hello everyone, Ive heard and seen good things about this place. I'm hoping i will be overwhelmed with ideas from this site. i currently have an early 1935 Dodge KC pickup. its basically a pile of parts. i have the cab, doors, hood, tank, wheels, misc small parts. i got the truck about 20 yrs ago and its been sitting ever since. now Ive got the itch and the means to start working on it. I'm looking into making it a rat rod. recently i talked to my father (who picked up a 1936 Dodge KC pickup from the same seller at the same time i got my 35. his 36 has been sitting right along side my truck for the last 20 yrs.) he shocked the hell out of me last night when i told him what i wanted to do with mine and he told me that i could have his truck. he said that he was getting too old and broke to start a full restoration project. all he asked for in return was a handful of opportunities to drive it when i was done. i couldn't pass up that kind of opportunity!!!! here are some crappy pics.
Welcome aboard Shane. Remember what I said about the term "Rat Rod"! At any rate, You have some nice stuff there. Use it wisely and make a tasteful and very driveable traditional rod or truck. The payoff will be worth it. Rat Rod= Ugly and Unhappy!
i agree that the 36 is in too good of condition to "rat out". if i knew that i could get a good price for the 36 i would sell it. i would love to make enough to get the 35 done. at the same time it would be nice to have a completed truck to have up and running for little money. the only thing the 36 needs is the motor rebuilt (othe minor details also). right now its seized tight. this is the look im going for with the 35 to take the 36 body and fenders off and drop the 35 cab on it would save me a shit ton of money and work. i would part out the 36 to finance the build. im just looking at options right now. ive got a pretty good idea of what i want the 35 to look like. i want to do it right, not cheap. i have a 350cid that is at my disposal. i may make a frame for the 35 if i use the 350. right now i have a lot of ideas (years worth) but no plan. so now its time to start forming a plan. thats why im here.
It is mostly all there, too many good parts to chop off. BadShifter is right, it deserves better. Looks like you could trade to get something closer to what you want (i.e. engine, wheels and cab) Just from the photos I have seen I would hate to see a loss of history.
Please don't ratrod either of these trucks!! Unlike some on here (and although not my personal cup of tea), I can appreciate the rr's if they are the sum total of a bunch of basically unusable parts. There are some pretty creative ideas put into some of them. But to take primo tin like this and butcher it up like that is a crime against humanity! The Dodge Brothers might just come back to haunt you... Anyway, I'd love to have one of them. That old hemi I've been luggin around for years would look sweeet in the engine compartment of either of them!
Here is a friends 35. It belonged to his dad when he was a bar owner and used it to pickup kegs of beer 40 years ago. No it's not a rat rod, he just don't have the bucks to paint it.
thanks for the feedback. I guess "rat rod" isn't the word I should use. (should have heeded your warning Luke!) the 35 is beat up and a pile of part but I'm not looking to chop anything. I like the style of the truck above. The cab moved back look. Any way, the history on these trucks is pretty cool. We got them from a repair shop that my dad worked at when he was 16. The 35 was a plow truck and the 36 was the tow truck. My dad remembers using both and has some funny stories. The shop closed in the late 70's and he keep everything till the late 90's and offered theses two trucks ,and a couple others, to my dad. He called dibs years before! I paid $50 (yes, five zero) for 35 and drove it home. The 36 was hauled home and my dad paid $500. We took the 35 apart. It has a huge crack in the frame and the motor had a bad rod. So we scrapped the motor,tranny, rear and frame. Now I wish we would have kept them. Oh well.
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