Are you looking for a unique truck for your service business? If so, check out this 1953 Dodge B4-B with a Powers Service-Master utility box on the back! This green beauty is listed on Hemmings with a negotiable asking price of $ 8,900 and it’s located in Madison, Wisconsin.
I have seen this truck for sale in the past couple of years, I would have a hard time giving it up if I owned it. The white walls aren’t factory correct, of course, but they give it a bit of oxymoronic class, I think. A fancy utility pickup, that’s like jumbo shrimp! But, given all of the posh and pampered pickups of today, this thing is like it’s from the stone age. It has worlds more soul and character than a GPS with backup camera, heated and cooled latte-holders, power windows, mirrors, seats, locks and dual climate control modern pickup has.
I love the stubby look of this photo, it really has a ton of character. And, you can see the non-white-wall tires; a look that I much prefer over the wide whites, but that’s just me. My grandpa used to drive Ford pickups from this era with similar utility boxes on the back and this one really reminds me of those. They were green, too. There is a lot of usable space in that Powers Service-Master utility box. There’s also a lot of surface rust in those compartments that you’ll want to head off at the pass. This truck has obviously been restored, or at least repainted at some point, and it looks like a nice enough job.
The interior looks fantastic to me. I can’t really see any huge problems inside this truck, or really anywhere outside, either. Well, the headliner and a few details related to that could use some massaging. The seller says that it has new upholstery and could use some interior cosmetics. There is a regular, non-utility box that comes with the truck if the next owner wanted to restore it back.
This half-ton pickup has Dodge’s 218 cubic-inch inline-six with around 95 hp. This truck has a three-on-the-tree manual transmission. This is the last year of the B-Series pickups from the Dodge boys and the seller says that this flathead-six runs great. Would any of you have a use for a utility-box pickup like this nice Dodge?
I believe the ladder rack holders on the back of the bed are newer ones from Knapheide. they still look just like that on the new models
https://www.knapheide.com/files/source/knapheide/products/Options/Catalog%20Pages/UBOPG039-B_20150327.pdf
Very cool truck. Lots of things you can do with this truck. Imagine using it to display parts at a swap meet or whatever you can think of.
This truck makes me want to go out and get a contractors license. It’s just a cool truck!
What a sweet truck AND the original pickup bed to boot! Whats not to like! Well its in Wisconsin. Darn
Finally one that’s close, thirty miles. Now, if I could only jump the other hurdle, finding the ching. It seems like a great deal .
What a cool truck! Strange that the tailgate seems to have been sheet-metaled over; you can see the embossed POWERS in reverse on the inside, but not the outside. Wonder what’s hiding there.
jwinters nice comment I know a bit about truck equipment and your spot on..
knapheide has been around since 1846
I always had a soft spot for this era Dodges, having had a 55 myself. Got it as a freebee from a buddy that took it as part payment for a remodeling job the guy couldn’t pay for. One thing I like is it appears they added turn signals to it but didn’t drill in the lights on the top of the front fenders like mine had. Mine had a Desoto Firedome Hemi transplant in it but still had the 4 speed with a granny in it. They had a tendency to develop cracks in the rear fenders plus mine had an ugly Robins Egg Blue paint job done to it. It was fun though while I had it.
Unfortunately I had to sell it along with my go-cart to make the down payment on my first house.
In the 90’s, I bought a Dodge pickup like this, “Pilot-house” cab ( regular box) and a ’51 Ford F6 dump truck for $200, FOR BOTH! I got the Ford running but not the Dodge. I sold it for $250. Wonderful example here, looks a little like a phone co. truck, but be advised, unless something was done to the gearing, these were city trucks, and “double-nickel” (eventually) will be about it. For a little service business, be a great advertiser. Parade ready, you supply the kids and candy, big American flag waving, USA, USA!
I bought a 55 in the mid 70’s for $200. The head gasket needed to be replaced. When I took the head off, it looked like bionic mice had chewed on top of the pistons.I didn’t want to get into a rebuild.It ran better when done but decided to sell. A young guy rode to my house on a bicycle in a snow storm & gave my wife $400 for it. Two weeks later I saw it in the local junkyard, wrecked. I still have a soft spot for these trucks.
I can visualize a telephone company having these, replacing your old bakelite dial phones with new ones, as they were often on contract.
That engine and bay though. Looks like crap under the hood with the rest of the truck looking good. Restoration of a vehicle is not just new paint and interior.
I would have love to drive this to service calls around Fort Worth. Clean and plenty of room for a few parts..