A common assembly practice in the early days of auto and truck production was to use wood as load bearing and panel support members. The outer metal skins for doors, cowling and bodywork would often be supported or attached to these wooden members. A throwback to the days of horse drawn buggies and wagons, many early vehicles were manufactured with wheels made with metal rims attached to wooden spokes. On this vehicle, the wooden portions, as well as any canvas, fabric, rubber, or leather had badly weathered or plain rotted away from years of exposure to the elements. Most of the metal parts were there, but many were so badly rusted and deteriorated as to be unsalvageable. Despite all these negative factors, Tejeda saw a vehicle worth saving.
At the time, Tejeda was the Sheriff’s Department’s Crime Prevention Officer. Aside from his crime prevention duties, Tejeda also administered the McGruff Program. Hoping to help heighten interest and attentiveness to what the Sheriff’s Department was trying to accomplish in the community, he felt that the old Dodge would be a perfect vehicle to utilize in his programs. His plan was to have the vehicle restored and used as a community relations tool. He visualized the Dodge, “flying the Sheriff’s Department colors,” as a widely recognized and sought after display and parade vehicle.
After researching the history of this type of vehicle, he learned that there was a nationwide “Dodge Brothers Truck Club” dedicated to the restoration and preservation of just such vehicles. After making some contacts with club members, Tejeda learned that most of the parts he needed to restore the truck were obtainable. He liked the idea of having the vehicle restored to resemble the old style ‘Paddy Wagon’ of days gone by.
He found that there were plenty of private businesses that did high quality restorations, and that you needed a veritable “pot of gold” to be able to afford this type of restoration. And it would have to be a fairly good sized pot, at that. Disappointed, but not defeated, he continued his research in hopes of finding a method of getting the truck restored within his very limited budget.
In reality, this would be more like a remanufacture than a restoration. The engine was there, but the block was cracked, which in all likelihood, was the reason that the truck had been abandoned in the first place. The transmission was complete, but in need of a rebuild, likewise the remainder of the drive-train. The canvas top and its wood frame members were rotted and deteriorated so badly that the remains were barely adequate to use as patterns for new parts. The wooden spoke wheels were also badly deteriorated, but were able to be used as patterns for new wheel spokes. Even the steel body parts were badly ravaged by rust and the effects of long term exposure to the elements.
During his quest, Tejeda discovered that the California Men’s Colony in nearby San Luis Obispo, California, had a full service automotive section as part of their rehabilitation training for inmates. Tejeda contacted the warden at CMC and was assured that the facility had the expertise to successfully complete any type of restoration work that was necessary.
Tejeda arranged to tour the facility work shops and talk with the prison employees who taught the classes and supervised the inmates’ restoration efforts. The projects he saw in progress were quite impressive. They ranged from simple body work and paint projects, to machining operations necessary to rebuild engines, transmissions, and differentials.
A separate woodworking shop could easily duplicate the wooden panel support bracing, floorboards, and top paneling that had rotted away decades ago. The prison had an upholstery shop that could tackle any type of upholstery project. It was evident that they could make quick work of the canvas and leather work needed on the truck.
After touring the facility and seeing some of the projects that were underway, Tejeda was confident that CMC was capable and experienced in every facet of vehicle repair needed to bring the old Dodge back to life. And talk about living within a budget. The warden told Tejeda that there would be no cost for the labor involved in the restoration. The only costs involved would be for original equipment replacement parts, and for materials to fabricate items that were unavailable. With this kind of luck, Tejeda should have gone right out and bought Lottery tickets.
Having seen the quality of work done by the inmates, and faced with what would turn out to be the “mother of all bargains” in vehicle restoration, it didn’t take Tejeda long to make up his mind. He couldn’t get the old Dodge up to San Luis Obispo fast enough.
