1959 Dodge air force truck tractor

[Rick59]

Hello I am new to this forum, I recently purchased a retired air force truck tractor, 1959 Dodge D700 , with a fifth wheel, air brakes, and an original 354 hemi , the truck has 21,000 miles. The truck is currently red, I want to bring it back to the original air force color and emblems. I sent the NSN and contract numbers to a friend on the base and he sent back 6 or 7 pages of codes that I cant figure out, how do I translate these codes to figure out what this truck looked like ?? thank you from Massachusetts, I will enjoy this forum.

 

[tm america]

Sounds awsome but......

 

[Rick59]

here is a pic if I can figure out how to do it

 

[tm america]

wow very very nice find..You really lucked out with that one.. Does it run ?

 

[Rick59]

It has sat for about 30 years, I recently bought it from an old man that would never budge on this truck, I had a lucky day , he was finally in a good mood and needed money badly, the only problem (big problem) is that I had to deal with is, it didnt ever have a title, and after two months of running back and forth to the registry, police stations, dealing with notary publics, registry officers , the seller multiple times , I finally got a valid title in the mail yesterday, so now I can finally do the restoration. I have all the parts gathered up to get it running and drive it around the yard. After that I want to a frame off resto.

 

[mhassett]

Awesome truck.
Please keep us posted on the restore.
MHassett

 

[NDT]

It would have looked just like that only painted strata blue, FS 15045. You can see that color on the firewall.

 

[Rick59]

Thanks for the info on strata blue, how about emblems ? what or where ? paint or decals ?

 

[tm america]

It would have looked just like that only painted strata blue, FS 15045. You can see that color on the firewall.

I agree you can see the blue on the firewall and faded through on the roof and a couple other places on the body

 

[Rick59]

What I thought was really cool about this truck , there are two pigtail harnesses and connectors coming off of the back of the cab for the trailer light supply, one is to supply light power to a 6 volt trailer and another for a 12 volt trailer. The box on back of cab has a switch to do one or the other, the truck is 12 volt.

 

[NDT]

I would say the only lettering would be on the doors: 1st line: "U. S. Air Force" 2nd line: "59-1234" 3rd line: "For Official Use Only" The 59-1234 is the AF registration number, the 59 is the year the vehicle was taken into inventory, and the 1234 is a sequential number that theoretically started with 0 in January with the first vehicle added. Try sanding in the middle of the doors and see what comes up under the red paint.

Edit: After 319's subsequent post with pics of a later tractor, I was reminded that the AF reg would have an alpha character after the year, these letters indicate a family of asset, since 319's was a "D" and is also a tractor, yours should have a D as well, such as 59D1234.

 

[Rick59]

I will try that , thanks

 

[porkysplace]

Welcome , nice truck

 

[Bighurt]

Thanks for the info on strata blue, how about emblems ? what or where ? paint or decals ?

I'm a big fan of SAC patches myself... I'm not sure if SAC used that particular model...but it's got to be one of the top patches...ever!!! At least USAF...

I'm not bias at all....

 

[wreckerman893]

There's no car like a MOPAR.

Sharp old truck....frame off resto would do it justice.

 

[319]

I would say the only lettering would be on the doors: 1st line: "U. S. Air Force" 2nd line: "59-1234" 3rd line: "For Official Use Only" The 59-1234 is the AF registration number, the 59 is the year the vehicle was taken into inventory, and the 1234 is a sequential number that theoretically started with 0 in January with the first vehicle added. Try sanding in the middle of the doors and see what comes up under the red paint.

Like this:

 

[hippiedude]

That`s a sweet old truck .......... Good score .. ... .... Tim ....

 

[3dAngus]

Yes, great find. Nice chick magnet. If not, dump the chick, keep the truck.
That engine alone has got to be worth the asking price. You don't find those any more.
Whatever it cost to fix, don't replace it. It's like GOLD.

 

[wreckerman893]

319....what is the status on the cabover Ford????

 

[197thhhc]

Thats a nice truck. It would look real nice with a flatbed on the back.