Why did you buy your Pilot house/So how did you get started with the old Dodge trucks?

[Dennis_MN]

mrizzodpm started me thinking with his post about wanting to buy a Pilothouse, then Merle asked why the pilothouse? Thought this would be a good thread and I didn't want to tack it on to that one so here is my story.

Each of us must have a story about our labor of love.

When I was 8 years old, a neighbor came home with a brand new 48 Dodge pilothouse pickup, green cab with a black box. He worked as a butcher and he was going to make a delivery after lunch so his daughter and I got a ride in that pretty new truck. Years later I asked his daughter if she remembered the ride but she didn't. I never forgot that truck and always liked the looks of it. I restored a Model A Ford Coupe from the frame up, in fact I bought it disassembled and put it all back together, then 7 years later I bought a Dodge Challanger Convertible and restored that with a paint job and body work. Then I wanted a pickup and made the mistake of adding up the cost so I bought a brand new 86 Ranger instead.

After I retired, I got the hankering for a old pickup but since I live in a townhouse, it would be a little tough to restore one but I could work it out. I happened to be in a grocery store with my wife and was thumbing through the Hemmings book when I spotted this red Pilothouse for sale in St Cloud, MN just 30 miles from me. I went up for a look and came home and told my wife that I found my pickup so I bought it. It was all complete with a shiny red paint job. This was October 2006 so I didn't have much time to do anything with it until I stored it in a neighbors barn. I was the third owner and it only had 46,000 miles on it. The previous owner damaged the bumper and when it was painted, he cut off the dodge frame and welded on the frame ends from a Ranger and had a Ranger bumper on the front and back. I didn't like the looks of all of that shiny stuff on the front so I was hunting for a original Dodge bumper. One evening, Young Ed posted that Craigs list had a free frame and it looked like a Dodge. I was the first to call and got my bumper and the frame ends that I needed to weld back to the frame. I pulled the front clip of my Dodge and cleaned and painted everything and welded on the frame ends with the Dodge bumper.

Its all back together now and makes a wonderful driver. I added Disk brakes to the front during the second year along with radial tires, and now I have one more rim to paint to have the 4 original Dodge safety rims all around. I think of my old neighbor everytime I drive it. My Dodge now has 54,000 on it, 800 came from driving it to Merles town to show it in a car show. The box wood is still the original, 61 year old oak, I'd like to replace it with new shiny wood but that is for another year. This truck is pictured in the Pilothouse 2010 Calendar as the March entry. My seven year old granddaughter just loves to ride in that pickup because she is high up and can see everything. Maybe one day she will want it.

[BulldogTom]

I got my pilothouse from a co-worker. He was bringing it to the ranch a couple times a month to dump his trash in the dumpster. Had a little trailer hooked to it. I thought it looked cool and would be a great first car for my oldest son. I asked, he said no, he moved and did not have a place for it, he asked if I still wanted it, I bought it, it sat in my garage for 3 years. Been working on if for about a year. Hoping to get it to my son by his 17th birthday this summer. Not sure we are going to make it, but we are having a good time working on it.

Just bought the wire for the new harnesses today. Hope to have all the body work done in 3 more weeks. Bed should be installed next week. Who knows how long it will take to wire it. Need to put the windows back in the doors at some point. Have not even set up the upholsery guy to look at it yet. Brake conversion is on the horizon somewhere out there.

Like I said, I am enjoying working on it with my kids. They may never even drive the thing at the rate we are progressing.

[oldmopar]

I saw it on craigslist and it was something a little different as it is a 1 ton dump with best I can tell the original dump body

[Dale Uhrich]

I saw a 1949 dodge 1 ton cab and chassis in my town. I was able to buy it for a possible drive to work truck for $75. It had no brakes and no box. I asked around looking for a similiar 1/2 or 3/4 ton truck to put the 230 motor in. I was approached my an older feller to buy his 1948 b1b for $1000. I bought it and started to see what I needed to make one out of two. While putting together a plan I saw an ad for an auction with a 1950 Fargo 1/2 truck. I bought the Fargo for $400 Canadian and imported it from Canada. The Fargo became my project and it became a " make one from 3" project. The fargo now has been to a few shows and continues to be a stable mate for my 1953 Ford Panel truck street rod.

