You know that you’re in for fun when you read the ad for a vehicle and under color they have replied with “rust color”. This rust-colored Diamond T truck is advertised for sale here on eBay. Located in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, there is no title for this truck but it will come with a Bill of Sale. The seller has set a BIN of $3,950 for this classic truck, although the option is there to make an offer.
This old Diamond T has spent quite some time sitting out in the New Mexico sun, and now looks rather well baked. Having said that, while there is a healthy coating of surface corrosion, the body itself appears to be completely solid with no obvious rot-through. The body sports quite a few dings, but these could be repaired if you were looking at undertaking a full restoration. The chassis also appears to be solid, so the base is definitely there for either a restoration or to build something a bit different in the rat rod genre.
The interior of this truck is virtually complete. The seats and dash are intact, along with the door trims. It appears that the rear glass is missing, and that the driver’s door glass may also be gone. One of the awesome features of this Diamond T is the wind-out windshield glass on both sides. It’s the 1930s Diamond T equivalent of air conditioning.
Under the hood is the original 6-cylinder engine. The seller doesn’t know the condition of it and doesn’t mention whether he has tried to wind it over by hand. It is really hard to determine exactly which engine this is as the history of Diamond T has tended to become quite disjointed, although I believe that it may be the 6-cylinder engine that originally produced 124hp. I hope that one of our Barn Finders out there may be able to clarify this one for me.
The seller lists this Diamond T as a potential Rat Rod project. I can see how they have come to that conclusion, but I really would love to see it returned to its former glory. Regardless of which way the new owner decides to go there is plenty of work ahead. As a Rat Rod project it would make an interesting base because it is not a particularly common vehicle. So, which way would our readers go?
Oy,,,guess you have to start somewhere. Diamond T used Hercules motors, and these were the last of the “classy” Diamond T’s. They had chrome hubcaps and grills, engine turned dash,(not that you could tell) features not normally found on trucks then, but you paid for it, as Diamond T’s routinely cost almost double of a Ford or Chevy. Sure has a lot of “leevers”, probably for the winch. Here’s another “cab donor” for a modern truck, scrap the rest ( save the winch, tho)
Thanks for that Howard A. I wasn’t sure whether it was a Hercules engine because I only found three decent write-ups on the Diamond T and all of the information seemed to contradict itself. Years ago my late father-in-law had a Diamond T tip truck. It was a beautiful thing, but way too slow. He sold it and bought an Acco that made a serious attempt on his life!
Hi Adam, I owned a 1949 Diamond T 201 pickup for almost 30 years. I was a member of ATHS(American Truck Historical Society) for many years, and got to know Diamond T pretty well. I found it in a salvage yard in the early 80’s. I bought it for $100 bucks. It too, had the Hercules motor, and was one heavy duty pickup. Sadly, it was sold during divorce proceedings, a move I sorely regret to this day. It ran and drove good, slow, but good, just needed paint. A restored 201 crossed an auction a while back for $94,000! Scotty wrote one up a while back. Mine was red and 10 times better than this. Sold it to a friend in the late 90’s for $4,000.
https://barnfinds.com/1949-diamond-t-201/
BTW, vintage trucks are my thing, and what I don’t know, geomechs always can fill in the blanks. If you ever have a question on trucks, new or old,( well, not too new) run it by me. Thanks for featuring this.
This poor diamond T sure led a hard life. Howard’s right this will likely be a cab donor. However it sure would be nice to hear that old 6 bark back to life. My old dodge has a 218 flatty 6 in it and it makes a sound all its own. There’s a diamond T in the gasoline alley museum at heritage park in Calgary that is mint. A gasoline tanker if memory serves me correctly, it is gorgeous. You don’t see rigs like this any more with the gin pole and winch setup, I remember one from when I was a kid. My dad would take my brother and I out to this old wrecking yard and this old guy Maxi had one he used in his yard. It was rough looking too but did the work for him out there. Maxi and that yard are both long gone now but I still have fond memories of going out there. Part of me would like to see this restored but like old fire trucks what do with it once it is, unless you have a warehouse sized building it will end up back outside sitting and again returning to the earth. Nice find.
Good project for some serious, dedicated individual. Howard is right as far as the Hercules engine goes. I think Diamond T used Hercules for all its gas burners. I admit that I heard rumors that Hall Scott supplied the engines for the really big trucks but I’ve never seen anything but Hercules. For me this truck is rare enough that it should be resurrected and restored to what it looked like when it left the factory over 80 years I’d just leave a little earlier than everyone else. And, mark, I’ve seen that Diamond T at Gasoline Alley. I met the owner of that collection at a tractor show down south. I understand that he has ONE of THREE Rumley trucks left in the world. That Daimler Benz truck in Gasoline Alley is the ONLY one of its kind and MB has made all kinds of offers to buy it and take it back to Germany. Quite a character.
