1950 Custom Dodge

What was it Pete, a milk truck?

we got told it was a photographic unit for the Herald Sun, built by ALF A Mitchell coach builders, but still cant find any pics or anything of it???

I would have thought the platform on the roof would have been flatter, with a ladder for a photographic truck, not to say it hasn't been changed about in 50 odd years. You've got a nice bit of history anyway, what's the plan?

we would maybe restore it to what it was in its glory day, I am a hobby photographer, but we cant find an original photo to guide from, it will be restored no matter what, I am lucky that my husband has his own car restoration business so he loves this kind of stuff!!! its going to be a challenge, but we love a challenge!

What is that model number on the plate and gross weight, I cant read it in the photo?
If you cant make that out just tell me the tyre size and wheelbase and should be able to give you a model number.

I think its a 2-33 jobbie with the small front gards on it. The dash and steering column will also tell a few things about where the truck is from. The early trucks were out of canada and the steering column comes under the dash and the later trucks that were made here comes through it. will be a 218 side valve 6 with a column shift 3 speed or floor shift 4 speed.

The colors are about right for the Hearld/Sun Pete, im thinking rack on roof maybe after thought by a previuos owner

Here's a bloke with some fairly good info on the early Pilothouse Dodges ..

www.dodgepilothouseclub.org/garage/garage.htm

I dunno what to make of the roof rack setup. I thought, initially, they'd have a setup where the cameraman would be able to park his tripod and stand behind it, and run the camera .. but the area up there looks a bit cramped for that.
If you study a lot of films/newsreels of the post-WW2-era, they liked to get the movie camera up high for a better shot ..
BUT .. if it was a newspaper truck .. they only took still pictures, for publication in the paper.
I'm a little puzzled why the paper would want such a big van. The newspaper blokes ran around with hand-held cameras.
To me, it seems more like a Movietone News or Cinesound Newsreels van, for a movie camera crew.

I've searched and searched, and found absolutely nothing, related to H&WT paper trucks.
The only thing I've found, is a notice in the papers around 1920, saying that Alf A. Mitchell had withdrawn from a current partnership, and was commencng business under his own name, at another location, as Alf A. Mitchell, coachbuilder.
There are a couple of pics of late 1940's/early 1950's fire engines that sport Alf A. Mitchell bodies.

Maybe trying to hunt down some of the Mitchell family descendants, would be a better method of finding the trucks origins.

There has to be a photo of that van in action somewhere. Maybe a newsreel camera van as it pre dates television.
Here is a later one www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://w...v%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1

Bit more about HSV7 history, when they talk about an OB van they are referring to something larger like a mobile studio setup with 3 or 4 operators inside.
austv.hostforweb.com/cgi-bin/cgi2/index....ven%20Network&mode=0
I can imagine this Dodge all restored, camera on top just the thing for filming a vintage truck run.