[pflaming]

Was driving with a friend about 50 miles from home and saw it on the roadside. Mentioned it looked solid, we turned around and I bought it for $250. My brother's, who is very wealthy, first business truck was a 52 Dodge so I was going to give it to him for Christmas, as is/was. My friend said, ". . . your brother can buy his own truck, this is a nice old truck, keep it for yourself" so I did.

Attachments: pic #1 as found, pic #2, current condition after some elbo grease.

Edited June 6, 2017 by pflaming

[Kingdave]

I bought my 50 B1B 4 years ago was a cut down that had sat behind a barn since 72 gave $ 50 for it to save it from the scrapper , the 49 B1D I bought 2 years ago when scrap wa high , saw it go by on the back of a roll back headed for the crusher ! I ran up to the junk yard and bought it before it got squashed , cost me $1200 in estimated scrap value at that point ! The 50 is pretty rough but the 49 is complete with minor rust in the floors , runs hoist works charges needs brake work .... all tghis becuase I have a 54 Chrysler Hemi that needed a home and figured Id street rod the 50 but to rougfh then I thought the 49 would work but its to nice to do that to so the Hemis STILL looking for a home !

[carl b51]

Well I was driving past the wrecking yard , the same road I've driven for 20 years and there she was . I saw the 5 windows first and the next day went by to take a look at the body it had broken windows and a bullet hole in the door. not bad ,paid 600.00 halled it home that was 3 years a go. since then have saved another 51 from the crusher. Carl

[buds truck]

happened upon a pic of a chopped pilothouse...... it was all downhill from there...LOL. Found one about 75 miles away from home, drove her up on the trailer and brought her home. The wife walked around it once, looked at me and said..."you know you're building that for me dontcha"? So now it's hers. I just get to build it...

[Flatie46]

Kingdave, I'm all about helping a homeless hemi out.

[MBF]

My Dad is retired from NY Bell System (what is now Verizon). He had several lineman type trucks during his career. The one I remember most was a 52 pilot house w a utility body on it. I remember going to work with him when he was called in on nights and standing up in the seat and aiming the roof mounted spotlight while we rode along back roads looking for pole numbers. I aint be right since truck wise! When I found my 52 rack body (well really its a 49 in 52 clothing) I knew I had to have it. I was able to swap even for a 50 Ford F5 that I had and we both walked away happy. I'm too tall to stand on the seat today, so I sit and enjoy driving it. My dad wants me to put a roof mounted spotlight on it, but it won't fit under the garage door if I do that. Mike

[JBNeal]

'48 B1B108: bought new by my great grandfather, was his first new farm truck when he was 68. My first memories are of riding in that truck when I was still in diapers. Dad parked it by the barn in '78 cuz it was burning oil and the brakes were iffy and he didn't have the time to fix it & farm 1000 acres by himself. I was told when I was 13 that if I fixed it up, I could have it. I had been fixin' up lawnmower flatheads & furniture, so I graduated to workin' on a bigger flathead with a windshield.

'49 B1D126: saw it on eBay back in early '01 but didn't bid on it. It showed up several more times during the summer, so I emailed the owner who was in the Panhandle, a good day's drive just to get there. His health had started to deteriorate, and he didn't have the energy to fix up that hulk after years of trying to get started on it. So end of September, I went up there & picked it up...paid too much for it, but live & learn I reckon. That guy had it for 5 years, where his cats hung out during the winter (I'm guessin' that's why I don't have any problems with rats getting into that machine parked next to a corn field). The guy who owned it before him was the son of the original owner, who parked it in '84 after years of farm use in western Oklahoma.

