On the Turntable: Will Roth's 1924 Restomod Dodge Brothers Truck

Founded in 1913 by Horace and John Dodge, the Dodge Brothers Motor Company of Detroit manufactured thousands of trucks before being sold to Chrysler in 1928. Will Roth came across one of the surviving pickups—posted simply as “1924 truck” on eBay—as he was cruising the internet for a new project after restoring a Dodge Lil’ Red Express Truck.

“I thought it would make a very neat street rod,” he said. “I bid $1,300 and never gave it a second thought until I received notice that it was mine. Then I looked at where I needed to go pick it up and realized I had to go all the way to Boulder, Colorado.”

Roth retrieved the truck from a cow barn in Mile High country and took it back to Ohio. He tinkered with it for a few hours, and after some new spark plugs and fresh gas, took it for spin. While it ran, the near-centenarian truck showed every bit of its age—solid rust, no interior, and rotted floorboards and wood bed. Wondering if he could recoup his cost if he restored and sold it, Will scrapped the notion of doing a stock restoration and went he restomod route.

“I had a 5.7 Hemi sitting on a shelf and a picture in my head to keep it as close to the original as possible with the Hemi,” Roth explained.

Ninety percent of the original body was salvaged. The cab and fenders were widened, and new running boards were fabricated to replace the deteriorated originals. The factory frame was “boxed” to handle the Hemi’s gobs of torque.

Roth designed and built a tilt dump-style bed with a hydraulic lift—powered off the Hemi’s power steering pump—that allows easier access to the modern rear-mounted radiator. One-and-a-half inch copper tubing carries water between the Hemi and the radiator. The truck bed is shaped like the original and constructed from quarter-sawn white oak. It incorporates some of the factory hardware and the original tailgate locking system.

The truck’s huge steering wheel came off of a Peterbilt semi. It proudly features a Dodge Brothers horn button as a reminder to anyone of the owner’s longtime devotion to the Mopar brand.

“I grew up in a Mopar family,” Roth said. “In 1956 when I was 14 and before I had a license, I built a 1947 Plymouth convertible. I removed the six cylinder engine and put a Red Ram Hemi in its place. That began my love of cars.”

Roth points to one final modification that makes the 1924 Dodge Brothers Truck singularly special to him.

“As Chris the pinstriper finished, I said I wanted to add family names, but I did not want him to start over. Chris said no problem and by freehand added the names of myself, my wife, our three children and two grandchildren. Now it will stay in the family and never be sold.”

FAST SPECS
Drivetrain 
• Stock 2004 V 5.7L Hemi and automatic transmission out of a Dodge Rumble Bee pickup truck
• Summit Racing aluminum gas tank package

Exhaust
• 2.5 inch exhaust system with Summit Racing mufflers and 2015 Dodge Challenger exhaust tips
• Electric exhaust cut-outs

Chassis and Suspension 
• Original 1924 Dodge Brothers frame, boxed for strength
• 8 3/4 inch rear axle out of a 1970 ‘Cuda with 3.91 gears and limited slip differential
• Original rear and front leaf springs with replacement leaves  
• Front and rear disc brakes
• Michelin tires and Vossen wheels, 20 inch front and 22 inch rear
• Original hubcaps retrofitted to wheels

Body
• Infiniti Gold/Green and Nissan Sunlit Sandstone Beige paint
• Graphics by Chris MacMahain of Aerografix
• Body and paint by Bernie Roth of Renaissance Garage

Interior 
• Custom seats
• Curry-color airplane leather/Ultra leather upholstery with Dodge Brothers logo on seat backs
• VDO gauge system
• Interior work by Jason Interiors, Brunswick, Ohio

Special Thanks to:
• John Gryniewicki, the “Mopar Encyclopedia” and master mechanic
• Jim Roth, Ed Roth, Craig Schneider, Sr., Craig Schneider, Jr., and Bernie Roth