Good morning all, New to the site.
I have just purchased a early Dodge truck and was having trouble getting an ID from its tags on exact year and details (pic's added for reference)
I have read posts that say the AT stands for Australian Truck. My Berg tag has an AL.
Tags have on them
BERG AL4317
Chrysler limited tag 2 - 33C 251 & GVM 8000 Lb
Last tag I am assuming to be paint and trim code, 5732 - 845
It has a dual rear end and 6 stud 9/16" on a 7.25" PCD
233 badges on the side of the bonnet
A flat head 6 with manual gear box
I have even tried to search pictures to see models that have the same front end features as mine but no luck
Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
If any further information is required to help identify the truck please let me know and I will take more pictures or measure any thing to help.
Thank you in advance
Richard.

 

I am just not finding that grill anywhere. I suspect there may be a piece missing that is throwing me off, but, can't guarantee that... I *think* there is an AT specific site out there on the net somewhere, but, I do not have a link.

 

Your truck has the "Pilot House" cab. These were sold in the U.S. from 1948 through 1953. Chrysler would often take the tooling during a design change and send it to Oz. The 1960-62 Valiant for instance was sold in Oz into the late 1960's. I would say your truck was built in the mid to late 1950's. You helped by posting pictures, believe me, that helps a LOT.

What all do you need on your truck? I'm assuming you don't have a title to it but a bill of sale. The engine will be a Chrysler flat head 6 and those were used until the early 1960's and later in industrial use. Parts are available, but you'll have to hunt. Chrysler, along with the rest of the industry, was a bit vague on trucks. They were easily modified for use.

 

@ol' grouch is pretty much spot on, It is between 51-53 I would say .... The problem with identifying it is those boys down under did their own custom body changes.
Like ute trucks ..... they had rear side panel for cars with fancy fins and such .... Only you Australians had them .... if any here in USA the were imported or hand built.
Same with the grill on your truck, that started in 1951>1953 .... there are some changes in it that you would not get here in the USA.

I have a 49, the grill was same from 48-50 then changed to your style in 51 ...... The tag you want is on The A pillar of drivers door ..... Mine says B1B - 108
That tells me it is a 1949 1/2 ton with 108" wheel base. ..... sadly these tags are often removed over the years.

 

When did the single piece windshield start? I thought the 48-53 trucks were all 2 piece. I was going to guess Mid to late 50s Cab also seems a different shape

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/aussie...rts/8181223671

heres a link, not much information, but talks about being a rare 1954 model sold in Australia. Looks very similar to me

The size of tires and dually would make me wonder if its a 1.5 or 2 ton truck

 

You're right, I missed the solid window. 1953 was last year of the split window. 48-53 there were some subtle changes to the bodies ...54-55 more changes .... you can see the pointy roof where 54 they smoothed it out for the single window still subtle changes til 56 .... 57 they went with a solid alligator hood instead of the butterfly and major changes to body.

The flathead 6 they made very few changes in them over the years. 1935 they changed the flywheel/bell housing, sometime in the 40's they modified the coolant bypass/T-stat housing.
Mine is a 218 ci, some cars had the 230 ci. All it is, a stroked 218. They changed the crank & rods .... externally they are identical.
They stopped using them in USA vehicles in 1960, but they were in airport tugs, fork lifts, stationary equipment like welders, farm machinery up to mid1970's. The engines/transmissions were just solid and lust worked.

I remember as a kid, a Dodge truck was a antiquated dinosaur .... you did not want to get caught dead driving one. Chevrolet introduced the sbc in 55. They all had been using overhead valve engines for years .... Dodge just kept using the flathead 6 up to 59. .... They just worked.
Mine sat in a field for over 20 years. It was pretty easy to bring the engine back to life and it runs good with 100+ psi in all cylinders ... I was lucky mechanically it was all in good condition when parked .... Body was and still is rough since it was a work truck for a construction company .... these old Dodges are tough trucks.

 

Dodge had more than the flat head sixes. I pulled a 241 Hemi out of one to use for parts on my '54 Dodge Coronet. You could get both the Hemi and non-Hemi V-8's in Dodge trucks in the mid 50's. Now, the slant 6 came out in cars in 1960 and '61. However, the M series Powerwagon used a flat 6 until the end of production in 1971. The nose was made longer in the mid 1960's (I forget which year) to accommodate a longer flat six engine.