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1927 Graham Brothers 3/4 ton Delivery barn find


Kegan

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All put together restored, rebuilt and painted this was a big day for me! There are so many little things I’m skipping over in these posts but if something seems like it’s out of sequence it because I just found pictures or remembered something I forgot to share. Like I said before I’m just trying to get everyone up to date so I can do a weekly post instead of a daily post 

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Edited by Kegan (see edit history)
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This is what I decided for the floors and bed. The floors and bed were both rotted badly. I couldn’t decide what wood I wanted to use. I had a few black walnut cut out of my front yard and had the pleasure of using a friends Minneapolis steam engine and saw mill to process the logs. The boards have been drying for two years. Gonna go through the stack this weekend and pick out the boards I want. Get them ready for the planer. I’m sure original was ash or white oak but I don’t have a stock pile of ash or white oak and not everybody gets to say those birds right there cane from my front yard and I got to saw them into lumber with a steam engine and be a part of every part of the process to being floor boards. Should be beautiful. 

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This was a pleasant surprise. Took a DA sander and wore wheel to the body. There’s a lot of original blue paint under all that filth. I think it’s gonna get a good go over and clear. I like ol Norman’s patina. There’s something to be said about original. It only original once! 

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Edited by Kegan (see edit history)
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This truck sure turned out to be a much bigger project than I had anticipated! I would like to stop here and say THANK YOU to all my friends for the help and support I have gotten with this truck! It would never be where it is now without all of them! I’d also like to say to all of you. The next time somebody walks by and asks a question (no matter how stupid you think it is) or says nice job or wants to show you what they have, give them two seconds of your time. I all to often have been snubbed at tractor shows by some of the big boys thinking. The attitude of what a stupid question, or they don’t know anything why are they even here, or oh they just have a little piece of shit ________ fill in the blank, or that guy doesn’t know anything! Those are the new people in the hobby. Those are the people that in a few years after gaining some knowledge will be your next buyer, your friend, your driving partner. They just want to learn. Without the friends I have made through the whole process I never would have been able to accomplish this. These rare people took time out of their lives, space out of there garages and barns, room on there work bench, took time out of their own lives and have shown and taught me soooooo much! Those are the people that make this love of things old go round and round! Without the teachers this is a dying art! I know of several people that wouldn’t give me the time of day on this project but I also met several people that have dedicated their minds to this project and me. Be one of those and not the other! 

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I was really hoping to save the top but it just wasn’t possible. Both outer rails were badly rotted. Three of the ribs were broken. Most of the top strips were loose with several broken. So off she came, loaded into the truck and headed for the wood shop! The same friend that did the beautiful job on the back doors is also doing a whole new top! I’m excited to see it when done! 

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Edited by Kegan (see edit history)
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here is link to older tread for a 27 GB screenside. You may find it interesting.

I replaced all my wood. I had some original pieces in fair condition to use as patterns. Since some pieces were in bad shape i build the cab base with sugar pine to assure a good pattern. This was easier to work with and produce descent fit. I used white oak as the final wood and I believe my original would was white oak. I have heard ash would also work.

Take good notes and measurements.

Edited by stakeside
e (see edit history)
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Here is link showing construction of the top and the door header. I used alder wood for the form of the curved portion. Note all the wood screws. This construction is for my 805 closed cab and yours may be similar. The long pieces under the header is for the side panels.

 

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Wow....super cool truck. And thanks for sharing your project pictures. So glad to see this being preserved. If you haven't done so, you might want to get a copy of Don Bunn's book, "Dodge Trucks" published by Crestline. It covers truck production from 1916 including the Graham relationship, etc. 

 

You have an incredible piece of history on your hands and appear to be doing it justice. Now, I want to come out and help:)

 

 

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Next on deck. Brakes and getting the wheels put back together and new tires on so it can be rolled down to the other shop do a little body work and lots of clean up and sanding and a little paint. Those mechanical breaks are no joke. Lots more to them than you realize. The lining was garbage so bought new from Myers Early Dodge and new rivets. Gonna have to replace a couple springs which Myers carries as well. We decided to take one apart at a time just to use the other for reference. The emergency break and moving pets inside were quite froze up. Larry got the whole system apart and blasted and painted and the new lining put on. I’ve been underneath scraping grease as hard as stone and thick as can possibly be getting ready for some chassis saver for the axels and frame before the brakes and wheels go back on. This is gonna be a semi slow process cleaning the undercarriage as it is covered in funk.... 

