Here's What Made The 1939 Dodge Job-Rated Trucks So Iconic

Dodge unveiled a new family of commercial trucks beginning in the 1939 model year. Popularly referred to as the Dodge "Job-Rated" trucks, the lineup was internally known as the T Series in 1939, the V Series in 1940, and the W Series from 1941 to 1947. The release of the 1939 T Series, first of the Job-Rated models, was a historic moment for Dodge. Not only were the Job-Rated trucks the first production vehicles to roll out of the brand's newly built Warren truck plant, they formed the foundation on which Dodge would build the Dodge Power Wagon, America's first commercially available 4WD pickup. The Dodge Job-Rated trucks were also the first American pickups to get heavy-duty, highly efficient diesel engines instead of gas. 

The icing on the cake was the sheer variety of configurations, body styles, and wheelbase lengths, from half-ton to ¾ ton to full-bore one-ton and 1 ½ ton models with bigger wheels and tires, a 133-inch wheelbase, and a 9-foot cargo box.

[Featured Image by Greg Gjerdingen via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0]

Despite being available in a bewildering variety of body styles and model codes, the standard feature of the Dodge Job-Rated T, V, and W series trucks was their smooth, curved bodywork. That began with the 1939 model. Informed by the Art Deco movement, particularly its Streamline Moderne aesthetic that put sweeping curves on everything from lampshades to office buildings, the 1939 Dodge had a fluidly curved V-shaped front grille, a sloping windshield, and aerofoil-shaped front and rear fenders mimicking airplane wings.

Naturally, Dodge expected their truck to be more than a pretty face. The 1939 Dodge Truck came in half-ton, ¾-ton and one ton sizes, plus a 1 ½-ton heavy-duty version. All four used an L-head six-cylinder flathead engine: The half- and ¾-ton models got a 201 cubic-inch plant delivering 70hp, while the one-ton and the smaller of the two 1 ½-ton behemoths used a 218 cubic-inch version at 77hp. The biggest beast Dodge built in 1939, the TF heavy-duty truck they sold as everything from a tractor-trailer to a school bus, got a 228-inch engine that squeezed an extra horse out of the machine, bringing it up to 78hp.

The 1939 Job-Rated trucks were used across America and in several theaters of WWII. The Dodge B Series would take their place in 1948, but the older trucks remain more desirable among collectors.

[Featured Image by Greg Gjerdingen via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0]