The 3 Wonderful R-140 4x4 Woodies
54 R-140 4x4 Woodie - Chassis #787 was found first
I call this the Dunkel Bros truck. Dunkel Bros Machinery Movers found this truck at a body shop. If I remember correctly, it was painted up as a Civil Defense truck. The story that came with the truck was that it was ordered by National Geographic. (That later turned out to be incorrect.) The Dunkel Bros had the truck restored maybe in the 90's (I'm guessing). I saw the truck at an ATHS national convention somewhere near Los Angeles in the 2000's and I was blown away. For many years, this was thought to be the only one like it.
54 R-140 4x4 Woodie - Chassis #785 - The 2nd one found
I'm not sure how or why, but Gary from So Cal found this truck beside a barn in Montana. It's chassis number 785. Gary offered it for sale "as is", but, with no takers, he hired an amazing restorer. I believe the name of the restorer is Marc Laroque. Look at the work. It's incredible. It helped to have access to the Dunkel Bros truck for reference. Chassis #785 was completed restored and sold in Jan 2009 for $130,000!
54 R-140 4x4 Woodie - Chassis #786 - The missing link
The same Gary, that restored chassis 785 above, later found chassis 786 in (I believe) Montana. 786 had the lineset ticket, which showed the vehicles were built for the Army Corp of Engineers for use in North Dakota. Finally, "the rest of the story"!