'53 B3B116: Parts truck that my neighbor told me about. The previous owner had dismantled it to hot-rod it; tossed the drivetrain, stripped all the sheetmetal, primed all but the back of the cab, then lost interest in '02. It sat rotting in his mother's front yard and was slated to be hauled to the junk yard because his mother was going into a nursing home and her house was being sold to make way for an elementary school.

'51 B3B108: Parts truck I spotted in 2000 in a Waco salvage yard stacked on top of two Tradesman vans. The yard owner told me it wasn't for sale because it had been sold to a guy in Florida. In 2008, I saw it out front of the same salvage yard...when I asked the owner what happened to the guy in Florida, he just looked at me funny. I then talked him down to half the price he was asking for it to keep it from going to the crusher.

'52 B3B108: found here (thanks tonybiel) with complete drivetrain and a title; grille is from a B1/B2, bed is a low-side that has seen better days...thinkin'bout takin' what's left of the '51 and putting on this one.

 

'51 B3D126:  found here (thanks jakenoklahoma)...it needs a little work

 

'53 B4B116:  found on CL (Mansfield) listed for $1 by an older gent with medical issues...in surprisingly good shape for a truck that's been baking in the TX sun for over half a century

 

'48 B1D116:  found on CL (Marble Falls) listed for a few bucks by a kid who was under orders by the city to clean up his property...the Dodge car engine has all kinds of cracks in it from maybe being dropped off of a bridge or something, the interior is gutted, the bed wood is long gone, and there's not a lick of paint on it, but the rims & original early '48 bed fenders are in good shape.
 

'50 B2D116:  found on CL (Dallas) listed for a few bucks, worked out a trade for a spare cab and a couple of doors...the Dodge car engine isn't running but turns, the grille, rims & some of the interior parts are salvageable, the rest is "practice material"

Edited February 2, 2015 by JBNeal

[jakenoklahoma]

I had a high school acquaintance who had one, only one I had ever seen, in '76. He sold to someone else in my town, whom I could never get to sell it to me, so I occasionally hunted for one, since I thought that they were so cool. I found mine on Craigslist here in OKC and the price was right, sort of a save it from th ecrusher. It's rough. but it will be a fun project.

[Dave72dt]

I kept seeing mine on the way to work. Owner at the time was using it to haul feed back to the farm. His brother bought at his estate auction, never drove it and pulled it into his stash of disabled farm equipment. Happened to see it there , inquired, and bought for $40.00 I liked the curved glass in the cab, only truck in the area that unique.

[Zeke1953]

I've always wanted an old truck. About fifteen years ago I saw a '50 Pilothouse parked in the yard of a friend of my son. I knew the father so I asked him if he wanted to sell it. He told me that the truck belonged to his father and he planned on having it restored so it wasn't for sale. But over the next couple of years the truck never moved and periodically I would ask the guy if he wanted to sell it yet. Finally he agreed and I bought it for $250 and had it towed to my house. Unfortunately, I soon realized that the truck was too far gone to restore (It had been parked under a pine tree for years.) So it became my parts truck and I was on the hunt for another one.

Soon I found a '53 3/4 ton stakebody for sale on eBay in a town about a 45 minute drive from my home. Well, I won the auction and had it towed home. Even though it had been stored iin a barn for over twenty years, it still needed a lot of work. I'm mechanically inclined, but I never had the time when my kids were young to put my ability into practice. I still surprised myself at some of the repairs I attempted and successfully completed. After about three years of weekend work, I was able to get the old girl on the road.

As we all know, there are always new things we want to do on our trucks. Right now I have the bed off and I'm in he process of replacing all the wood. I hope to have this project done soon because the only thing I like more than working on my truck is driving it.

[Fernando Mendes]

I already had a WWII Jeep Willys 1942 since 1982,that I bought all unoriginal.I bought my Dodge Pilothouse 1952,because in september 1987 its owner implored to me.I never wanted to buy a Dodge 1/2 ton truck,I wanted a 1/2 ton 1951 Chevrolet.I remember that its owner was drunk and I ask him why he was drunk,he said me "because I wanted to extract a tooth":p.In the following pics we see:1)This green PH wasn't mine,but mine was in the same manner in the floor without the four wheels in 1986 in front the owner's house.2)Mine B3-B in my father in law farm(november'1987).3),4) and 5)Today(after).:p;)Thanks to all(present and past) of this forum I always frequent since 2003,my 1952 PH today is very original in a good shape.

