Posted by Clint Dixon (Curator of Antiquities) on Sunday, June 25, 2006 at 8:12PM :
In Reply to: Factory Standard ? posted by Mark C on Sunday, June 25, 2006 at 11:38AM :
Turn signals first appeared in the January 30, 1953 "MoPar PARTS LIST for DODGE POWER WAGON" #D-14468. They were a dealer installed MoPar accessory. They would not appear listed in any sales literature as standard factory installed equipment until 1965. The 1955 sales literature "DODGE Job-Rated 4-wheel-drive POWER-WAGON" was still listing the standard color for fenders as black with the option of having them painted body color at extra cost. As was common with Dodge, nearly anything was possible thanks to the Special Equipment Group. It is entirely possible that some early trucks could have been pulled off of the assembly line and sent to the SEG to have fenders painted to match the cab and/or turn signals added per special order before they reached their dealer destination. An example: maybe a particular customer didn't want Cadmium plated lock rings on their Power-Wagon wheels and preferred them to be galvanized instead. It was the job of the SEG to build a truck to the customer's specifications. (Just checking to see if you are awake there Mac!) Inside jokes aside, most early MoPar accessories were either dealer or owner installed, but could also be factory installed through the Special Equipment Group per special order. Mainly fleet vehicles went through this process.
Junior
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