Mileage clues

[WPVT]

I am looking at a 1954 Dodge pickup. It was repainted about 15 or 20 years ago, and a few mechanical issues addressed then as well.

The odometer says 17K miles and it is operational. 3K of those were in the last 15 or 20 years with the current owner.

Nobody is trying to mislead anyone, I'm just curious about what the actual mileage might be. From what I see, 17K could possibly be correct.

I don't think it's ever seen really hard use. In my experience, those engines were good for only 40K or 50K before a ring job was needed, so maybe the fact that it doesn't blow smoke is telling.

Does anyone have their favorite things they like to look at as mileage indicators ?

[61polara]

32 minutes ago, WPVT said:

those engines were good for only 40K or 50K before a ring job was needed, so maybe the fact that it doesn't blow smoke is telling.

Those MoPar engines were known for long lives.  Many still run well with no smoke at 150,000 miles but have some loss of power.  If it is truly a 17,000 mile truck you should see no wear n the brake or clutch pedal and no wear on the floor mat and no wear on the seat.  Steering should be tight with no play.   Gear shift linkage should be tight with no play.  Bushings in the gear shift linkage should show no wear, but may have gone bad due to age.  You're going to have to be the detective on this one.  

[Frank DuVal]

Sometimes interior wear is noticeable on a low miles car.  A family friend had a 66 Bel Air with only about 20k on it. She was elderly and just drove store, church, etc.  Very clean, but bench seat had lots of wear. 

 

Why?

 

Because the garage she parked in at her home was set up where she slid across the seat to get in and out of the passenger's door every time she drove it! She had the seat recovered it go so bad.

 

Bad news, when she wanted to sell the car, I was not in need of another car so I did not buy it....... That was in the early 80s. She moved to an apartment building and could no longer keep the car in the garage. The next guy on the list was thankful I didn't want it.😉

 

 

[Buffalowed Bill]

My questions are, if you are not sure of the mileage, how do you know how hare it was used, and how it was maintained? I'm not being critical. But this is where some investigative work is required. If not know, then at least some time in the future, someone is going to have to document the mileage. A critical part of this process is having put together as much of the car's history as you are able. It's been sixty six years. The process is not going to get any easier. Frankly it may be too late to develop a complete time line, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't try.

Edited July 20, 2020 by Buffalowed Bill (see edit history)

[ojh]

A good 'tell' for me is the wear on the brake backing plate from the linings steel backing.  There are little stamped bosses that the linings make contact with and the backing plates are quite soft so they can be formed, a car with 50K miles will have noticeable wear, with 100K it'll have worn a slot that needs welding to bring it back.  

One of the first things to do in even a modest restoration is to tear the brake system apart to replace everything, just have a close look at those pads.  This backing plate had under 70K miles and you can see the wear better on that pad at 7 o'clock.  Weld the pads up and grind back flat, after etching primer I paint the inside satin grey so we can see whats going on and assemble the brakes.

Edited July 20, 2020 by ojh (see edit history)

[JACK M]

First thing I look at are the pedal pads and where the drivers heel would ride.

[keiser31]

3 minutes ago, JACK M said:

First thing I look at are the pedal pads and where the drivers heel would ride.

Yep. Those and check the gas pedal linkage for wear and tear.

[padgett]

Back in the day I'd look at the alignment of the odo numbers. Rollbacks were common but always seemed to affect the alignment.

[Dave Henderson]

Have you looked for old oil change stickers with miles and dates?

[WPVT]

All good suggestions and thank you. There isn't an undue amount of wear on the pedal pads. What I find telling is the lack of wear in the clutch pedal bushing. Nobody ever greases these, and they usually don't get replaced until they really get bad. 

In the final analysis, if it looks and drives like it has low mileage, what does it really matter ? For me, pickups of this era are about bouncing around , having a good time, and tinkering in the driveway. The sweet sound of a smooth running six cylinder can't be beat.  

[hidden_hunter]

My car supposedly sat as a display, so my pedals were worn but when we cracked open the motor everything appears to have never been touched (including the original rings) 

[WPVT]

Nice detective work "ojh", regarding the backing plates.

That's a pretty good indicator that I wouldn't have thought of.

[Restorer32]

19 hours ago, padgett said:

Back in the day I'd look at the alignment of the odo numbers. Rollbacks were common but always seemed to affect the alignment.

Have a friend who worked for a local Dodge dealership in the 1970's. One of his daily responsibility was to hook up and turn on the "black box" that rolled back about 2000 miles overnight . I am still leery of cars with 42k miles on the odometer. For some reason 42k was the usual rollback goal.

[Fleek]

I do not think he is thinking about a rollback. At 17,000 the question to my thinking would be has the truck been driven over the mechanical limit of the odometer. If well maintained it could look very presentable at 117,000 miles but would have signs of much more wear. 

[padgett]

Back in the day it was also common to just disconnect the speedo to make sure you got the "5" of "5 & 50".

 

Edited July 21, 2020 by padgett (see edit history)

[Restorer32]

When I was 15 or so I used to sneak drives in Dad's '64 Cadillac Deville up and down the alley behind our house, maybe 2 miles or so.  When I returned I would jack the rear wheels off the ground, put the trans in reverse and watch the odometer 'til it was back to where I started.  Dad never caught on.

[padgett]

Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Back in the day it was easier to just unscrew the speedo cable. Helped to have a tach.