This is my latest project. I bought it by word-of-mouth assuming it was a 1.5 ton. When I went to pick it up, I realised that I'd got more than I bargained for. The VIN says 17,000 lbs, so it's a 5-ton. Finding some original ads confirmed that.
Normally I have some fun with the old cars and trucks I come across, but in this case I've decided this is strictly a restoration project with a practical end in mind. Being a musician in my other life, I've decided this will become a bandwagon, for pulling up to the kerb and playing gigs. This is virtually a must-have these days because the live gigs venues have all but dried up.
I'm amazed at how well this truck has stood up. There is only very superficial rust, the tires are still good, and it has been standing out in the middle of a farmer's field for the last 30-or-so years.
I'm having a devil of a time locating the original paint. Dodge lists a lot of original paint colours, but not this particular dark blue. The only thing that comes close is the paint used on the Woodward's delivery trucks made at the time, and that's one of those proprietary colours, like John Deere green and Caterpillar yellow-orange.
It may be a Canadian colour. If I can catch up with a guy I know that has Canadian paint chips I will see what I can do. Most everything on the net is from the good ole USA.
Ah . . . I didn't think of that. Funny, but I was just talking with some guys talking about cars and trucks made for the Canadian market. I didn't realise there was a difference.
