Dodge trucks from the 1930s are rare for a couple of reasons.
One–they didn’t make many of them and two–very few survived, so that makes this 1935 Dodge Brothers KC 2nd Series Commercial Express rarer than a Hemi Cuda.
Jerry Sutherland
Brian Wear is the current caretaker of this rare piece of history and he’s also an expert on the story behind his truck. Brian explained how his ’35 Dodge,“started life in Detroit at the Hamtramck Michigan Factory “Dodge Main” on October 29, 1935”.
The Dodge went to work immediately. It was purchased by the US Treasury and likely went to work in Fargo, North Dakota as a revenue agent vehicle.
Brian knows the back story inside and out,“The build sheet specifically called for two fender spare wheel carriers and two windshield wipers. A pair of extra winter tires that could be quickly put on as they got into that ND back country where it could be slick winter or summer and probably saved their bacon a few times”.
The truck was probably sold for surplus and crossed the Pembina, Manitoba Canadian border in the 1950s and did some time as a farm truck in the Kamloops, British Columbia area. The Dodge was sold in the mid 80s and headed west to Vancouver Island.
Brian learned the truck was for sale in 1991 and he was very interested in buying the old Dodge. This was the pre-Internet era, so Brian did the old-fashioned thing—he brought a trailer and optimism.
He had to travel to Vancouver Island, but Brian was confident he could assess this ’35 Dodge because:“I was familiar with the Dodge Brothers Brand as I had a 1935 Dodge Brothers DU and several 39-47 Dodge and Fargo pickups and panels and a 1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe–I thought it would make a great addition to the fleet”.
Brian was happy with what he saw: “I found the truck under a blue tarp. Vancouver Island gets a good share of rain and sitting exposed to that would not have been good, so I was pleased to see it was covered. I pulled the tarp back and there he was in grey primer”.
There was more good news: “It appeared to be solid, and it was all there, fenders, box, tailgate, grill shell, glass, engine etc. It had been sitting for several years since the husband had left apparently and the lady was selling it as excess inventory (not sure the sale had the husband’s blessing as I never did meet him)”.
The deal was cut: “After a bit of negotiating and my assurances to the wife it was leaving Vancouver Island a deal was struck and I paid her cash, and I got a bill of sale and some registration transfer papers”.
The ’35 Dodge came with a truckload of parts like two extra doors, brand-new whitewall tires, a trunk full of things like a carb, extra head, and other things. There were two winter tires sitting in the fender wells and Brian thought they were so old they may have been original to the truck.
Brian was amazed with the how easily the old Dodge started: “After a few weeks of going through it, changing all fluids, doing a cold tune up of plugs, points, condenser, etc. and other minor things I poured a bit of gas in the carb–it fired up right away and ran like a kitten”.
There was very little to do cosmetically: “I put new back cab glass and side glass and a windshield in it and went through the window and door mechanisms. The interior was basically bare, so I painted the dash and all interior metal forest green and bought a few sheets of black upholstery panel and fashioned pieces from templates I made and installed door panels and headliner, and kick panels. I think you can buy a complete interior kit now”.
Brian had the old Dodge right where he wanted—on his BC ranch in Cariboo country. He used it for light duty from 1991 to 2018 as his “go-for” truck. The truck was off the road at that point, so Brian had a big list of things he wanted to do.
He explained what he did: “I pulled the gas tank, and rad and had them rebuilt then put a new (fairly) NOS grill and grill insert I got from a friend in Alabama, (fairly) NOS headlight buckets and lenses. I changed out the back fenders with two perfect sequential serial numbers and added two matching correct front fenders both from a friend in Mt. Joliet, TN.”
Brian also did a complete brake job on it and installed a stock temperature gauge. He also rebuilt the engine and transmission in 2020 and rebuilt the cooling system.
He took the truck back to its factory blue in his own way: “At some point the truck had gotten a primer grey coat of paint with black trim and the same in the interior. And it had a not so stock seat in it. The body was in good shape except for a few dings and small dents here and there which I thought gave it character. I made the decision to not do any body work to the cab and doors (a true survivor) and simply sanded it and painted it green with black fenders and black grill and insert”.
There was more: “I also located a set of new rubber covered running boards. It already had the green paint in the interior from 1991. I found 6 as-new NOS hubcaps from my friends in TN including a Ram radiator cap, the hard to find “6” crank hole cover as well as many other small parts and pieces. I had a new seat built to stock appearance in brown period leather and put in a new floor mat with brown leather trim around the gearshift and E-brake handle. And rebuilt the twin vacuum windshield wiper motors etc.”
Brian got what he wanted out of his survivor ’35 Dodge Brothers KC 2nd Series Express.
This is a real working truck survivor that made his way from the right coast to the left coast and quite a few points in between. I could have done a complete nut-and-bolt body off restoration but in my opinion–they are only new once. It has a new easy and light duty life as an ice cream shuttle and local parts getter and basic Sunday driver.
Brian Wear
It always gets a few smiles and thumbs up as I drive around the back roads of the Fraser Valley.
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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