Dodge C series


The Dodge C series is a line of pickup trucks sold by Dodge from 1954 until 1960. It replaced the Dodge B series of trucks and was eventually supplanted by the Dodge D series, introduced in 1961. Unlike the B series, which were closely related to Dodge's prewar trucks, the C series was a complete redesign. Dodge continued the "pilot house" tradition of high-visibility cabs with a wrap-around windshield introduced in 1955. A two-speed "PowerFlite" automatic transmission was newly available that year. The Dodge Town [Panel and Town Wagon] also used the new design.

History

The early models continued the naming convention of the predecessor - 1954 ½ ton trucks were named C-1-B, ¾-ton trucks C-1-C and 1 ton trucks C-1-D, whilst the 1955 models were named C-3 and 1956 C-4.
Chrysler called the FirePower engine|Hemi]-powered Dodge trucks "Power Giant" in 1957, and introduced power steering and brakes, a three-speed automatic, and a 12-volt electrical system. From 1957 to 1959, Dodge offered the Sweptside pickup, a rival to the Chevrolet Cameo Carrier, but it never became a bestseller. A flat-sided "Sweptline" cargo box came in 1959. In 1957, the company also adopted the standard pickup truck numbering scheme, also used by Ford and GM at that time. Thus, the ½ ton Dodge was now called the D100, the ¾ ton D200 and 1 ton model D300. The traditional separate-fender body "Utiline" version remained available, with a GVWR of up to on 1-ton models.
After an agreement between Dodge and Studebaker, the C-Series' pickup bed also saw use in the Studebaker Champ pickup truck range.

Four-wheel-drive W-Series Power Wagons

Starting in the 1957 model year, factory four-wheel-drive versions of the Dodge C series trucks were produced and sold as the W-100, W-200, W-300, and W-500, alongside the older WDX/WM-300 "Military Style" Power Wagon. The latter had the "Power Wagon" badge on the fender. The heavy-duty four-wheel-drive W-300 and W-500 trucks were marketed as "Power Giants".

Engines

Since it still used the older cab design, the C series name was continued for Dodge's line of medium- and heavy-duty trucks through the 1975 model year, long after most of Dodge's other trucks had moved to the newer D series designation.
Four Wheel Drive also utilized the C series cabs for many of its medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Because Chrysler needed plant capacity for its newer light-duty truck models, manufacture of these later C series cabs — for both Dodge and FWD — was outsourced to Checker in Kalamazoo, MI, beginning in 1962.