25,624 original miles. Beautiful restoration in the 1990s, driven very little since. Runs and drives very well. Upgraded with turn signals and trailer hitch for towing parade floats. Handsome big hauler ready to play!
Unlike most of its siblings, this gorgeous 1.5.ton T-31 isn’t a big, clumsy flatbed farm truck, but rather a beautifully proportioned pickup—it’s like a regular truck done in 10/8 scale. It’s big, but the design cleverly hides its mass and from behind the wheel, it feels surprisingly agile for such a big machine. If you’re worried about it fitting in your garage, don’t—it’s less than seven feet tall and less than 20 feet long, so it should fit wherever a regular pickup can fit. Despite working for a living, a life with the parks department is likely pretty easy and it doesn’t seem to have ever been exposed to winter roads and salt, because the sheetmetal is in fantastic condition with exactly zero signs of rust repair or patching. It’s quite striking in its bright red and black color scheme, and even though this is a 1.5-ton truck, it received the same lovely chrome grille, the same highly stylized fenders, and the same curvaceous cab that the smaller trucks received. They faithfully re-created the parks department emblem on the doors and added wooden stake sides to the 9-foot pickup bed, which really gives it a dressed-up look. The bed was correctly restored with a wood floor and a locking tool box at the far end. It still sports its original single DODGE taillight, but in the interest of safety, auxiliary brake lights were added under the bed as well as a set of turn signal marker lights up front. You’ll also spot a modern Class IV receiver hitch and trailer light connector underneath—that’s because this truck often pulled parade floats in the local Memorial Day parade.
The interior is basic but quite attractive and you can tell Chrysler designers put in some extra time to make sure it was a pleasant place to work. The brown leatherette seat cover matches the door panels, and remains in very good condition. There are no splits or tears, although there are two discolored spots about the size of quarters on the lower seat cushion. The big steering wheel makes even this big brute relatively easy to handle and the aftermarket turn signals were added to the steering column in the usual fashion. The dashboard and instruments should look familiar to anyone who has driven a Dodge truck from the ‘40s, with all the instruments being fully operational, although the little pointer on the speedometer has come loose. They skipped the optional radio on this one, but it does have a powerful Mopar Deluxe heater/defroster that’s powerful enough to roast a Thanksgiving turkey, and they even took the time to re-create the markings and numbers from the parks department.
These big trucks used a version of the Plymouth flathead inline-6, with the 1.5-ton trucks getting a 218 cubic inch version with 77 horsepower. Now you may scoff, but that’s only because you’ve never driven a vehicle with one of these tough little engines in it and they’re easy to underestimate. They’re willing, torquey, and virtually indestructible, and with clever gearing, the big truck feels quick enough to move through today’s traffic. With so few miles on it, it’s unlikely that the engine has been opened and that’s OK, because these things will run forever with just gas and oil. There’s a rebuilt carburetor under a proper heavy-duty oil bath air cleaner, original style hose clamps, and new wiring. It has been recently tuned and serviced, so it starts easily with a bit of choke and runs great. The giant radiator up front means overheating is a total non-issue (remember this thing just shrugged off parade duty, which can push most old vehicles to their limit) and the original generator makes plenty of electricity. In short, this thing does exactly what it was designed to do and it does it well.
Underneath, the 1.5-ton chassis is incredibly over-built, with massive frame rails, a thick beam axle up front, and heavy-duty leaf springs all around. The transmission shifts easily and you can skip 1st gear unless you’re hauling something big. 5.69 gears in the giant rear pumpkin aren’t for highway travel, but this big Dodge is pretty happy at 45 MPH thanks to the giant 20-inch rolling stock. It has been driven and used, of course, but the underside is still in good shape and you should have any qualms about taking it out and using it as intended. Brakes are manual drums, but they’re GIGANTIC and more than adequate for the truck’s performance. And those heavy-duty steel artillery wheels look great sitting inside those beefy 7.50-20 Goodyears.
This is a fantastic hobby vehicle that’s still eminently practical, because you can take it to a car show and stop by the lumber yard on the way home, and you’ll never buy more than you can carry. Not many hobby vehicles can work as well as they play. Call today!
For more details and photos, please visit www.HarwoodMotors.com
