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1939 Dodge TD 20
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Earliest Dodge in my collection.
I got an e-mail message in March 2000 from Craig, a fellow VC 3 owner in the U.S.A. asking if I'd noticed this truck up for auction on the auction site E-Bay. The auction ran it's course without any real bidding interest, so after it had expired I exchanged a few e-mails with the seller, Tom Gale in Logan, Utah, and some dollars changed hands..........
Ran the numbers past Fred Coldwell, and he told me it is a September 1939 120" wheelbase model TD 20, one of 5,537 made that year, chassis number 8093293 from Mound Road, Detroit, with an original T72 flathead six in it (well most of it is - the cylinder head, radiator, and carburettor are lying in the back)
Although I haven't got any records or information about this model being built specifically for the military, is looks like it has been green since it came off the production line. I thought it would be very similar to the VC 3 hard cab pickup, but there are quite a few differences; the bed is 12" longer, and not equipped for a hood frame or troop seats, the wheels are six bolt disc wheels (as opposed to the five bolt discs on the VC 3) and it probably has the standard three speed gearbox in it.
Current plans are to get it back here to Scotland and give it a full restoration, notably the pickup bed wood, cab header panel (the panel above the windscreen shows some serious rust in another photo) and engine. According to Fred the engine serial (T72-7051-S) is so high that it probably indicates a factory replacement unit.
To see what the current status is, check the update link below;