Coast to coast in a 1950 Dodge Sedan
Published Friday August 15th, 2008
One old car story often leads into another. A few months ago in this column, I told the story of Bill McGinnis purchasing a new 1950 Dodge D36 coupe from Dangerfield Motors in Barrie, Ontario.
That story prompted Bruce Hodgins of Lanark, Ont., to send me the following email:
"I enjoyed the story of the 1950 Dodge in the EMC paper. It hit an old soft spot with me. I still own my '50 Dodge 4-door sedan that I bought in the fall of 1976 at the age of 21.
"The car had just arrived in Ottawa from Vancouver Island with 78,000 miles on it and towing a 3500 lb. U-Haul trailer.
"It had been purchased from the original owner by two UBC students moving to the nation's capital to finish their final year at Carleton U.
"For me, it was love at first sight. I was lucky that I was the first person this couple talked to about selling the car and the rest is history.
"That began my love and collecting of old cars. I rebuilt the motor during the winter of 1980 and left that summer for Newfoundland to pick up my girl friend.
"We headed for California across Route 66, then up to Vancouver and back across Canada on the Trans Canada Highway.
"During the late '80s, I installed a 30% overdrive. Best thing I ever did to it. That let it cruise at 50 mph with plenty of power from the happy engine.
"Today she sits on blocks in my garage with 135,000 miles on the odometer, a bit neglected and awaiting a new front end."
Bruce Hodgins' 1950 Dodge D36 was built in Windsor, Ontario, and utilized a Plymouth body with Dodge trim. The engine is a flathead in-line six cranking out 97 hp at 3600 rpm from 217 cubic inches.
A total of 15,977 of these distinctive Plymouth-based cars were built during the year. The equivalent U.S. model was the D34, which was five inches wider than the Canadian model.
The American Dodge also had a more powerful engine - a flathead in-line six with 230 cubic inches producing 103 hp.
In his book "The Dodge Story", Thomas A. McPherson describes a new body style for Dodge in 1950: "Placing an emphasis on styling, Dodge announced the new Diplomat two-door hardtop to the model line this year.
As an addition to the top line Coronet Series, the Diplomat was available in five different two-tone color combinations."
Meanwhile, Bruce Hodgins' Canadian-built 1950 Dodge is not alone in his garage. His 1940 Packard 110 sits in front and his '52 Ford F5 dump truck sits behind it.
* Bill Sherk is an automobile historian who has had a passion for the topic since his days pumping gas as a teenager. We want to say thank you to our readers who send in their stories. We are giving a copy of Bill Sherk's book, 60 Years Behind the Wheel: The Cars We Drove in Canada 1900-1960 to each reader whose story is published in Car Story. To share your stories or photos e-mail bill@carstory.com or write Bill Sherk, 33 Oak St. E., P.O. Box 10012, Leamington, ON N8H 2C3.
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