1940 Dodge  Entry number 56 Driver Trevor McCulloch Navigator Bev McCulloch

The Dodge Brothers (Horace Elgin and John Francis) were operators of a turn-of-the-century machine shop that made stove and auto parts. However, in 1913 the brothers decided to turn to automobile production after Horace had perfected a method of baking enamel onto steel. The Dodge Motor Company, as their business was now known, began officially operating in 1913. The first Dodge exited the assembly line on November 14, 1914 – one of America’s first all-steel cars. Both brothers died in 1920, leaving one of the largest auto-making companies. It was sold to the Chrysler Corporation in 1928 and is still a Division of Chrysler. The first Dodge model produced by Chrysler was called the DeSoto. Prior to the 1940’s war years and before domestic production was halted due to the company’s wartime government commitments, Dodge produced four popular models – all in the year 1940. speed transmission. They were the Dodge Deluxe Convertible (Deluxe 6 and Deluxe LWB), the Dodge Special 6 and for export, the Dodge Kingsway 6. Depending on the model, the cars averaged minimum/maximum weights of 2,867 lbs. to 3,550 lbs. Engines were 87 horsepower 6 cylinders. At the time, the selling price averaged between $800 and just over $1,000 pre-war dollars in the United States – depending on the model type. In 1940, the Dodge began to design and build cab-over engine trucks. Due to the popularity and reliability of the Dodge brand, it soon became the nation’s fourth largest producer of trucks. In that year, the base price for one of these units was $590 US Dollars. Trucks were then equipped with an in-line 6-cylinder L-head 79 horsepower engine and a three- speed transmission