[Merle Coggins]

For me it all started when a good friend of mine was working on a '75 Dodge show plow truck for a guy. When they determined that it wasn't worth fixing my buddy was given the truck to cover his time. He scrapped it out and offerec to give me the 360 engine. Although I didn't have anything to put it in I couldn't pass it up. That started my search for the perfect project to use the engine in.

On day I drove past a Pilot-House truck for sale along side the road and it hit me... "That's the project vehicle for me". I turned around to get a closer look. It was being sold as a '50 half ton but it had a 51-51 nose. (I realized that after I learned the difference) Upon closer inspection I discovered that the iron moths had feasted quite well on that truck. There wasn't much left to work with so I passed on it. However, it got me thinking about that style truck so I began to do some research. I finally found my truck on ebay, down near Cedar Rapids, IA. "Body 95% solid, engine stuck" was how the add was worded. Perfect!!! I bought it. This was was advertised as a '51 1/2 ton but from the pics and serial number I knew it was a '50 3/4 ton, thanks to Don Bunn's book.

When I went there to pick it up I found that the engine had been partially disassembled, with the head and manifolds laying in the bed. The front clip was held on with a couple of bolts and a lot of mechanics wire. It was a basket case, but I brought it home anyway and began the overhaul. When I realized that it was a Fluid Drive truck I decided to try to keep it original. I sold the 360 and rebuild the 218 flattie. I'm glad I did. I love this truck.

Merle

[knuckleharley]

When I was a little kid,my Uncle George bought a brand new 54 Dodge pu. Red with a black bed and rear fenders. It may have been the only thing new Uncle George ever bought in his whole life. He had ran away from home at age 13 and became a cabin boy on a 3 masted sailing ship that worked the China trade,and didn't come back home and marry my aunt until he was in his 30's.

He was not what you would call a big spender or a careless person.

I wanted a pilot house pu ever since.

One of my other uncles bought a brand new 58 or 59 Rambler Ambassador 2dr ht stationwagon with push button shifting,a 327 V-8,and factory air. It was fire engine red,and I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Even at age 12 or so I thought it was prettier than my fathers 55 Ford Victoria 2dr ht,and 12 year old boys just don't like stationwagons..

Not much chance of ever finding a 58-59 Ambassador wagon,though

[oldmopar]

Not much chance of ever finding a 58-59 Ambassador wagon,though

You ask the internet provides

http://americandreamcars.com/1958ambassadorwagon0709.htm

[Kingdave]

Hey Flatie 46 since the hunt for a home for the FIRST 331 Ive since added another 331 , a 4 barrel , a 53 DeSoto 276 and 2 weeks ago a 53 Dodge 241 to the stable and still looking for a home for them !

[Bradley S.]

My Dad bought a 48 BIF in 1972. It was the first vehicle I ever drove (I was 12). He sold it a fews years later. I always thought is was a cool truck.

Two summers ago I was visiting him and there in the machine shed was the 48 BIF! He had bought it back for $200 to save it from the salvage yard. I immediatle decided that it had to be restored. He sold it to me for $1.

I can't wait for my 40 year flash back and once again drive that truck.

The restoration should be completed late this sumer or fall.

[knuckleharley]

You ask the internet provides

http://americandreamcars.com/1958ambassadorwagon0709.htm

Thanks,but despite advertising,a Cross Country and a Ambassador were different series. Think of the Cross Country as a Dart,and the Ambassador as a Fury.

I have a 58 Cross Country wagon with factory air,ps,pb,tinted windows,and factory trailer towing package. It's a 4 door sedan type of wagon,not the pretty 2dr hit type of wagon my uncle's Ambassador was.

