Beautiful trucks from the 1940s and 1950s are coming out our ears these days at Barn Finds, and here’s another one. This 1950 Dodge Pickup, found here on eBay, is bid to $5,300, reserve not met. This truck lives in Wolfforth, Texas. Thanks to T.J. for the tip! Note that the seller is not the owner – he is helping a friend who actually owns the truck but cannot complete the restoration. A VIN decoder reveals this truck as a B2-B half-ton with a 218 cu. in. flathead six-cylinder engine, rated at about 95 bhp. Its “Pilot House” cab is tall and upright, with abundant glass, and the sides of the bed were 40% higher to accommodate bigger loads. This truck has received considerable attention lately. It was found in a Texas pasture, having been parked in 1976 and only pulled out in 2019. It wasn’t running when found but with fresh fluids and a new battery, the engine sputtered to life. It needed a new piston so the motor was lightly refreshed, the carburetor was rebuilt, the gas tank was cleaned, and the starter and fuel pump were replaced.
The engine bay shows a glimpse of new parts as noted in the listing. The odometer reads 86,309, The brakes were rebuilt and a new wiring harness was installed. It has a new exhaust system, and the radiator was cleaned and repaired. It has new shocks all around and the tires were replaced in 2019. The seller has been driving the truck lightly.
The seat was recovered but there’s still work to do here. The vise grips are likely substituting for a window crank – that usually happens when the rachet rounds off. The radio speaker grille is missing. Along with the new wiring harness, the owner replaced the lights with LED versions. The truck has new glass in both doors but a crack in the driver’s front windshield (why doesn’t the passenger’s side ever crack?). In 1950, you could have either a three- or four-speed manual transmission. Standard equipment was a three-speed on the column. This one has a four-speed on the floor.
Despite sitting outside for decades, the truck has minimal rot – mostly showing around the windshields and in the bed; the rest is heavy surface rust. Overall, in and out, the patina is great with minimal repair required. A caring prior owner is so valuable when it comes to preserving survivors. What do you think – did this truck’s caretaker provide a great start for the new owner?
Perfect just as it is!
I know, I love this one!
Most of the stuff I’d want to do has already been done.
Harvey, Michelle Rand, Rex Kahrs you are all right. Just it.
Depending on where you live, you just
might wanna repaint the truck to preserve for future generations. Yeah, I think beaters are neater too.
But in humid climates like Florida, the
Tin Worm would devour this truck within the next 2-3 years. Fix what needs to be fixed, repaint it, and use
it for its intended purpose. I know the
patina lovers will come at me with
torches and pitchforks, but it’s just one guy’s 2¢!
Gol’ dang, I do declare. More dusty memories unearthed, in the late 80’s, my kids school bus driver, Earl, was also the town dump operator. His barn looked like something right out of American Pickers, from the stuff he took home. He had 2 trucks, a 51 Ford dump truck, and this exact truck. I know, many may be tiring of the “what I paid” stories, but I bought both for $200, and drove the Ford home. Dodge was huge in the 50s, probably from their war efforts, and lots of Dodge pickups like this were sold. I never got the Dodge running, and sold it for $250 bucks. To show why I’m so bitter, it wasn’t that long ago, my friends.
This? It’s a great find, but I wouldn’t waste another dime making it original. From my previous postings, you know darn well what will happen to this truck, and I still say, that’s okay. Better it should be restored with modern components, than to sit like this.
Thanks for the trucks, Michelle, I like your style,,
I love the old fashion sideways opening hood in these.
One of my summer jobs when I was 18 was prepping semi trailers for re paints. Next to the shop was a buy here pay here used car dealer who specialized in old pickups.
When he repoed, most still had the 55 gallon trash barrels in the bed. One old Dodge had a large rubber band cut from an inner tube sheet metal screws to the dash. It’s purpose was to keep the transmission from popping out of second gear when under load.
Most of the repo’s were really time outs. When the buyer came up with some money, they resumed payments, and trash picking.
There is one of these for sale in the city across the river from me the old guy had it out in front of his place for sale all last summer and I never did stop to see what he wanted. It didn’t sell and he moved it down his driveway a little but it’s still there with the sign in the back window it will need a little more restoration than this one.
I like this so much better than a Power Wagon.
I’m not a fan of the Pilot House cabs with their high windshield but those cool corner windows make up for it! I hope someone will carefully preserve this one.
Never understood reserve auctions… just tell the minimum you will accept and we can duke it out from there…
Reserve means you want to be mysterious and gouge people for as much as you can. Tell them your minimum and the price will probably be less than you would have gotten otherwise. Your way is more honest but there doesn’t seem to be much of that anymore in the car biz.