Projects 19?? Dodge? Made it home

I purchased this body and frame off of Ebay in September, but it wasn't until last weekend that i picked it up. The body was located in a field in South Dakota, and im located in Southern California. Thanksgiving weekend being the only time i could get that much time off of work. The girlfriend and i packed up and left Thursday morning at 5, drove straight through to South Dakota in a bit over 21 hours. Of course we stopped for gas and a piss every here and there. Thanksgiving dinner was great at the Little America, somewhere in Wyoming. All you can eat, and a nice change from the gas station snacks and drinks.
Arrived in Hot Springs, South Dakota at 3 in the morning Friday, got our hotel room and crashed.

Hot Springs.


Friday went and had breakfast at the Old Mill in Newcastle, Wyoming with my girlfriends nephew who she hasn't seen in 20 years. It was a fantastic country fried steak and eggs and the Uhaul place i was scheduled to get my trailer from was only a block away. The Uhaul guy was a middle aged collector of things and had a nice collection of cars. The guy i bought he body from was out shopping for Black Friday. We decided to go back to Hot Springs get a sandwich and visit the Mammoth site.

State line.


the old mill inn.


Uhaul.


Mammoth site.




I got ahold of the guy around 4, and he told us he would meet us where the body was. By the time we got to the place the sun was starting to set, and i started worrying about the size of the trailer i had picked up. It was a 5x9 that i found out was actually 4'9x9'2. All i can say is thanks to the guy and his wife for helping us load this thing. It took an hour or so with their help. The only casualties were the lower rear door hinges. As you'll see, i got my moneys worth out of the too small trailer that Uhaul stuck me with, but we were loaded and ready to go.

tiny trailer.



Now it was time to head back home, about 6 at night on Friday. Dark as shit there in the country side once that sun dips. I knew there had to be a way to get from where we were, back to the main highway, without going the way we came. I happened along a two lane windy dirt road that was labeled a highway and had an odd number at the end so i took it. Big ass smile on my face making the turns looking at the trailer in the rear view. We made it back into civilization and stopped at a Conoco. The lady whose name i think was Dolores, working there was more than friendly. She wanted to know all about it because her ex husband who she remarried loves old cars and has a roadster and a few others. All i could tell her was that i thought it was a Dodge but id have to wait to find out.

F'n dark out here.


Conoco.



Back on the road, my goal was to make it to Salt Lake by the time i couldn't drive anymore. That didn't happen though. Ended up staying in Green River Wyoming at a Super 8 that smelled of curry. If only my girlfriend, that had been sleeping, would have wanted to drive we would have made it to Salt Lake. Oh well, at least i got to see the sign on the Mustang Motel across from the Super 8.

Mustang Motel.


Woke up around 10 in the morning and were once again covering miles. No major stops until Salt Lake, where we stopped for lunch at Pat's BBQ. Had seen it on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives some time back. Holy shit was that a meal, i had a half pound of brisket, a half pound of pulled pork and a few of the girlfriends ribs. Fantastic barbecue, wish it were closer. The girlfriend took over driving for a bit and we went through a nice snow storm in Utah coming up on Arizona. I started driving again once we hit Vegas limits, and we headed down the home stretch from there. Got home about 3:30 in the morning Sunday.

Pat's.


Unloaded it Sunday afternoon with the help from some of the neighbors. Its still waiting for its shelter though. We just moved into this place. The previous owners had decided to turn the 2 car detached in the backyard into two rooms. So im in the process now of converting it back into a garage/man cave. I might as well keep the room with the sink and toilet intact. Ill end up with a space a bit bigger than a one car garage i think. Should be done in a few weeks if i can start getting home earlier.

Sunday afternoon.


Garage.


So what do you think guys? Is it a Dodge? Chrysler? Any guesses on a year? It had parallel leaves front and rear. I thought it was a 29' but the cowl and body line are different. Has me thinking its a later model since it has the cowl vent up top and looks a bit curvier. The only two identifiers ive seen on the car are whats left of Murray Mfg. badges on the insides of the doors, and a five digit stamping on the passenger side firewall that reads 13265.















mystery fender.

 

looks like a 29 dodge to me

 

28/29 GRAHAM BROS, I am working on.. Lots of stuff the same as Dodge.

 

I got this off the HAMB.....it was listed as an early 20's Dodge Bros. It looks just like yours except the belt line on mine *gone gone gone*, isn't as prominent on the cowl. But the dash shape looks the same......

 

That's a nice looking delivery.

 

Yeah, except for the cowl line it looks pretty spot on.

 

A couple of dash shots... Before and after..

 

Nice find pstreet. Sounds like a pretty fun road trip too, a lot more exciting than my Turkey Day break. Not sure on the year, but around '28-'30 Dodge sounds about right. I've only just started researching the late 20's through 40's Mopars, so my knowledge on them isn't quite as good.

 

Looks identical to my '31 Plymouth Sedan Deluxe, had cowl lights (the missing gap in your cowl trim), rectangular rear window, cowl vent on top of the cowl (instead of the sides of the cowl) and an extra stamped piece of sheetmetal screwed onto the front of the dash all the way across...

 

Oh, and if you're looking for the cowl trim and light brackets, I've got them buried somewhere in storage...

