Stuff that came with my truck

[1936Dodge]

Anyone who has seen my pictures Knows I just acquired a 1936 Dodge Express truck.

But I never mentioned what I found in it.

When I finally got the tool box door open (this had to be done without damage and boy was it stuck)

To my relief I found the tire tools and jack.

The jack needed lube but works fine. 

I also found a three piece smudge pot kit .

If you don't know what a smudge pot is , they used to pass for flares or flashing light roadblocks used to day.

Then today I got a box from the guy I bought the truck from in california .

The note said you may as well have this too.

The first thought that came to mind was what the double hockey sticks is this.

So I called him up, he said and I quote " that's a luggage rack" .

He said it came with the truck when he bought it and now it goes to you.

There was also a half dozen church key style beer cans behind the seat but I don't think it was as big a deal then.   

[keiser31]

That luggage rack is an aftermarket accessory item for 1920s and 1930s car running boards.

Edited August 9, 2017 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[1936Dodge]

It won't fit my running board .

But did fit the tailgate .

But if I do ever get a 20s or 30s car i'm set.

[1936Dodge]

Thanks for the lesson in old stuff.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

1 hour ago, 1936Dodge said:

It won't fit my running board .

But did fit the tailgate .

But if I do ever get a 20s or 30s car i'm set.

 

 

  Maybe the plank on the pipe rack!..

 

  Neat truck and tools.

 

  Ben

[1936Dodge]

Good idea

[keiser31]

I think Ben nailed the use of that rack for that truck.

[Spinneyhill]

A smudge pot is an oil burning device to prevent frost damage in fruit trees. It was the usual way in our area when I was small. If we had the window open on frosty nights, our noses were full of soot in the morning.

[SC38dls]

43 minutes ago, Spinneyhill said:

A smudge pot is an oil burning device to prevent frost damage in fruit trees. It was the usual way in our area when I was small. If we had the window open on frosty nights, our noses were full of soot in the morning.

Hard for a mouth breather to live there 

[1936Dodge]

When I was a child my father called them smudge pots.

That was 1962 in Wahoo Nebraska.

Look up highway smudge pot.

[mike6024]

 TOLEDO TORCH MODEL 5, ROAD TORCH / SMUDGE POT KEROSENE

 

Fruit tree / vineyard smudge pots

[1936Dodge]

There you have it Mike knows there is  more then one way to smudge a pot.

[28 Chrysler]

I remember those pots and saw horses around holes in the street. 

No flashing lights just a smokey orange flame and in Minnesota they were called smudge pots.

[C Carl]

Smudge pots were very attractive to me , as a little kid in the '40s. They were a normal part of life back then. The dancing , warm kerosene flame , and the smell were almost hypnotic to me. We had a large construction project in our neighborhood in Chicago. In addition to the smudge pots surrounding the excavation , I got to see a real STEAM shovel , and later , a STEAM pile driver. Distinct memories of steam trains as a spectator , and passenger. I am 73 , and claim to be the youngest living person who remembers seeing Joe the Lamplighter fiddling with the very last stand of original gaslights remaining in the U.S.A. I believe it was back in '47 that they finally electrified lighting in that small anachronistic patch just West of Milwaukee Avenue. I wonder what happened to Joe when he had to lay down his wick and wrench. Any of you older (or perhaps younger - !! ) Chicagoans remember him ? If any of you lived where the gaslights were , it is likely that the memory is clear and detailed. In that case I , having been born in '44 , may not be the youngest bearer of of that particular ancient first person knowledge , such as it is. Oh ! And all the wonderful old cars still on the road , and being serviced over the grease pit at 57th & Cottage'  across from Washington Park !   - Carl

[Jim Bollman]

23 hours ago, mike6024 said:

KEROSENE

Fruit tree / vineyard smudge pots

I had one of these till I moved to TN and gave it away. If you burn clean Kerosene in them they burn fairly clean. I used it to heat my shop a few times before I put in insulation and floors. Heated another big open building for a church ice skating party, we were sitting in shirt sleeves after about an hour. Good for outdoor Winter activities too, it puts out a lot of BTUs.

[zipdang]

As kids in Ohio in the early '60s, we used to burn whatever we could find (usually just leaves) in the flame of these pots around construction areas on our street. Great memory!

[Bush Mechanic]

In the 50's I would see the low-lying clouds of black smoke over the vineyards in NW Victoria, as I travelled to school on frosty mornings. I believe it was customary to burn a mixture of sump oil and pieces of car tyre. They were solid metal buckets, which we called smudge pots or simply frost pots. The fruit blockies had temperature activated alarms to waken them, which seemed cutting edge stuff to us, then. The smoke (and the frost) slid down to the lower-lying fruit blocks, of course.

No EPA in those times!

Edited August 11, 2017 by Bush Mechanic
Structure (see edit history)

[1936Dodge]

It is truly wonderful to read the stories and memory's of a simpler times.

I am thankful that I had the opportunity to live in a house with no indoor pluming .

I know that sounds odd but the memory of my Grandma scrubbing my brother and I under a hand pump on the front porch will never be forgotten.

    

[mrspeedyt]

nice accessories! they all certainly add charm and detail to your unique truck!

 

in california as a little kid during the fifties i recall seeing those flaming pots on the road. they were used in construction zones and for broke down trucks. then the folding two round red reflector (sometimes with a red flag for daytime) became popular for a short time before the much more visible folding triangle replaced those in the seventies. for vehicles (especially trucks) usually stored and used in a group of three. 

Edited August 11, 2017 by mrspeedyt (see edit history)

[kgreen]

I recently cleaned out some of my dad's stuff and found a similar jack. The one dad had, has a flip lever on it to allow jacking up or when reversed, jacking down.

I didn't find a handle for it.  Is this some sort of universal jack?

 

[mrspeedyt]

nice jack. over the years i have collected a number of jacks... as well as a lot of other stuff. i need to sort all that stuff out. and SELL. my kids have no attraction to the old stuff. 

[kgreen]

1 hour ago, mrspeedyt said:

nice jack. over the years i have collected a number of jacks... as well as a lot of other stuff. i need to sort all that stuff out. and SELL. my kids have no attraction to the old stuff. 

Darn kids, you'd think that after we so carefully raised them to proper standards that they would fall all over themselves to have our collected "stuff".

[Jim Bollman]

You can still buy a variation of the road hazard smudge pots, in assorted colors. They are smaller but otherwise very similar.  I have a green one that I keep citronella in for camping or sitting outdoors in the evening.