1950 Dodge Gas Hopper Truck

[Mike Ellis]

Here is some information on an unusual, beautifully restored 1950 Dodge truck that is displayed at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, TX. The truck is absolutely awesome and if you are ever in Galveston it is sure worth visiting the museum to see the amazing collection of WW-II aircraft and this great little truck.



Check out the restoration story and specs in the replies I will post.

 

[Mike Ellis]

Restoration Story and Specs, taken word-for-word from the placards displayed with the truck

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This "Gas Hopper" is Number 46 of Only Approx. 180 specified and built especially for Phillips 66 between 1948-1962.

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THE TALE OF THE ORANGE TRUCK



This truck is owned by Ralph Hall of Houston, Texas, and was restored by him, his older brother Kenneth (deceased) of Oklahoma City and others. During their high school years, from the mid-fifties to the early sixties, Ken, Ralph, and younger brother Henry drove THIS TRUCK while working at Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City. It is believed the truck was in service some 25 years, pumping thousands of gallons of fuel into thousands of different airplanes. The original, working speedometer indicates less than 18,000 total miles on the truck when Ken found it abandoned outside town. The low miles are indicative of the fact it rarely, if ever, left airport property.



Ken found the truck in May, 1993, and after verifying it was in fact the same truck we had worked with, proceeded with a plan of restoration. Unfortunately, the truck was in really poor shape, and before Ken could get much accomplished, he was in an accident that ultimately proved fatal. Before passing on, Ken asked Ralph if he would "see the project through", and naturally, the answer was YES. In December, 1993, Ralph and his brother-in-law Terry Savage trailered both this truck and a parts truck from Oklahoma City to Houston, Texas, where the project would continue. Ralph, along with grandson Jason Gould, good friend Terry Williams, other friends and many professionals, have thransformed this beautiful little truck back to "good as new"... just as we know Ken would have wanted it. The restoration has taken about three years, off and on, due to family health problems.



The open-cab design makes this a very unique truck, as this type of design sold by Dodge no doubt represented the smallest number of units produced for any given year. Most of these trucks were shipped out and built into vehicles that required special bodies, but with an enclosed cab for the driver. Also, although there are no records to substantiate it, Phillips Petroleum Aviation Department and Columbian Steel Tank Company representatives feel there were probably no more than several hundred trucks like this wearing the Phillips 66 brand during the era.



We are very proud of our truck and sincerely hope you have enjoyed seeing it and reading our story as well. - BY R. M. HALL

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1950 "Job Rated" Dodge Truck/Phillips 66 Specifications



GENERAL

* "Flat Face Cowl" design on 1/2 ton, B-2-B Pick-Up Chassis

* Manufactured by Dodge Division, Chrysler Corporation, Detroit, MI 1950

* 108-inch wheelbase; Dry Weight-3,250 lbs; Gross Vehicle Weight-4,850 lbs.

* Total 1950 1/2-ton Pick-Up Trucks Produced-40,000

* Est. Production of 1/2-ton Flat Face Cowl Units-1,200



ENGINE:

* In-Line L-Head 6-Cylinder; 218 cu. in. , 95 H. P. @3,600 rpm, 172ft-lbs torque @



1,200 rpm; Compression Ratio 6. 6:1

* 1-Pint Oil Bath Air Cleaner



DRIVE TRAIN:

* 4-Speed, Floor Shift Transmission with Power-Take-Off (PTO)

* Single Plate, Dry-Disc Clutch, 10-in. diameter

* Semi-floating Rear Axle, Differential Gear Ratio 4. 1:1

* 16 in. Steel Wheels with 6. 00x16, 4-ply Tires



SUSPENSION:

* Leaf Springs and Hydraulic Shock Absorbers at all 4 Wheels



BRAKES:

* 4-Wheel Hydraulic, with Band and Drum-type Emergency Brake (on transmission)



STEERING:

* Worm and Roller with 74-degree Right-to-Left Steering Arc



ELECTRICAL:

* 6-Volt Battery with 40-Amp-Hr. Generator



FUEL TANK EQUIPMENT:

* 300-gallon, 2-Compartment, Double Partioned, Hand-Welded Steel Tank

* 8-in. Diameter Filling Hatches with Open-Air Vents

* Hinged-Lid, Rear Oil Storage Compartment with Oak Flooring

* 1 1/2-in. Blackmer XS Pump, PTO driven, 12-50 gpm @ Max. 60-psi

* 1 1/2-in. Neptune Meter with 1 1/2-in. Piping, Valve Manifold, and Strainers

* 3/4-in. Tank Sump Water Drains

* 1-in. Hose and Fuel Nozzle

* Spring-loaded Static Electricity Grounding Reel

* CO2 Fire Extinguisher, Running Board Mounted

* 5-Ft. Wooden Ladder with Storage Brackets

* Forward-facing Exhaust System with USDA Forest Service Approved Spark Arrestor

* Full-time, Truck Frame-to-Road Copper Grounding System

 

[Mike Ellis]

More Pictures

More pix, quality is not the best but given starting point not too bad. The pix were taken using my Sony TRV-900 MiniDV digital camcorder, it is a 3-CCD camcorder that can store 640x480 stills. Some of the pics are from stills, some are video frames. Unfortunately all had to be squeezed pretty harshly to put into the thread. They don't even BEGIN to do the truck justice.

 

[Mike Ellis]

Closeup of Dodge Goodies

Here are a few pictures of some of the details that caught my eye from across the hangar and pulled me over to the truck like a magnet. Takes a lot to pull me away from WW-II piston-engine aircraft!

 

[Mike Ellis]

Hmmm, most of the pictures showed up but the last two (picture of a tail light and a full shot of the grille) aren't in the post. Oh well you see enough to get the idea of what she looked like, too bad they had it right in the corner so I couldn't get better pictures.



By the way, the truck had two tanks, one was labelled 87 octane and the other was labelled 100 octane.



Ya ought to see some of the airplanes they have DROOOLLLLL

 

[Wayno]

There is a place in League City TX. where everone goes on Friday nights with there old cars and trucks . There is a club called Space City Cruiser that puts on the cruise night at the city park . It is on FM 518 and the R&R Tracks near SH 3 . I saw that truck a year or two ago out there . It is very clean and different.