Body change between 53,54, and 55

[gshort]

Dodge changed a few things on the bodies of the trucks between 53,54,and 55. The windshield is one of the changes. 53 and earlier it was a 2 piece set-up. In 54 it changed to a one piece unit. Somewhat curved. Then sometime in 55 they used a windshield that wrapped around the corners.

Another thing that changed are the doors. The 53 and 54 had the top hinge exposed and the 55 had it hidden inside the door jamb.

Can the doors from a 53 fit on a 54? What would it take to make a 2 piece windshield fit a 54?

I am looking for parts for my 54, have found a 53 but not sure what may fit and what won't. I can't get to it to compare until the corn comes out of the fields.

[JBNeal]

The '54 was a new model, with hubcaps, fuel tank & power train some of the only major carry-overs from '53.  Mid-'55 was a new cab that was used thru '60 (up into the 70s on big trucks), so the '54 & early '55s are rare cabs, with unique doors, windshield, etc.  The frames of the 50-53s were different from the 54-60s, as the '54 frame major change was moving the steering gearbox outside of the frame rails to accommodate V8 engines.  A side-by-side comparison makes some of these changes obvious

[William Davey]

One common bit of misinformation contained in the link above is the availability of the 241 cubic inch hemi.  The hemi was listed as optional from late 54 through 1956 but demand was greater than supply so many trucks got the 259 cubic inch poly-hemi used in Plymouth cars of the same era.  My truck was one of those and even the guy who sold it to me thought it was a 241 hemi.  At first i suspected an engine swap in the trucks past, but decoding of the vin on the T137 web site showed the 259 as original equipment.  

 

Edit to correct last sentence from 249 to 259.  

Edited September 19, 2015 by William Davey