[HanksB3B]

When I worked in a saw mill in Vermont there were a lot of Dodge Trucks around. The loggers of course used the Power Wagons, and there were a variety of trucks ranging from a step van used for local bread delivery, a few wreckers used for towing breakdowns, city folk out of the snow banks in winter and naturally pick-ups that contractors and farmers used everyday. I just grew to like them. Oddly enough, (I hadn’t really thought about it till now) my grandfather Phil was always giving me his hand-me-down used cars and they were always Dodges, so I've had a few in the 60's.

One night my friend Joe, my dog and I went into town. I had my dog tied up outside where I could see him. Joe and I had been drinking for some time when out of the blue he told me the other night my wife had snuck out of the house while I was sleeping and met him in the chicken coop. I’ll spare you the details but fists went flying. Joe took off leaving me and my dog stranded.

There was a dairy farmer in town that had a really bad reputation. Thing is he was the nicest guy in the world when he wasn’t drinking. He loved to go into town and have a few, only problem was that a few could turn into 24 beers. It was said that once after a hard day’s work bailing hay he had finished 48 beers and when the local police tried to arrest him for drunk and disorderly conduct, he got into it. It was rumored he beat up the entire police force.

The bar had just closed and here I was all alone with my dog at around 2:00in the morning in the middle of winter, miles from home. There were only a few people outside. The dairy farmer and his wife and someone he was talking to. Because it was so cold, she went to the passenger side of the truck and got in. I was only 24 and still kind of shy. I was afraid to interrupt him and ask him for a ride, but I had no choice. I asked and he agreed, told me to load my dog into the truck bed and he’d be right along.

I opened the passenger door and climbed in. I hadn’t paid much attention but as soon as I got into the truck I noticed his wife was outstandingly beautiful. She didn’t move over much on the bench seat and I sort of stiffened up and became extremely self conscious. At the same time she touched me and said something when suddenly the driver door opened. At this point, the dairyman was so drunk, he did not remember telling me he was going to give me a lift, looked at me and said “What are you doing in my truck with my wife boy”.

I panicked and for a millisecond visualized my body in a bloody snow bank and then with a big smile I turned and said “Waiting for you Don”. It calmed the moment and so I switched the conversation to his truck. I told him I really liked it and wanted to get a Dodge truck someday. After a 30 minute drive my dog and I arrived safe home. I told him I was very thankful for the ride.

Around six months later it was summer. I went over to Tunbridge. The county fair was in town. It was a long time ago and before the world became politically correct. There was a Girly Show, a Freak Show, a great Fiddle Contest as well as good country fried chicken and corn on the cob that must have been picked ten minutes before it was cooked.

Any way I was with this girl and showing off. I had a roll of bills mostly twenties but a couple of hundreds on the outside (Jewish Bank Roll). I went to pay for something when I felt a tug on my shoulder. I looked around and saw Don standing there his wife. He ‘said how’d you like to loose what I saw you got over some hands of gin over at my place. Right off the bat he told me “Hey tell you what. I got a new truck, what do say I play you for what you got for the truck and to sweeten the deal, when you loose I’ll sell the truck to you for $200 more, sound fair”? “More than fair” I said o.k. but one hand, here right now“.

I happen to be an excellent gin player and at that time in my life always carried cards. It was my grandma Honey’s favorite card game and we had spent years playing gin when she babysat for my sister, brother and I. I hardly ever lost to anyone, very seldom turned down a challenge. I was still kind of scared of Don and really didn’t want to go over his place if he was a sore loser. Anyway to make a long story shorter, that’s how I got my truck, won it in a card game back in the summer of 69.

Hank

[Jim Gaspard]

Put that ballad to country and you'll have a hit.

[pflaming]

Good country songs also have (1) a train, and (2) a mother-in-law, so you need to add those two.

[Jim Gaspard]

But there's whiskey, women, cheatin', fightin', gamblin', the law, a dog and best of all, a truck. What more could you ask for?