Here is a rare find, at least south of the border: a 1941 Fargo 1/2 Ton Pickup. Located in Montreal, Quebec, and listed here on eBay, the bid on this barn find currently rests at $1,791 with over three days left in the auction. If you can’t stand the suspense, the seller has provided the option to Buy It Now for $8,800, American.
The Fargo Motor Car Company was founded in Chicago in 1913 and operated independently in 1922. Acquired by Chrysler, the brand was reconstituted as a division of its parent company dedicated to commercial vehicles in 1928. Also in 1928, Chrysler finally swallowed up Dodge, and while Dodge and Fargo trucks existed as truly separate entities for a time, soon Fargos were rebadged Dodge models built for foreign markets. In many parts of the world, if you wanted a pickup from the Chrysler corporation, you bought a Fargo or a DeSoto; in each case, what you drove home was a Dodge.
In can seem that among truck aficionados, there are the Chevy and GMC fans, then a few die-hard Ford guys. Dodge, with the notable exception of the Powerwagons, seems to get short shrift, at least until the late Sixties models come around. Here’s an example to put to rest any argument that such a prejudice is justified: this is one good-looking truck. The engine is one the variations on Chrysler’s flat six. In any case, you’re looking at between 85 and 95 horsepower: perfectly respectable for its day and sufficient for in-town driving, if a bit of a dicey proposition on the freeway. All the parts look to be there, which is a good sign for a potential restoration. However, pictures can be deceiving, since the seller states that the box, fenders, and tailgate do not come with the truck– these are available for purchase through another auction. He’s likely talking about the pieces that appear in the last few photos and not the box and fenders currently on the truck, but it might be worth a serious bidder’s time to discuss with the seller exactly what is included in the sale.
Fargos weren’t produced in large numbers, and it’s a good bet that a truck like this would be the only one to appear at your local cars and coffee. The mechanicals seem to be straightforward and the body looks to be solid. The seller states that it runs and rolls, but that the brakes need attention– not unexpected with a vehicle of this age and condition. The elephant in the room here may just be the truck’s location: although it may seem to be a simple matter of hauling it back across the border, importing a vehicle, even an antique one, is a matter in which our federal government takes a keen interest. A potential buyer on the southern side of the line would be well-advised to have all his paperwork in order before attempting to return home with this prize.
Neat old truck, though it’ll take a lot of love to bring it back to a running machine.is it worth $8800? Depends on how bad you want a “unique” 50’s 1/2 ton truck I suppose but you don’t see a lot of ’50’s Dodge trucks out and about at least around here.
Any ideas as to why there are TWO choke controls on the dash?
one is a throttle-hold but has a wrong knob affixed; cables got dry and hard to pull and often broke….. gonna guess this was a knob available and got put to the job
That makes sense. Thank you, mrgreenjeans.
I love the front end on these old Dodge/Fargo pickups. With all of that ventilation if it’s not the coolest-running truck on the road, it’s certainly the coolest looking to me.
I love how a 70 year old truck just has patina but a semi new 10 year old truck will have rust thru everywhere
Actual the steel quality back then was quite good, and thicker, that and these old trucks travelled on gravel more than pavement where salt was not a real issue. As for getting these old dodge engines running not that big of a deal. They’re as simple as a lawn mower and supper rugged with a full pressure oiling system. The basic design of these engines and for that matter chassis was so reliable that dodge used It up to 1959 in there cars, trucks and up 1972 in industrial applications. This truck would be a great project for a DIY guy. And I don’t think it would break the bank either.
Well folks, it looks like good ol’ American classic car greed has finally crossed over the border. Canada seemed to escape that, $8,800,( and a top bid of $1,900,,,Ha, ha),,I could say, “what they smokin’? as it was legal there way before Colorado, but I’m not that shallow, smoking weed has nothing to do with inflated prices. Fact is, MONEY is their drug,,,anyway, nice find with absolutely no desire as is, and will surely become a reso-mod, and that’s okay, I guess.
I see it has a coal chute opening in the tailgate. You could back up to the basement window with a load of coal and attach the metal chute from truck to a basement window and the guy in bed would unload with a shovel sending it down the chute into the basement. And you are set for winter heat feeding the coalburner in the basement
Growing up on the border I got the chance to see lots of cross-over vehicles. While it was mostly Mercury trucks that migrated across into Montana I did see my share of GMC trucks with Chevy engines and Fargo trucks. One thing you could expect when encountering a Fargo was the Canadian engine with the 25 inch block. One thing you checked out thoroughly before working on a Dodge truck was the ID plate to ensure that it was an American or Canadian truck because you would run into that engine size nightmare immediately. I might add that the problems escalated a bit during the late 40s when some Fargos starting coming out of Detroit. Now, for this truck, I like what I see and would love to see it come to my place. However, with the unfinished projects that already clutter up the shop I’d better concentrate on completing one of those first…
The dicey proposition on the freeway line made my day ! I’m willing to bet few of these ever saw a paved road in their lifetime. Had to chuckle.
I had a 1952 Olds 98 that had the same trap door floor problem. Bought it for $45 and it lasted a year before the 4 speed hydromatic locked up.