Life as a Cow Chaser is Over For This ’47 Dodge

In a world where vintage Ford and Chevy trucks dominate, there are a select few owners who enjoy breaking out from the crowded mass of me-too custom and restored pickups. As with the Dodge truck featured here, they tend to stray from the herd, making something out of what may have originally lacked a bit of styling,—trucks that were built for work. They may not have had the flowing lines and creature comforts, but few did in those days, and trucks were looked upon differently. Only today have some of the more ungainly, high-cab, bare-necessity pickups gained their strong following. These trucks had a job to do, and that’s what they did—nothing more, nothing less. They weren’t pretty, and none of them were particularly good looking, nor were they meant to be. But what these inexpensive utility transports were designed to do, they did rather well.

A lot has changed over the years, and the ungainly looking trucks of old have become favorites today. Their chunky styling is almost chic, and the loyalty to their brand is nearly legendary. This 1947 Dodge pickup, for example, is owned by Heinrich Schifferer, and it is trucks such as this one that could well change the way Dodge trucks are looked at forever. Heinrich’s ’47 Dodge started out as a $1,200 investment in a project that would need more than its share of attention, mostly due to its life as a farm truck in Idaho. The old Dodge was used on the farm to herd cows, and it was used by Heinrich’s family. Heinrich brought the truck from Idaho to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he embarked on building a streetworthy vintage truck. He wanted something different, and he got it. 

Heinrich began by having a few local shops install some nice parts, but after some minor frustrations, longtime friend Terry Hudson got involved. Hudson is the proprietor of Hudson Rod and Custom, located in Dandridge, Tennessee. He took over the project until it was completely finished, and he did a knockout job. The original frame had already been outfitted with a polished Fat Man Fabrications Mustang II IFS when Hudson and his son, Will, began on the project. The IFS is outfitted with tubular polished upper and lower control arms, along with rack-and-pinion steering. Hudson then bolted on a set of Master Power Brakes spindles, along with one of its big brake kits. Controlling the pickup’s ride height is a full Air Ride Technologies Ride Pro airbag setup, which sits underneath the truck and is operated by state-of-the-art Air Ride key fobs and electronic controls. For the rear of the truck, a four-link setup is bolted in and handles the job of locating the ’77 Lincoln Versailles rearend in place. The rearend is a limited-slip unit that helps get the power to the pavement, where it is needed most. The frame underneath the ’47 has been boxed to strengthen and add rigidity to the pickup. 

Needless to say, you won’t find an old Dodge inline Flathead six-cylinder under the hood of this truck, but rather a ’77 Ford 351 Windsor. The engine is outfitted with an Edelbrock aluminum intake and four-barrel carburetor that feeds the power to the pickup. Helping produce that horsepower are a Comp Cams roller cam and lifters. The engine is built with 9:1 compression, and it’s been balanced and produces 325 horsepower. Exiting all those ponies is a set of ceramic-?coated headers that runs through the chassis, necessary for the extremely low stance when the truck is aired out. Marshall Machine Shop in Kingston, Tennessee, is responsible for the engine combination, which is bolted up to a TCI transmission with a 3,000-rpm-stall-speed converter.

Sitting on top of the engine you will find a polished K&N air cleaner and polished Ford Racing valve covers. Helping with the transmission maintenance is a Lokar dipstick secured to the firewall. Providing a lot of contrast to the deep black paint under the hood are a chromed alternator, an Accel coil and a polished A/C compressor, all carefully selected and installed. When it comes time to pedal all that power, a Lokar throttle cable, bracket and kickdown cable enable all that to happen dependably and flawlessly. To catch the overflow a polished Zoops overflow reservoir is installed. Keeping the spark plug wires from hitting the headers can sometimes be a problem, but not for Heinrich, who installed a set of Ford Racing’s polished wire looms that provide great form and function.

This truck used to chase cows and now it chases Mustangs, Camaros, Impalas and other Rams. Before it could be shown around town, however, a tremendous amount of bodywork was needed to get it to the slick state that it now enjoys. The team at Hudson completed all the bodywork and replaced the time-worn, farm-damaged panels. While there are very few modifications to the exterior of the truck, they had to locate such items as a good set of running boards. They did shave the door handles, and a custom rear rollpan, smoothed tailgate and a pair of Billet Specialties polished oval taillights help finish the rear of the truck. In the bed sits a beautifully finished floor, with a polished gas cap and polished bed strips. The builders retained the ’47 Dodge headlights and grille, which give this Dodge its own unique style and character. Then, in order to fill those huge fenders, American Racing Torq-Thrust 18×8-inch wheels are up front, while huge 20×10-inch wheels fill the wheelwells out back.

Last but not least is the interior. When it comes time to do your interior, you want to do it once, and you want it to be right the first time, and that’s exactly what the folks at Hudson did. They installed a spectacular interior in red leather. A red leather Tea’s Design seat is used to provide maximum quality and comfort for driver and passengers. Custom door panels covered in the same red leather look great within the painted door frames. Black carpet helps in the comfort and quiet category and looks really good with the red leather. A polished custom dash insert houses VDO gauges that provide the driver a look at what’s going on under the hood. Terry Hudson installed and fitted the Painless wiring harness, which provides everything the truck might need in the way of electrical power. A Vintage Air unit provides the climate control needed, and further creature comforts include power windows and tilt steering, thanks to a custom-fit GM column. Lokar pedals adorn the floorboard and give the driver control over what’s going on. A Carrera three-spoke steering wheel keeps the truck moving in the right direction.

Heinrich Shifferer and the crew at Hudson Rod and Custom have done a great job designing and building a showstopping truck. You can bet this ’47 Dodge won’t be seeing farm duty anytime soon. Since completing his truck, Heinrich has been taking it to events, where he has received numerous awards. Trucks of this caliber will go a long way toward motivating new truck builders to get in on the activity, so we look forward to seeing more ’40s-style trucks just like this trend-setting Dodge.