Hi geomechs, had to do some reading on that. Apparently, WW2 Diamond T 980’s had either the 895 Hercules, or the massive 1090 Hall-Scott. In the 50’s, just about any engine could be had on the bigger trucks, like Buda, but was surprised to read, they did use Nash motors in their medium duty trucks. Oddly enough, Hall-Scott was sold to Hercules in 1958.
I knew Hall Scott was picked up by another engine company. I heard once that it was Buda but Hercules makes more sense. I wasn’t aware that D-T used Nash motors. Always something to learn on these sites. Thanks for sharing….
First time commenting on this site, but I have a 1954 D-T with a Nash from the factory. Its a model 323 and the factory paperwork lists a Nash 252.6. All I could find for info out there says they were using a couple engines being used in their later years. D-T was sold to White in the early 60’s and they were using International cabs and other parts. I am in the process of getting mine back on the road, but this is what I looked like 2 years ago when I bought it off eBay.
Reminds me of a short story by Stephen King, it is in his book Skeleton Crew the name has slipped my mind.
At Howard A: You’re probably familiar with “They Drive By Night”, a 1940 film noir with Bogart and Raft. Definitely one of my favorite films.
Hi Richard, oh, you betcha’. They drove a 1922 Sterling, until the crash ( oops, gave away the storyline.) Also Ann Sheridan and Ida Lapino. Wasn’t she a cutie?
And I was expecting “diamond in the rough” in the header.
Howard, I knew you’d know it. And thanks for the truck i.d. And I’d grind my gears
for either one of those babes.
Can anyone tell me how to decode the vin # from an antique Diamond T grain truck?
P2020548498
From what I remember, the first 3 digits on Diamond T’s indicated the model. I’ve never heard of a model 202, and can’t find any info on one( the 201 was the 30’s and 40’s pickup, 222 pickup in the early 50’s) A year would help, and are you sure that’s the right #?
Thanks. That was the number we were given, but it could be incorrect. We were told it may be a 1946, but not sure of that either. Does a picture help?
Ok, helped a lot. What you have here, is an early 60’s P2020 series, which would explain the vin#. By the early 60’s, Diamond T was pretty much a Reo, but they held on to the name until ’67, I believe, when it became Diamond-Reo. That round badge in front of the doors should say “2000”. Good luck.
https://www.autopaper.com/1964-diamond-t-truck-p2000-series-specification-sheet.php
This thing looks like it already is a rat rod. It came naturally to this awesome truck.
I always have to laugh when the description says “family jewel” and yet it looks like the family treated the vehicle like the garbage dump.
Howard, thanks so much! We are told it runs– how could we guess approximate value?
It has a flathead 6 engine.
You are asking the wrong person, dear. What trucks go for today really depends on the demand. Vintage pickups are in the stratosphere, but trucks like yours are still under the radar,,,for now. Being a pretty rare truck, and if it drives, and it looks pretty solid, maybe $3,000? Here’s one on ebay that sold for $1,900, and yours looks better.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DIAMOND-T-TRUCK-DUMP-BED-WHITE-REO-GOLD-COMET-P-2000/132417624114?hash=item1ed4b49832:g:aysAAOSwh1haHugr
Thank you!
I don’t think you’ll get the interest here, but ATHS ( American Truck Historical Society) has a magazine called “Wheels of Time”, and has a classified section, also, a magazine called “Vintage Truck” also has a section.
I have an old Diamond T – #4062637 and was always told it was a 41 model.
Mice ate the paperwork 45 years ago before I owned it. Does anyone know how I can verify what year it is? It is a model 406 and I understand it is the 2637 one built. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks – Ken
Hey Ken, it seems the 406 was introduced in 1934 and ran through 1941. I don’t think it was continued after the war. #2637 would seem to me to be an early model, ’35-’36 maybe? There were some pretty fancy 406’s. Again, ATHS or Vintage Truck is your best bet for info.
Hi Howard or anyone out there. If I could get a Number off of a 1941 406 that someone has then we could verify that mine is a 41 also if the number is reasonably close to mine. Even if I had numbers from other years we could narrow it down. I want to sign an affidavit to get clear title for my truck but also want have it registered under the correct year. Does anyone have any leads or thoughts. Thanks