Inside the Simmons Family’s Cummins-Powered 1953 Dodge B3H

Introducing The Simmons Family 1953 Dodge B3H

We’re always told that it’s better to give than it is to receive. Most of us dream of being able to pass down our treasures to family and loved ones. Whether it’s sentimental jewelry, prized family memorabilia, property, or vehicles, just knowing that we get to share with our loved ones brings about a heavy sense of pride and peace. Now, you may remember Dave Simmons from one of our previous issues, as we featured his clean, green Willys Wagon with a Cummins under the hood. Well, he’s back with this epic 1953 Dodge B3H that he built to pass down to his eldest son.

Jumping right into it, the original plan for this red 1953 Dodge was to build it into a beefy welding rig that could handle whatever job his son found himself at. But where exactly do you start to make something “beefy”? That’s easy—just throw it on a Ford Super Duty frame. Dave sourced a 2004 Ford Super Duty rolling chassis and brought it home only to find out that a tree had fallen on the back half of the frame and twisted it just enough to make it unusable. The cab and bed hid this tragic flaw. What would ultimately ring the sound of defeat for most people, it simply motivated Dave to figure it out.

Dave began by slicing the back half of the Super Duty frame off, as well as the back half of the original Dodge frame rails, and welding them together, utilizing the Super Duty axles and brakes. It’s head-scratching that a 1953 Dodge B3H frame matched up to a 2004 Ford Super Duty frame as well as it did. Yes, the Super Duty frame was wider and longer—so long, actually, that Dave had to cut off a considerable amount just to ensure the Dodge grille mounted to the truck correctly. And yes, the original front leaf springs had to be thrown out in favor of custom-built front suspension to accommodate the new frame. But once that was done, the truck could finally start to come together. Even though that sounds easy enough, Dave admitted that the chassis work was the toughest part of this project.

We’re starting to see a pattern here with Dave’s builds, and that pattern is a Cummins motor being included in each of them. Being big Mopar fans over here, we can’t help but support this and cheer for another one in the next project. This 1997 12V Cummins has custom fabricated mounts, a polished crank, balanced rods, a surfaced head, new valves, Hamilton springs, ARP head studs, and DDP Stage 2 injectors. All the machine work was done by West Side Machine out of Meridian, Idaho. There’s also a sick compound turbo setup featuring an S475 that feeds into a 62/65. For the exhaust, Dave fabricated a five-inch exhaust himself and threw on a MagnaFlow muffler and a BD exhaust brake to help for daily drivability. As far as transmission goes, you can find a dual-disc NV4500 by AutoTranz out of Parma, Idaho, mated to the 12V along with an NP271 transfer case.

The exterior is stock for the most part, besides the custom-built flatbed. Dave built a 10-foot skirted flatbed complete with radiused edges all around to hold his son’s welding equipment and more. You can find custom storage boxes and a 12k Warn winch mounted right behind the cab as well. The wonderful patina that has taken hold will be free to continue on with the flatbed, as Dave purposefully left the bed in raw steel just so it will slowly patina to match the rest of the truck.

The interior was given love too, as there are a handful of really unique additions. One being the 12-gauge pump for the trans shifter, and another being the .22-caliber revolver for the transfer case shifter. A keen eye will notice that is not the stock Dodge seat; it’s actually a Chevy Silverado rear bench. We are willing to bet a good bit that this truck will be the envy of everyone else on the road and the job site. Truth be told, we’d love to drive this thing everywhere, but the Simmons family does put it to good use! The first real test of the truck was a 1300-mile round trip to Great Falls, Montana. There’s nothing more awesome than knowing this truck gets driven like it should.

Overall, the truck has given Dave an immense sense of pride, and he told us that he couldn’t be happier to build something like this for his family and kids—especially after seeing how it turned out. The only thing he’d like to add at this point is an A/C system, and who could blame him?

Would Dave do it the same all over again? He told us he’d probably use a second- or third-generation Dodge chassis instead of the Ford Super Duty one. Having spoken to him recently, it’s almost guaranteed Dave has something else up his sleeve, and when that happens, we’ll be there to document it!