Does anybody here know about (really) old trucks?

I currently am at the "an old truck might be useful around the house" stage again and I came across what looks like a nice condition 1938 Diamond T for sale around here. It's probably out of my budget but it's a cool truck and even the wife likes it (although it is rather yellow). It looks like it's a model 201.

So far, the Interwebz didn't cough up much information about these apart from parts being almost unobtanium.

I realise that it's probably so slow that it would be overtaken by continental drift but as an around-town cool truck it might have potential.

Tilt or not?

Also that old of a truck and useful rarely go together. Until about the early 50's most are not acceptable for modern traffic.

It is a T though.

No tilt, just a regular bed. Awfully looks like this one:

I don't know if it's been hot rodded or not, but given that I have absolutely no clue as to what the going rate for these is so I'm a bit reluctant to call the owner (who didn't put a price tag on his for sale sign).

The best marriage of old truck and useful is to slap a 30s-40s body on a late model Ranger or S10 frame. Pretty good fit, much better to actually drive. Until the 1950s trucks weren't much more than farm equipment with doors. OTOH, there is a certain joy in driving a John Deere through town at 15mph, so maybe a 1930s pickup could be the right answer after all.

I'm fixing up a 53 Studebaker 1.5 ton to use as a home depot hauler and general local use truck. Not quite as old as your candidate but the tech in it dates back to the 40s.

It will be slow, I'm told to expect it to top out around 45-50. It will be somewhat uncomfortable. But it will be the coolest thing in the parking lot when I go to pick up stuff :) I thought about modernizing it but it runs good and everything does what it should. The back roads to all of the local places I'd need to haul stuff from are all 45mph or less so it will be fine.

Don't expect it to behave like a modern vehicle and you won't be disappointed.

The coolest one I ever saw was a 1-ton dually Dodge with a 51 Chevy truck body on it. It was SLAMMED and looked like a million bucks. Guy sold it for $3000 with TWO cummins engines; a 12v and a 24v.

I didn't have the money at the time or it would be in my driveway and I could post a picture.

stuff from back then is crazy easy to work on and NAPA probably has any mechanical and drivetrain parts you'd need for it.

I would stay away from something like a Diamond T. I restored one of these many years ago and there are a lot of parts that you have to make because parts are no avail. It is more of a collector vehicle than workhorse in this day in age.

You'd be better off with a late 40's/early 50's Ford or GM truck. There are at least a few restoration parts places that keep the prices down on stuff you would need.

I'd imagine that a truck that old could be mostly repaired by the village blacksmith, to boot.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: I would stay away from something like a Diamond T. I restored one of these many years ago and there are a lot of parts that you have to make because parts are no avail. It is more of a collector vehicle than workhorse in this day in age.

Wearing my sensible hat, the lack of parts would be a problem. Especially given my lack of skill when it comes to making said parts.

I'm kinda torn between getting a 90s diesel truck for sheer practicality reasons or something from the 60s or early 70s for the cool factor.

JThw8 wrote: I'm fixing up a 53 Studebaker 1.5 ton to use as a home depot hauler and general local use truck. Not quite as old as your candidate but the tech in it dates back to the 40s. It will be slow, I'm told to expect it to top out around 45-50. It will be somewhat uncomfortable. But it will be the coolest thing in the parking lot when I go to pick up stuff :) I thought about modernizing it but it runs good and everything does what it should. The back roads to all of the local places I'd need to haul stuff from are all 45mph or less so it will be fine. Don't expect it to behave like a modern vehicle and you won't be disappointed.

I'm in pretty much the same boat as jthw8....just bought a 47 Chevy Loadmaster 1.5 ton. Very cool truck, well to people like us, but more like a tractor than any kind of modern truck. I've also been told to expect 45-50mph top speed. Mine has a flatbed, so really I'll probably just use it around the house. Mine also still has the 6 volt electrical and fabric loomed wiring (which is falling apart).

As mentioned in the other T thread, the g/f's parent's have a '48 Diamond T 1.5T DRW stake-bed truck they use for occasional hauling. Granted, they bought it in 1969 when it was just an old truck.

The comment about farm equipment is correct. Although I've never driven it, I understand it is an absolute beast to drive. Top speed is about 45 mph. Her parents used to drive it loaded with firewood from the farm in PA about 100 miles to thier house in Wayne, NJ. My g/f recalls it being a looooong drive... especially crawling over some of the passes... loud too.

The internet has made parts a bit easier to find. Most of the wear-type stuff (carb, hydraulics, etc) hasn't been too hard to get rebuilt.

http://www.antiquetruckclubofamerica.org/ is a good source for info.

It's the weird swaps in technology that will get you prior to the 50's. By that I mean things like ball bearings on the wheels instead of roller bearings, weird non-standard fittings on the copper brake lines, left hand lug nuts, etc...

Very quickly you are forced to decide if you want to keep it original or start swapping parts to more modern ones, then you have to figure out how, and then your wallet or weekend has to cough up the $ or time to make it happen.

There are so many swapped on to modern chassis for just that reason. One week of work and that S10 chassis now has a cool truck on top, then after that you get $10 brake calipers and parts on hand at your local store. Keep it original and when that rubber hose to the rear axle lets go you are out of commission for a month.

The GRM of old truck magazines:

The publisher doesn't just showcase over-restored trucks; he likes patina and working trucks just as much. There's endless debate over how 'modified' a truck can be to get featured but they generally leave the hot rodded stuff to the dozens of other rags to cover. Pickups, medium duty trucks, panel vans, bread trucks...even station wagons. Pick up a copy at B&N and have a look. I'm not a shill for the magazine, just a happy subscriber for the last dozen or so years.

Personally I don't get the whole S-10 chassis swap thing - it seems like a lot of work to get updated suspension, especially since there are many bolt on solutions available for popular trucks these days (Chevy and Ford mainly, but some others as well) that don't require throwing away the original frame and then having to fabricate new body and bed mounts.

For the least amount of work I'd look for something from the 1960s or late 1950s at the earliest - for instance, I have a '66 Ford F-100 that's pretty easy to drive; highway speeds are no problem, the brakes are decent and while it's no Miata the handling is acceptable.

My dad's truck, on a mock up cover for that magazine. The article on his truck is in this issue, but another cover was chosen.

My dad also owns a 1948 International KB-6 fire truck, a 1963 Corvair Rampside, and many other really cool cars and tractors.

I love the looks of the Diamond T. Sure would be tempting to modernize it and drive the wheels off of it.

I know enough to stay away from anything pre WW2 if you wish to exceed 45 mph.

Pretty original '49 201 just popped up on Hemmings. Not GR-priced, though... not even close:

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/diamond_t/201/1413013.html?refer=news

I remember a more freshly restored one for sale for something like $25-30K a year or two ago.

The Diamond T I saw locally is in better condition than that. If that's what they're going for, they're way out of my budget. Heck, the asking price of that truck is about twice the combined value of all the vehicles we own...

Might be worth looking at in case they are asking under market on the truck. Own a cool old truck and turn a tidy profit in a couple of years? Sign me up!