Overdrive Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 (edited) Hoping someone can tell the year & make of this truck. A friend found these two photos in an antique store. Thanks! Scott Edited June 22, 2020 by Overdrive added photo (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldford Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Best guess: 17-21 Dodge Bros... Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 (edited) 3 minutes ago, oldford said: Best guess: 17-21 Dodge Bros... Frank Looks right to me also, per headlight bucket and fender & hood shape Edited June 22, 2020 by Marty Roth (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzcarnerd Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Looks to be on 20" wheels so not earlier than 1925 I think. They didn't get front brakes until 1927-28. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overdrive Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 14 hours ago, nzcarnerd said: Looks to be on 20" wheels so not earlier than 1925 I think. They didn't get front brakes until 1927-28. I guess I'm not seeing front brakes on this one...so this truck would be a '25-'26-'27? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overdrive Posted June 23, 2020 Author Share Posted June 23, 2020 Thanks for the replies Frank, Marty, and nzcarnerd! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 I could be wrong here, not quite my area of expertise. But I would expect it may be a Graham Brothers truck. The Graham brothers built trucks for about ten years using Dodge engines, fenders, hoods, lamps, and often many other parts from the Dodge Brothers car company and sold and serviced them through the Dodge dealers. It was an arrangement that benefited both the Dodge family and the Grahams that ended when Chrysler eventually took over Dodge. Dodge got a major truck line, without having to put the time or effort into designing and building them, and the Grahams who lacked the means to fully fund such an operation got a nationwide dealership network and a reliable source for many of the components required to manufacture trucks. The Graham brothers began (about 1913) by building "kits" to build trucks from standard automobiles. The kits included chassis extensions and heavy duty rear axles (much like the better known Smith Form-a-truck) and were ready-built for several common automobiles including the model T Ford, Dodge, Maxwell, Overland and others. Kits could also be ordered special for almost any other automobile. History/rumor says that one was built for a Stutz chassis (but I never saw confirmation of it). The arrangement with Dodge was a major step up for them. The profits eventually allowed them to purchase the Paige Detroit automobile company, and again step up into full automobile production. A timely historic note. John and Horace Dodge died about a year apart, according to some histories, from the continuing flu pandemic (more accurately, the resulting pneumonia and other effects upon other health issues, liver problems etc) that continued to ravage the world for a few years from 1918. While John and Horace loved the wealth and power of running one of the largest automobile manufacturing concerns in the world, the rest of the family only wanted the wealth. After the deaths of the brothers, the family struggled to run the company, and fought amongst themselves over many of the decisions. After a couple failed attempts to sell the company, Chrysler got control, and preferring to do everything "in-house", dissolved the arrangement with the Graham brothers. From the early into mid '20s, Dodge built very nice pickup trucks (either open or screen-side) and some other light trucks under the Dodge name. But almost anything looking like a dodge heavier truck was built by Graham. I would guess this one to be about 1925, but not sure about that due to the drum headlamps. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30DodgePanel Posted June 24, 2020 Share Posted June 24, 2020 (edited) They had the drum headlamps in 1925 I've studied the 1928 to 1932 models much more so if I'm wrong please correct me, but the single belt line on the panel section and the slanted window at the door tells me its a 96" panel first made in 1926. See The Dodge Story page 52 for a close example. Most of the other Graham Brothers trucks had the straight header for the window header on the door. Notice the top of the window is slanted on this model. There's also a 1926 commercial car panel with a shorter wheelbase on page 51 of The Dodge Story with these same lines. I'm pretty confident this is a 1926. If we knew the wheelbase it would tell us what model. By the looks of it, it looks like it's a BC 1 ton or possibly the DCT 3/4 ton. IF it is the DCT, that's a very, very rare photo of a truck that is virtually non-existent today. Edited June 24, 2020 by 30DodgePanel (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overdrive Posted June 24, 2020 Author Share Posted June 24, 2020 Very interesting to hear this history. Thanks for the informative posts Wayne and 30DodgePanel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30DodgePanel Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 (edited) 2nd photo in tells me the photo was taken in 1927 Edited June 25, 2020 by 30DodgePanel (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28 Chrysler Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 If you take into account the tire size you can calculate the wheelbase as the 96" truck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 A model T Ford has a 100 inch wheelbase. This truck has got to be much longer than that. My quick estimate (30 inch outer diameter times five, five determined by 3/4 inch front to back average on the tires on my computer screen, into a bit over four and a half inches on my computer screen for the wheelbase) plus a few inches because the wheelbase was slightly over four and a half inches on my screen (estimating here, I could scale much closer). I would estimate about 135 inch wheelbase. maybe a couple inches more or less. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30DodgePanel Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 (edited) The reference I made to 96" is the "panel" length (loading space, not the wheelbase). Wheelbase is more than likely the 126" (BC model) in my opinion. Sorry for the rough sketch but I think my level of artwork speaks for itself... Edited June 26, 2020 by 30DodgePanel (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now