suspension to lower a 55 dodge 1/2 ton? Mor-drop in oakland wants 800 bucks to drop my axle- and I doubt that includes shipping!