1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

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David DeWeese
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1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by David DeWeese » Sun Apr 24, 2016 7:55 pm

Hi,
I have recently began the restoration of my 1935 Dodge KH31 1.5 ton military truck. I've had this truck for years, have been collecting parts for it and finally decided it was time....
1934  KH-31.jpg
1934 KH-31.jpg (89.83 KiB) Viewed 3818 times
Disassembled the truck and had the frame sandblasted..
bed removed.jpg
bed removed.jpg (131.91 KiB) Viewed 3818 times
sandblasted frame.jpg
sandblasted frame.jpg (90.44 KiB) Viewed 3818 times
The frame was torn and bent on the right side. At some time it was patch-repaired badly, so some time on my frame machine was needed..
frame repair.jpg
frame repair.jpg (101.61 KiB) Viewed 3818 times
This poor truck had been worked to death, and every component needs replacing or repair. It was being used for decades to haul landscape materials for a company in Graham, Texas up until the '70's. It's going to take a while to get things sorted out....

Thanks, David


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Gordon_M
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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by Gordon_M » Mon Apr 25, 2016 2:30 am

I'll be here watching David, looking good so far. I think the only obvious missing part was the brush guard - did you find one, or get a pattern?

There are few surviving military KH, including the one you sent to Europe with the later bed, and I don't think there's another surviving dump truck with the original bed.
Gordon

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David DeWeese
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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by David DeWeese » Mon Apr 25, 2016 5:29 am

Hello Gordon,

I still need to find or fabricate a grille guard, and source the rear bumper brackets and pintle hook....but lots of work to do before I will actually need these.
GRILLE GUARD.jpg
GRILLE GUARD.jpg (102.99 KiB) Viewed 3770 times
34 pintle.jpg
34 pintle.jpg (191.44 KiB) Viewed 3770 times
I don't believe this truck started life as a dump truck. The bed has plates crudely welded over the wheel well openings and lots of torch cuts underneath to make it fit the truck. The hoist frame was 38" wide sitting on a 34" frame with only a few small pieces of angle iron for support......that's why the frame broke.
frame 1.jpg
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Thanks, David

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Gordon_M
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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by Gordon_M » Mon Apr 25, 2016 5:50 am

So that would mean it wasn't a Dodge bed from another KH then, with that width difference?

I remember the bed was definitely military - what other trucks of that period had a military dump option? Chev, Ford? I'll put the word out about the brush guard, tow hook, and so on.
Gordon

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David DeWeese
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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by David DeWeese » Tue Apr 26, 2016 8:45 pm

I think the bed was originally a cargo bed that was modified into a dump. Someone spent a lot of time and effort converting it, though. Now, it's going to take lots more time with the cutting torch to remove all the excess crud and get it back to original...
bed rear right.jpg
bed rear right.jpg (115.08 KiB) Viewed 3675 times
bed tailgate latch.jpg
bed tailgate latch.jpg (146.5 KiB) Viewed 3675 times
bed upper tailgate hinge.jpg
bed upper tailgate hinge.jpg (113.8 KiB) Viewed 3675 times
Thanks, David

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Gordon_M
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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by Gordon_M » Tue Apr 26, 2016 11:00 pm

I see what you mean.

I suppose my question would be did the army do it or later owner? If it was army-fitted I might leave it.

If the dump is a conversion, how is the pump run? Right side PTO drive - any clues there?
Gordon

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David DeWeese
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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by David DeWeese » Wed Apr 27, 2016 4:13 am

Well, the PTO is interesting. The truck is equipped with a four-speed gearbox with a dedicated 2:1 under-drive box attached to the rear of it. The PTO has an extra long shaft to extend past the under-drive box, and has a pillow block for supporting the shaft.....so this PTO looks purpose-built for this trans arrangement.
DSCF0341.jpg
DSCF0341.jpg (126.82 KiB) Viewed 3647 times
Thanks, David

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Gordon_M
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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by Gordon_M » Wed Apr 27, 2016 4:30 am

The under drive for heavy loads and the extra length PTO suggest there is more to it than just somebody dropping a dump bed on.
The dump mechanism rail widths don't match the chassis, as you've already said, but do they match the bed mountings?

