September/October 2023 Vintage Truck
/The September/October 2023 issue of the magazine is available in our gift shop now and will be available on newsstands soon. Our cover feature is a 1919 Dodge Bros./Graham Bros. 1-1/2-ton. Story by Robert Gabrick • Photos by Al Rogers
Cover Story | 1919 Dodge Bros./Graham bros.
Oh “Brothers,” Where art Thou?
Is this 1919 Dodge Bros./Graham Bros. 1-1/2-ton Truck-Builder the last survivor of a once-popular model?
A vital chapter in America’s industrial development involves two sets of brothers: Graham brothers Joseph, Robert, and Ray; and Dodge brothers John and Horace. These sibling team-ups each possessed a synergy as they worked together to innovate and successfully develop manufacturing industries that eventually focused on gasoline-powered cars, trucks, and even tractors.
The Graham family operated a large farm in Southern Indiana. Joseph sought success as a businessman, Robert had an interest in the “practical application of theories,” and Ray was interested in becoming a “modern scientific farmer.”
Joseph and Robert took over a bottle- making business. They expanded the small company through Joseph’s invention of a machine that could produce multiple, upside-down bottles—solving the too-frequent problem of broken bottle necks. As a result, the Grahams became the largest supplier of such containers to Coca-Cola bottlers nationwide. The lucrative business—Graham Glass Co.—moved to Evansville, Indiana, in 1912 with additional factories located in Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, Ray Graham devoted his efforts to make the family farm more productive and scientifically based. That included the use of gasoline-fueled tractors and their related implements. Ray and a team developed a unique farm truck, creating a way to turn a Ford Model T passenger car into a light-duty farm truck by attaching longer and heavier frame rails to an existing Model T frame with a heavier-duty rear axle, differential, wheels, tires, and cab. This conversion involved cutting the frame rails at approximately the back of the driver’s seat and removing the chassis and components, replacing them with parts that would increase load capacity.
To read more about the 1919 Dodge Bros./Graham Bros., pick up a copy of the September/October 2023 issue of Vintage Truck magazine!
Articles in this issue include:
FEATURES
Drive Your Old Truck Day 2023
Story by Vintage Truck StaffBragging Rights
Jackie Bragg’s 1977 Ford Bronco is a low-mile original!
Story by Daniel Perkins, Photos by Brad BowlingOh “Brothers,” Where art Thou?
Is this 1919 Dodge Bros./Graham Bros. 1-1/2-ton Truck-Builder the last survivor of a once-popular model?
Story by Robert Gabrick, Photos by Al RogersFrom Reapers to Motor Buggy Trucks in Five Years
The Benson family’s 1914 Model MWX and 1915 Model E remind us that IHC’s high wheelers started the truck company on a good, tall footing.
Story by B. Mitchell Carlson, Photos by Brad Bowling
DEPARTMENTS
Letter from the Editor
Letters to the Editor
Books in the Bed: Reviews by Robert Gabrick
Chevy Talk: 1985 Chevrolet C10 Silverado
Aid for the Anxious Amateur: Catching its Breath
Classifieds
Show Guide
Granny Gear: Hog’s Head
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