Restoration of 1937 ME31 30 cwt Dodge.

A couple more pics of the Fargo restoration. The water pump seemed to spin freely and did not have any movement in the bearings but after fitting the radiator and hoses, doing the right thing and filling the radiator with engine protective coolant, what happens it begins to leak. It cannot be removed with the radiator in place. so off with the radiator etc. Cannot buy new pump the same in Australia, so buy closest available, make elbow for top, refit radiator etc. Back to where we were up to a fortnight ago. (Pump without elbow in Australia $95.00 post free, Pump with inbuilt elbow in USA nearly $300.00 landed in Aust).

Does anyone know who owns this 1938 Dodge truck. It was at the 2015 Historic Commercial Vehicle Show and is the same model as the Dodge we are restoring. It would be nice to be able to make contact with the owner and perhaps share some information about our trucks.

I would be interested to know how many of these Dodge trucks and their Fargo stablemates were sold during 1937 and 1938. Does anyone know the numbers or like to make a guess.

I wonder how many are left now ?

Geoff.

Geoffa, very nice bit of buffing you have been doing and at great speed. A classy looking vehicle, as Swishy says real trucks have spiders.....

We have found another cab. We knew the floor was rusty but the rest is good. We have cut all the floor out and will fit new steel in it's place.

Geoff.

Your lucky it has an all steel cab, keep up the good work

I have Harden & Johnson tags on my hearses. Has anybody found a way to research their sales records?

I have been steadily pulling apart the Dodge we got from Warren ( the one with the rolled over cab).
The 4 inch angle grinder saves spending hours undoing a lot of rusty nuts and bolts.
Had another lot of parts for the Dodge sandblasted this week. John spent his day off yesterday undercoating them. I do the pulling apart and he does the painting. Yes we will knock out the dents in the mudguards.

Geoff.

My father picked his new Dodge truck up on Monday 8th November 1937. The cheque to Harden and Johnson for four hundred and one pounds, one shilling and eight pence was debited from the bank a/c on 10th November 1937.

Geoff.

The Fargo starts, runs and moves under it's own power for the first time in many years. With all the brake cylinders re-sleeved, after bleeding the system, it even stops.




The plate on the back of the tray which was probably built in late 1937 or 1938. Robert Campbell Shearer and Jack Moore Dumbrell were brothers-in-law. The partnership was dissolved on 15th September 1939 and Jack Dumbrell took over the business in his own right.

1929 New Car Sales Record May Be Broken This Year 1938

Total sales of new cars and commercial vehicles in Australia up to March 1938
indicate that the fiscal year will probably create a new record for new car
and truck sales. In 1929 the total
reached 72,778, but it is expected that
when all the reports are in for this year
that the total will exceed 80,000.
For the nine months ended March,
43.665 new cars were sold, and 17592
trucks, a total of 61257 units. Twelve
thousand sales for the last quarter will
create a new record, and as the average
for the three previous quarters is over
20,000 there is not much doubt that the
year ended June, 1938, will prove the
most successful in the history of the
Australian motor industry.
Approximately £22.000,000 was spent
on new cars and trucks in Australia
during the first three-quarters of the
year.

Figures Up To June 30 1938
During the year ended June 30, no less than 82.303 new motor vehicles
were sold in the Commonwealth, comprising 59.294 cars and 23.009 commercial vehicles. This represents a turn- over of between 20 and 30 million pounds. Every State registered improved figures over the year, both
in car and commercial vehicle sales, except Western Australia, which showed
a slight recession in trucks. The total was nearly 10,000 vehicles over the previous year, and sets a new record for
Australia. South Australian sales were 5.610 cars as against 4.961 in the previous year, and 2.471 commercial
vehicles, against 1,892.