 

its a 29 Dodge bros

 

Did Dodge Bros. cars come with window shades? Whatever my car is came with cowl lights and window shades and all that fancy shit...that Dodge Bros. looks a lot like what I have, and the closest I ever found in other pics to it was a '31 Plymouth...hmmm...

 

Here's a '29 Dodge Bros. DA sedan, notice the side cowl vents...I'm not positive, but I think the Dodge Bros. sedans all had those...I'll find a '31 Plymouth for comparison...

 

Mine is a 29 Dodge Brothers Senior.

 

Dynaflash, yours looks similar to mine, except where the windshield posts and beltline meet, mine blends in smoother...I'm almost positive mine is a '31 Plymouth Sedan Deluxe (it had the cowl lights, fender mounted spares and window shades on the rear 3 windows)

 

Here's mine, titled as a 1929 Dodge, I was wondering if it really was. It has door tags that say Budd Company, By the way, nice pics and story, Thanks for sharing....Dave

 

i used the same type of trailer from u-haul..they call them a gravel trailer around here, to bring home my topo body....i had to tie it in place to keep it from sliding all over inside the trailer, to give ya an idea of the differences between the 2 bodies...i could walk around it in the trailer with ease

 

This was a good read! I've been on many of these trips. always fun
FRITZ

 

Welcome to So.Dak.
The vin. # is stamped on the side of frame,ahead of pass. front door.
P.M.me the #'s and i hope fully will be able to tell you year and make.
The Budd Body tag does not mean much.
The out side door handles,and rear floor look like my 26 Dodge.
It's good you have the frame
Hove

 

Nice road revue, always like trips like this, especially when they are complete with pictures...I've been on many trips like that except I don't have any particular agenda, I just like to get off the interstates...and you'd be real surprised how many back roads, county roads and state highways there are shown on a printed map (the precursor to the GPS) of whatever state you're in...and of course, off the interstate, there's still a ton of old tin out there...you just have to look.

R-

 

Sweet road trip with some good food. Glad you made the rouder w/o problems and just before the heavy snow starts.
I remember your original post of looking for a trailer, etc. Glad it all worked out!

 

Thanks for the comments and advice guys. Next mission being to try to get this thing registered before i start working on it. Should be a heap of fun without a title or VIN here in California.

Sounds like a dead ringer to mine. Were you able to find a VIN anywhere?

Nice! I was suppose to pick up one of these pickup conversions as well. However, it sure wasn't going to fit in the trailer with the other body or in the bed.

Yeah, the guy asked me if i was towing a motorcycle or golf cart with it. I just told him i was picking up some parts. Don't know how Uhaul would feel about my loading techniques, ha.

Thanks for the info, ill have to take a look.

I wished i had a bigger trailer and more time. I saw jewels in quite a few fields. Even saw a tri5 graveyard off the highway in Arizona.

Weather was perfect! Apparently two days before it had been 18 or so out. Guess we brought the California weather with us as it was 65ish during the day.

 

Looks like a '29 Standard Six to me. Standard Six is a model name. Only made part of '28 and first part of '29. This one is a deluxe with cowl lights.

 

Your beltline at the windshield post and cowl looks like Dynaflash's Dodge Bros...I'm sure the trim is the same, everything else about the construction of those looks identical to my Plymouth...

 

31 plymouths have the neat oval rear window. that's not it

 

nice score,looking forward to the updates.
now, all you Dodge Brother experts,....I NEED A DRIVERS SIDE DOOR FROM A 29' COUPE DA-6, anybody have anything?

thanks!!!!

 

Not all of them, there was one model with very limited production that had the rectangular rear window...from what I've read '31 was a crossover year with leftovers from '30 and early production for '32, everything got kinda messed up for the sedans with the Thrift Model, 30U and PA along with the 4 dr sedan deluxe with the rectangular window (I think it was 1200 units that were produced)...my cowl beltline doesn't match the Dodge Bros, and the rear window doesn't match the PA Plymouth...it's an oddball...

 

Birds of a feather seems to come to mind.

 

Did the dent in the rear door come from the ride or was is already there?

 

pstreet, Your is a 29 Standard Six. Dynaflush's is also a 29 Standard Six. Brandy's is a 28 Standard Six. And bikeguydave's is a 29 Standard Six cut down to make a pickup cab. The 29 has that bead feature on the cowl, and the 28 doesn't. Also the 29 has a bead like that around the edges of the fenders, like on the one rear fender that pstreet has with the car, whereas the 28 doesn't have the bead. When people show you a picture of a 29 Victory Six, or a DA or a Senior and tell you that yours can't be a 29 because it doesn't look like the one pictured, that's because IT IS NOT a Victory Six or a DA or a Senior, it's a STANDARD SIX! Dodge had more than one series of car. It's like somebody trying to tell you that your 69 Camaro can't be 69 because it doesn't look like pictures of a 69 Chevelle, or a 69 Corvette, or a 69 Chevy pickup. Anyway, GREAT coverage of a memorable road trip. It's all the little stops and private conversations that make a road trip like that something special, and a memorable way to kickoff a new relationship (both car and girlfriend). Good luck and keep us all posted on your progress.