Posted by Clint Dixon [172.70.100.136] on Sunday, December 04, 2022 at 16:22:12 :
In Reply to: Re: Factory Flat Bed posted by Clint Dixon [172.70.131.62] on Sunday, December 04, 2022 at 16:08:14 :
I have seen many flat bed equipped Power-Wagons at the Vintage Power Wagon Rallies over the years. I don't believe I have ever seen any two exactly the same, although many of them have appeared to be professionally built and factory installed.
Until more definitive clues are found in vintage Chrysler literature and factory photos, I have to conclude that Dodge probably never offered a "factory flat bed" for the WDX-WM300 model Power-Wagon. I feel, at best, that what appeared in their 1956 parts list was an attempt to stock parts for a bed that was produced by an outside vendor, one that just happened to be considered "factory approved" at that time. Looking at the very limited list of numbers from which a dealer could source stake and platform parts from, for a customer's truck, it appears that they were just trying to keep a quantity on hand of those parts that routinely got damaged. It appears that no Chrysler part numbers existed for the parts that made up the structural core of the bed, the side racks, gates, the hardware, or the marker lights that may have existed on it.
I think that all of the flat beds that were ordered were either sourced from outside vendors and installed at the SEG division within the factory, or ordered and installed by the dealership. This theory is reaffirmed by pages appearing in various editions of the Special Equipment Catalogs available to the Dodge dealers at the time.
Bottom line. If one finds a tag containing the name, model number, or serial number of the builder of the bed attached somewhere to the bed itself, it may be factory supplied or installed and probably not built by the local welding shop or a previous owner.
Junior
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