Great Car Hauler or Rat Rod

Dodge Other 1949 Description

This is a 1949 Dodge Commercial Truck. Note: Five windows is quite rare. It was a water truck made to haul heavy loads. See rear springs. The whole truck is honest, has not been chopped up. Has original block that came with the truck on the rear chassis. If you are looking for patina and character, look no further. This truck came from North West Mississippi and was drug out of the woods. Note the liking fungus that turns bright green when wet. Also has another type of growth that looks like snowflakes. Has bat wings hood. This would make a great car hauler or rat rod.

The B-Series trucks were by far the finest and most advanced pickups of their day. This may seem like a bold statement in light of the fact that Chevrolet and Ford both announced important new truck series at the same time. Chevrolet in June 1947, Dodge in December 1947 and Ford in January 1949. The three auto divisions announced their first post War automobiles as 1949 models.

Lets take a look at the B-Series truck features which put Dodge ahead of the competition. First of all was its advanced, handsome cab styling. Dodge designers referred to it as the Pilothouse safety cab. This was in reference to the improvements in visibility over the previous cab. It was achieved from Chrysler's famous "chair height" seat and from improved driver visibility through the higher and wider windshield, door glass and rear window. New optional cab rear quarter windows eliminated those former dangerous blind areas.

Secondly, Dodge engineers set the front axles and wheels of all models eight inches further back than the former trucks and moved the engine slightly forward (similar in concept to 1936-1938's Fore-Point load distribution). As before this resulted in shifting more of the payload to the front axle and allowed greater payload ratings without adding more weight to the rear axle and springs.

A significant improvement in driveability was achieved by changing over to a cross-steering arrangement. Cross-steering, in combination with the new wide tread front axle, provided a 37-degree turn angle either right or left because the drag link ran almost parallel with the front axle and did not interfere with the left front tire on left turns. The B-Series featured long flexible springs and shock absorbers to provide a comfortable, controlled ride. If you want to treat yourself to a real pleasure, find a restored B-Series pickup and take it for a test drive. You will prove to yourself how maneuverable and easy to steer and drive these remarkable trucks are. You will be amazed that a 50 year old truck could deliver this level of driveability.

The B-Series advanced design highlights included modern, cab-wide front fenders. Notice for yourself how the front fenders of the Other Two retained the old fashioned 1930s style. Dodge designers brought the lines of the front fenders back and smoothly integrated them into the cab doors.You know the B-Series pickups are hard working, heavy haulers by their new extra deep cargo boxes. The cubic capacity of cargo space was greatly increased from the former pickup series. Dodge B-Series pickups were famous for moving loads, consequently most B-Series pickups were sold with 4-speed transmissions and overload springs