New to me 37 Dodge 1.5 ton , mostly complete, What is correct hood ornament/ rad cap

[Guest custommade37]

I just picked up this truck a few months ago along with a 47 Dodge and a 47 Stude, they are all 1.5 ton trucks. They are mostly complete and fairly straigt. I would like to find a hood ornament / rad cap for the '37 that is close to original. However I can't seem to find any pics of one. The smaller pickups had an inside rad cap and bolt on ornament. On This truck the rad cap is external and in the grill shell.

[Guest DodgeKCL]

Amazing. I'm sorry I can't help you in your quest but I was convinced that Dodge truck rad caps all went inside in 1936 and stayed there. What do I know! My '35 truck has an external rad cap off a 1933 car,which is correct, but the 1934 and '35 cars had already deep sixed their outside rad caps and put them under the hood. The Rocky Mountain Sheep was just a hood ornament after that. Obviously with trucks Dodge kept up the 'old ways' for some years yet either for cost or because truck owners wanted outside access to their rads.

[Guest custommade37]

The first picture is the rad cap area of my truck, the next two are an ornament I found on ebay. It looks like the base has the same lines as the grill shell on my truck.

It is going for over 300 with a buy it now of 750.

I dont plan on buying this one, but would one similar be acceptable on my truck.

My plans are a partial resotoration. Mostly original, no paint, I like the rusty patina look. I will use what I can that came with the truck. I would like to keep it sitting low, and add a pickup bed.

[Guest DodgeKCL]

That's the one off my '35 KCL. It's also legit for a '33 car and '33 HC(L) and '34 KC(L) trucks. I'll keep looking in my books to see if any photos show your rad cap. At this point for all I know they may still have used the '33 style on your '37 truck. I'm just surprised that Dodge was still using an outside rad cap/hood ornament. Learn something every day.

And that cap in the photo is an original with the separate 'face'. They usually bring much more than the repros. There are repros around for a couple of hundred$. I have a repro. Looks just like this one but has a little less detail and is one piece.

Edited November 15, 2011 by DodgeKCL (see edit history)

[Guest DodgeKCL]

I went through my books and I can only find a photo of your truck under '1938 Model RD 1 1/2ton'!

The big 1 1/2 tonners have their own grilles different than the rest of the '38 RCs. There are more louvers on the hood sides of the RDs I guess for better heat dissapation. These RDs seem to have been built in low numbers on either 116 " or 120" wheelbase. The engines were all 6 cylinder 218 cid. The rad cap is the later higher, longer, 'leaping' Rocky Mountain sheep but none of my photos are good enough to see much else. I've included a photo of the 1938 RDs on the production line and an outline of the '38 dash. Am I right? Do you have a '38 misregistered as a '37.

[keiser31]

I think this is the cap your truck uses...1930s Dodge Script Radiator Cap | eBay

Edited November 19, 2011 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[Guest custommade37]

The ser number is 8263898 ME-32. 160" wb

the engine is a 25" head and the num is T40-14851 It is very light and hard to read

Body tag K-2-2-LR. 1112

I put that ser num in at that T137 site and it said it was a 1937, and I found the annual registration in it from 1958 that says '37 but if it was wrong from the start it would just continue.

[Guest DodgeKCL]

It is a 1937. 'ME' is a '37 model designation only. But my book does not go as high as ME-32. It stops at the 1 ton ME-22 chassis and wheelbase 159". I took a magnifying glass to that photo from the Dodge Main production line and I agree with Kieser31 about the rad cap. Knowing now that the rad cap was low and not the leaping ram, that e-bay rad cap with DODGE across it is almost certainly the right cap. The DODGE PICKUPS Bunn/Brownell book does not even mention anything beyond MDs in 1937,no MEs at all. I cannot find the T40 engine in either book. It would appear neither book expected anybody to restore a 1 1/2 ton truck. The K-2-2 LR 1112 means Body Model K, '2-2' will mean the style of body like 'cab' with 'stake' and the LR stands for 'Line Registration' number at the body maker and 1112 is the sequential body number at that body maker. Not to be confused with the chassis/drivetrain serial number (VIN) which is the 8263898 and was applied by a guy at Dodge Main as the ME went down the assembly line.

[keiser31]

That cap on ebay is a steal at the Buy It Now price. It's in great condition.

[Guest Haileyscomet3]

This one is for sale, located in central MN! Ran a few years ago- all original, can and fenders are solid. Cab floor only rusted through

[countrytravler]

Still searching.

This was Georges 1937 truck that was at the BBQ a few years ago. He was all packed to come to the next one, It's a yearly BBQ on the 1st weekend of April, he was packed to come and had a stroke that day. He passed a couple of days later. RIP George

Edited July 5, 2017 by countrytravler (see edit history)