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  • 1 month later...

Ahhh the fun stuff ... (sarcasm alert.. I'm allergic to brake work 🙄)

 

These photos are a good reference tool for many owners who have similar vehicles or who may be tackling similar tasks....

Amazing progress so far, thank you for keeping us updated and for clear photos.

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  • 10 months later...
  • 1 year later...

Back at it again. Life and an accident put the brakes on for a bit. Trucks in a new shop now getting some much needed new fire! Step panels are at the fabrication shop, manifolds getting powder coated, and the top is almost done. Excited about the 90 days. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 2/10/2020 at 7:03 AM, Kegan said:

Fast forward a year, loaded up the truck and headed to Larry’s. Without guys like him people like me wouldn’t have a chance in this hobby. Larry is a mechanical genius, machinist and a all around good guy. We got it in the barn and did an initial go through. Our initial look showed that the Northeast Electric distributor was trashed. That was gonna be a major problem. They are very hard to find. But luck eventually was on my side. I found an original that was good and usable. The fast four was full of walnuts and trash from its inhabitants. Motor was locked up. Wheels were trashed. The roof was toast and there was plenty of rot in the floors. The Stewart vacuum fuel pump was a mess and I knew nothing about them. Electrical was a mess. We knew we had our work cut out for us. I of course thought the worst and Larry said let’s do this So we got to work. Pulled the engine and got it on the stand. Got it broke down and the head pulled and unfortunately the block was cracked from the valve into the cylinder wall and the cylinder was full of antifreeze. Although it was worse than we had hoped we made a to do list and got to work! Larry drilled the block and inserted 10 tapered pins overlapping each one and hammered them in tight and peened the ends over. I’d never seen anything like it. Larry said wait till you see it come back from the machine shop. You will never know it was cracked. 

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I absolutely love these old panels...

 

Sorry if I missed it but can I ask, what is the engine number? I don't need the last 2 or 3 digits but the beginning would be helpful so we can log it into the database for trucks still in existence in the Dodge Brothers Club

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  • 11 months later...
  • 3 months later...

Hi Kegan.

It’s been over a year since your last post and I must admit, I’m yearning for a follow up on your project with the 1927 3/4 ton Graham delivery.

If you have followed my posts you already know that I recently adopted some wood and sheet metal that was advertised as a 1928-29 Fargo Canadian Chrysler panel. 
I suppose this is good enough to say that the truck isn’t a Hudson or a Packard, but it is better identified as a 1929 Fargo Express Packet Panel 1/2 ton delivery. And, most notably, appears to be identical in every (apparent) way to your 1927 Graham delivery.

I said “apparent” because, after viewing your posts, I can see some obvious differences which I find very interesting, and would like to learn more.

It appears that your truck has external brake shoes on the rear, and from the look of the front wheel, it has no front wheel brakes. 
This is remarkable because, although it appears to be identical in body construction to my 1929 Fargo express delivery, my Fargo Panel has four wheel hydraulic brakes and that makes me curious about other differences which may not be so obvious.

I do hope things are going well with you and your Graham, and I do look forward to see some updated photos of your truck.IMG_1992.jpeg.690fffd371c3ba18c35364ed300dbda3.jpeg

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Edited by Jack Bennett (see edit history)
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On 1/11/2024 at 10:42 AM, nearchoclatetown said:

Are you sure this isn't a '28?

Tag # does put it at around mid May 1927 which would be a 27 model.

 

It would be nice to see him back on the forums, hopefully he responds soon. 

Personally I'd like to know what the wheelbase is

Edited by 30DodgePanel (see edit history)
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  • 1 month later...
On 9/2/2022 at 1:06 PM, Kegan said:

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Hey Kegan, my name is Beau Blankenship. I work for Berryman Products, an automotive performance chemical company based here in Texas. For over 100 years we have provided our customers with the highest quality automotive chemicals available. I would love to talk to you about this Graham truck you have been working on. 

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