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| See Homepage. | This page: A chance conversation turns up some interesting photos showing the Dodge. |
The Dodge back in 1994.In addition to showing photographs of the Dodge's full restoration, which kicked off for real in 2007, I'm also keen to show photos of the truck prior to 1995 when I first saw it. A brief history of the Dodge, which was built in 1940, features on this page, and the restoration diary starts here. The pictures below turned up after a conversation I had with a modeller, displaying various model lorries at the Gaydon commercial vehicle show in 2007. When we got talking about old commercial vehicles, he told me that he remembered the Dodge when it was parked up, and had taken a number of photographs and even video footage of it. At the time he owned a 1947 Dodge pickup (civilian), so naturally had been interested when he spotted the transporter.A few days later, the VHS video, and the photographs shown below, landed on my doorstep. I'm very grateful to Kevin for loaning me his pictures and video to copy. The first photograph shows the Dodge parked up, with the bonnet hanging off at an angle. When I saw it in 1995, the canvas fitted to the side of the body had disappeared, but was obviously still present the year before, as can be seen. In the early 1950s this canvas was rolled up and stored high up on the body side, and was unfurled over a hinged frame that would be erected off the side of the truck, similar to a caravan awning. This modification, added late-on in Poore's usage of the Dodge, allowed the Alfa to be worked on inbetween races without the mechanics getting wet.  The next photo shows the transporter from the offside front corner. The original Marchal headlamps, fitted by Poore due to the dismal performance of the original Dodge lamps that came as standard, were still present, although one had broken off at some point in the dim and distant past, while it had been stored at Poore's estate. I have sourced a replacement for the nearside, so that a matching pair can be re-instated when the time comes. Originally, there was also a large single Bentley lamp fitted in front of the grille, so one of those would be great to find also.  Pictures three and four show the side of the coachwork. When it came to dismantling this side of the bodywork, it was found to be in worse condition than the nearside, so perhaps it had been exposed to the weather for longer? both sides needed re-panelling, as the original (steel) panels were very corroded (pics on this page). However the signwriting was re-created exactly as it was originally, once the dark green paint had been applied. Originally, ICI Westminster Green was used, and the same colour was applied to the restored coachwork. In 2012, the restored Dodge made a return visit to Donington Park. The preparations leading up to the event, and photographs of the weekend itself, can now be found in part 43 of the truck's restoration. Shortly after that event, a one-off model of the exact same truck was located in a house clearance shop in Australia - read about this find here.  Return to the Dodge Restoration section. |
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