You may not know it, but the company that produces the Challenger and the Durango today started as a supplier of engine and chassis components. Established as the Dodge Brothers Company in 1900, it supplied a wide range of parts for early Oldsmobile and Ford vehicles. In the 1920s, Dodge expanded its truck line and became a leading builder of light pickups into the 1930s. This hauler hails from that era.
Based on the all-steel, streamlined Dodge sedan introduced in 1935, this truck is the predecessor of the Job-Rated pickup and among the first in a line that led up to the iconic D Series of the 1960s. It's not the most famous truck of its era and it's more common in junkyards rather than on public roads, but some have lived to the 21st century to tell their stories.
This 1937 model is the perfect example, one that embraces an unrestored look with exposed sheet metal and what used to be rust spots. And like many old trucks in this state, it's a full-fledged rat rod, hiding a beefed-up V8 under the hood and riding on drag-spec wheels. It's a daily driver, but it's also ready to hit the drag strip on Sundays.
The hauler recently made an appearance at Byron Dragway's vintage drag racing event "Glory Days." It showed up among nostalgia gassers to flex its vintage, 1969 Dodge powerplant connected to a five-speed Tremec gearbox and a Ford rear end.
That gorgeous, V-shaped hood hides a 340-cubic-inch (5.6-liter) V8 engine bored .030 over and topped by a 750 Holley Double Pumper. It also packs Trickflow heads and a solid lifter cam for more oomph than you can ever get from a stock 1930s truck.
How powerful it is? Well, there's no specific figure to run by, but it's potent enough to run the quarter-mile in 11 seconds without breaking a sweat.
The footage below shows the truck covering the distance in 11.78 seconds, before returning to improve its ET to 11.62 clicks. Both runs end with a trap speed of more than 116 mph (187 kph). But that's not the best this truck can do. According to the owner, the Dodge can sprint down the quarter-mile in 11.3 seconds and reach 120 mph (193 kph) in the process.
That's just a tad slower than seemingly more powerful nostalgia gassers and on par with many modern muscle cars hailing from Detroit. Hit the play button below for pure rat rod goodness.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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