Put another way, is this the original bed for the chassis, and a wider dump mechanism has been butchered in, or does the dump mechanism match the bed, and they are both over width for the chassis? Since you mention the bed floor and wheel arches have been messed about, it suggests the bed and chassis match and dump equipment has been added.
Gordon

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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by Joe Gopan » Wed Apr 27, 2016 4:50 am

What is the tire size?
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David DeWeese
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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by David DeWeese » Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:25 pm

Gordon, it appears that the rails under the bed have been cut loose and widened to match the dump hoist frame. I took photos, but they don't show much as everything is crusty underneath.

Ben, the tires are a mix of 6.50-20 in the front and 7.00-20 in the rear at the moment. The previous owner installed the rear tires, though. I plan to put a set of new 6.50-20's on the truck.

The rear axle had a lot of negative camber on the right hand side. After blasting all the crud off the frame and axles, I found that the rivets that hold the axle tube into the cast diff housing had all broken off at some point, and the tube had worked it's way out.
axle housing.jpg
axle housing.jpg (84.41 KiB) Viewed 3582 times
I disassembled the rear axle, and was able to re-align the rivet holes with a tapered punch and install grade-8 button-head bolts and lock nuts into the housing.
bolt installed.jpg
bolt installed.jpg (80.18 KiB) Viewed 3582 times
With a little bondo on the bolt heads, they look pretty good I think..
rivets finished.JPG
rivets finished.JPG (117.9 KiB) Viewed 3582 times
Thanks, David

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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by wc56daveyboy » Sat Apr 30, 2016 2:22 am

darn good Dave! Been watching your progress while on vacation. Currently on cape cod on my way to Boston this am.
Excellent idea using the button head hex bolts. They look exactly like rivets now that the Allen hex if filled. Much better than trying to round off a hex head bolt after tightening. I see you got OD on it now. Can't wait to see the painted frame upon my return. Take care

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Gordon_M
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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by Gordon_M » Sat Apr 30, 2016 4:08 am

David DeWeese wrote:Gordon, it appears that the rails under the bed have been cut loose and widened to match the dump hoist frame. I took photos, but they don't show much as everything is crusty underneath. Thanks, David
Points towards the truck and bed being an original match, with the dump mechanism added. Puts the question back to the transmission, because if the dump was added, the PTO was added too, and I think the original cargo truck might not have had an under drive.

Have you considered asking Chrysler Historical if they have the Build Card? Would tell you if the engine was original, or if someone swapped in the engine and dump transmission as a unit.
Gordon

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David DeWeese
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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by David DeWeese » Sat Apr 30, 2016 5:08 am

Thanks, Dave.

Only have half the frame is painted right now. Will need to put the rear wheels back on, turn the frame around in the shop, then tackle the front suspension. That's where the real "fun" will start. I did get the rear brakes sorted out..
rear brakes.JPG
rear brakes.JPG (126.61 KiB) Viewed 3535 times
Gordon,

The PTO may have been added, but the under-drive must be original to the truck. The frame has a special rivetted cross member with a mount to support the trans/under-drive arrangement. The under-drive and trans are one unit, not just a trans with a accessory attached behind it.
underdrive in frame.jpg
underdrive in frame.jpg (126.04 KiB) Viewed 3535 times
underdrive crossmember.jpg
underdrive crossmember.jpg (19.88 KiB) Viewed 3535 times
Thanks, David

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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by Gordon_M » Sat Apr 30, 2016 6:27 am

Got it.

I see the grease line leading down into the greasable throw-out bearing in that pic.
Gordon

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68427vette
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Re: 1935 Dodge KH31 restoration

Post by 68427vette » Tue May 03, 2016 5:34 pm

is the grill guard the same as a 1936?


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