In the spring of 1988 the Dodge was delivered to the facility. You can imagine the look on some of the inmate’s faces as they welcomed? the new project into the shop. To a non-automotive person, the assembled parts looked like no more than a pile of rusted and rotted components headed for the trash heap.
The first step was a very short one, the disassembly of the truck. Based on first looks, workers estimated that they would have it totally dismantled in about 15 minutes. In fact it took quite a bit longer, but there really wasn’t a heck of a lot to work with. The engine, transmission, differential, and chassis components were unbolted from their resting places. Anything that wasn’t covered in grease and crud was practically unidentifiable due to rust.
The doors, fenders, running boards, and rear bed were then dismantled. Plenty of dry rot and deterioration was found in all the oak wood that was used in the bed, top framing, cab flooring and panel bracing. All these items would have to be remanufactured. Fortunately the wooden spoke wheels, while marginal, were usable as patterns for replacement spokes. The seat base was unusable and practically dissolved due to rust. A new seat base had to be fabricated from scratch, and there was barely enough remaining of the old one to take measurements from.
While the disassembly took place Tejeda began to track down original equipment items to replace many parts found to be unserviceable. Through his contacts in the Dodge Brothers Truck Club, he was able to locate about 95% of the parts that were needed for the restoration.
It was during the disassembly of the engine for rebuilding that the crack in the engine block was discovered. Tejeda attempted to locate a serviceable engine block while the restoration work proceeded. Having no success finding the proper engine block, Tejeda was forced to try to find someone who could repair the old block so that it would be useable. After talking to numerous experts on engines, all of whom said that the repair could not be done with any hope of success, Tejeda ran across an old timer who indicated that he had repaired hundreds of engines that had befallen the same ills. He told Tejeda that he could weld the block and would guarantee that the fix would work. Since Tejeda hadn’t had any luck finding a proper engine to replace the damaged unit, the project looked like it could end up stillborn if the engine situation wasn’t resolved. Under the circumstances, Tejeda felt that he had to give the guy a shot. With high hopes, the engine was disassembled and the cracked block taken to the shop for the attempted repair.
Just in case the engine could not be saved, Tejeda continued to try to locate a replacement block for the truck. Within a couple of weeks, the engine had been repaired and reassembled. As luck would have it, Tejeda had found a proper replacement engine and struck a deal with the owner to acquire it. Still not certain that the repaired block would “live,” the extra engine represented a good insurance policy for the project.
As the work progressed on the old truck, it became evident that the inmates were treating the project as something special. The woodworking had long since been finished and the bodywork was nearing completion. The brakes, chassis, suspension components, transmission and differential had all been rebuilt and it was about time to install the engine. With the engine in place, all the electrics connected and the fuel line hooked up, the shop foreman advanced the ignition, gave the throttle a little set, turned the key, and hit the starter button. The engine fired on the third revolution and coughed back to life. After decades without activity, it was wonderful to hear the sound of the old Dodge’s four cylinder engine clear its throat and settle down to a rhythmic idle.
After being a staple in the diet of the inmates work day for so many months, the restoration program entered its final stages. All the components and systems that had been refurbished, remanufactured, or replaced, were reassembled on the truck. The paintwork was color sanded and polished out. The upholstery was installed, and the padded top was finished. All that was left was the test drive and the delivery of the truck to the Sheriff’s Department.
On a fall day in 1990, Deputy Tejeda, accompanied by several top ranking Sheriff’s managers, went to the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo to take delivery of the Dodge Paddy Wagon. To the delight of the assembled crowd, including local news media, the Dodge started on the first try and was driven out the gates of the prison facility to begin its new life.
The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Dodge Paddy Wagon has been seen in car shows, parades, and displays from San Francisco to San Diego. It is used for many D.A.R.E. supported events. Though it has been invited to events in Nevada, Arizona, and Michigan, it has yet to make the trek out of state.
When not in a parade or car show display the Paddy Wagon lives in a dual axle enclosed car trailer at the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Headquarters in Santa Barbara, California.
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