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Delivery Duel: 1972 Divco VS 1954 Chevy

1972 Divco

There’s a part of me that’s sad to hear Amazon is potentially making use of drones for faster package delivery. Sure, it’ll be great to get our orders almost instantly, but it pushes us further away from the days when delivery trucks brought us our goods. In my neck of the woods in Rhode Island, a company called Christiansen’s Dairy still uses vintage Divcos to deliver milk offering us old souls a little bit of nostalgia as they rumble down the road. That’s why this week’s Face Off salutes two old working girls, a 1972 Divco found here on craigslist for $4,500 and a 1954 Chevy 5400 fuel delivery truck found here on craigslist for $4,800 – painted in some very ideal colors!

Divco milk truck

What’s amazing to me about the Divcos is that they’re a little like the original air-cooled Beetles in a way. The same old-school design was used for years, better known as the snub-nose. The design appeared in 1937 and was effectively used until the end of production in the late 1980s. This helps explain why some companies still use these workhorses for actual delivery, as they proved quite popular and led to groups like the Divco Club of America being formed. This California example is a stick-shift model that the seller claims has a good body and lots of work already done – but it’s not finished. Any guesses as to what it needs next?

Tanker truck

When I alluded to the paint job on this Chevy fuel truck, I wonder how many of you figured out what I was thinking. All I can envision is slapping a Gulf fuel company logo on this rig and bringing it to vintage racing events around the country. If I had Gulf-themed livery on a vintage Porsche 911, you can bet I’d own this purely because it seems like the perfect racing team accessory! This example appears impressively straight, with clean corners on the cab and fenders. The seller claims it was running before it was driven into the woods – presumably its last delivery – so perhaps it will be an easy fix. Either way, I hope it gets restored and visits a race track soon.

1954 Chevrolet 6400

Admittedly, I have no room for either of these vehicles at the moment, but I’m sure they’d be a fun way to promote a business or accentuate an existing collection. As delivery vehicles continue to become a thing of the past, I’m glad some companies like our local dairy farm keep using these trucks for not just marketing purposes, but also to keep them in active duty. Which one would you choose, and how would you use it? Better yet, have any of our readers used a vintage work truck for transport duties? Let us know!

Comments

  1. Avatar JW

    If I was younger I would check out the Divco and if it didn’t need much to make road worthy and safe I would use it as a swapmeet truck, wouldn’t have to keep unloading & loading stuff all the time just leave things in it until the next swapmeet. Leave exterior as is so wouldn’t be out much cash on paint and bodywork.

    Now that old fuel delivery truck I don’t see any practical use for it unless you owned a fuel delivery company and wanted it to just park it in front of your business for nostalgia purposes with your company logo on it.

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  2. Avatar Bobsmyuncle

    That Divco won’t last long at that price. And I agree the fuel truck is great.

    It could make a decent tow rig/support vehicle. Remove any interior baffles, put a clamshell door on the back with a slide out tray with tools, and spares. These days, if you can afford the P Car you can afford the proposed project.

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  3. Avatar Neil Plucknett

    I like the look of both – although from a UK perspective I suspect it would be easier to source parts for the Chevy. I like the idea of the Gulf livery – it would sit well on the Chevy in its existing colour scheme, Or perhaps a total respray in OD and USAF markings.

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  4. Avatar geomechs Member

    Both worthwhile restoration projects. I wish I had the time and the room. These would be great additions to any collection.

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  5. Avatar JW454

    I got to go with the Devco. It reminds me of sitting on My grandmother’s front steps and waiting for Mr. Snyder to come to deliver the milk. He drove a Devco for Borden’s Dairy so the truck had the “Elsie the Cow” logo on the side. It was fun to watch him stand up to drive it.
    The tanker would be a nice project but it would have less practical value for me.

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  6. Avatar Wiley Robinson

    The Divco is obviously the better choice because unless you have thousands of gallons of some undrinkable liquid to move around what would do with a tanker truck? There’s tons of reasonable uses for the Divco, (like breaking bad and making a mobile meth lab).

    Like 0

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