Called “the Cadillac of trucks,” Diamond T’s were known for their stylish design inside and out. The color combination of a bold red body with dark fenders might have graced a high-rolling Cadillac or Packard of the day. This 1935 Diamond T Deluxe in Bozeman, Montana could be yours; simply click “Buy It Now” here on eBay for the sum of $3995.
Diamond T wasn’t the only truck sporting a car-like grille in 1935, but it’s certainly handsome. Younger readers may not recognize the hole in the bottom of the grille to permit hand-crank starting in the event of a dead battery.
The seller explains “The Deluxe Diamond T’s supposedly used dash instrument panels and gauges left over from Packard’s 1934 production,” as this image search seems to support. The turn-signals may well be a later aftermarket addition, as the fancy indicators did not become mandatory equipment until later times. This similar truck shows a bare steering column with no visible turn signal lever. The two large cranks on top of the dash tilt the bottom of the windshield glass out. Who needs air conditioning?
This appears to be a typical ’30s flathead six-cylinder engine, not described in the listing. Trucks of this vintage appeal to a narrow cross-section of passionate enthusiasts. The seller purchased this one in Pennsylvania. What will it take to put this stylish brute in your driveway?
There was a at least one of these, if not two, nestled in the back corner of a pole-barn on a dairy farm near where I grew up. They were among the first to go when the farm went out. Eighty-six years later, she’s still a classy truck!
another piece of “crap”…..would cost thousands to get this scrap iron running much less on the highway…….people…..your scrap iron is just not worth what you are asking for it….
I really like the appearance of these trucks and have a vintage flatbed that would fit right on it. Too much project for me, but if a buyer needs one, contact me.
Why do you keep highlighting listings from this seller. I know he has some interesting items, but he’s the same guy with the green Challenger hulk from the other day and the Buick Roadmaster wagon that was hauled out of a ravine, among others that have been shown on this site. His prices tend to have little to do with reality based on his sell through rate. I love the work you guys put into this site, I just get tired of seeing this guys items.
Steve R
Speaking entirely for yourself Steve.
I appreciate seeing this listing a lot & I wouldn’t have seen it if they hadn’t listed it here on Barn Finds. And then I checked on his other items for sale on ebay and see that he is selling all kinds of interesting stuff….
Thanks for listing this Barn Finds…
This guy has much much for sale and must make profit as EBay loves to grind its sellers on pricing!
I used to list all the time til they wanted a pint if blood with each list whether it sold or not!
I think this is either a model 211 or 220. Diamond T’s were rare. They cost 3 times the amount of the other trucks of that time, BUT, were 3 times the truck. They had features no other truck had. Full instrumentation, engine turned dash, even full chrome wheel covers. So if a farmer pulled into the feed mill with a Diamond T, they meant business. Pretty sure that’s a 228 Hercules motor( I recognize the gear driven water pump behind distributor) about 80 hp. Great resto-mod material, but be just as nice restored to original to show folks what the nicest truck in 1935 looked like.
this would be great on a modern diesel frame/running gear and a custome made pickup bed
This I could get into if I had the space for it. I would love to do a build with a newer drive train in place to make it a good work truck again. Parades and shows are nice, but a truck is best used as a truck.
Very nice! I’ll always have a special place for a Diamond T. I should have my nephew go have a look at it; he lives right there. On second thought, his wife would be more objective so I’ll ask her. Like Rube says, it looks like a 228 motor. Excellent truck to restore and have some fun with. But you might want to soften up the ride as that will rattle the fillings out of your teeth. And while I very much prefer one of these restored they DO function well as a resto-mod…..
Hard telling what this one was used for originally, most likely ag. related. Early grain boxes were constructed almost entirely of wood. Set out in the weather long enough, and they rotted into nothing. Hope someone brings this one back to original.Hey Rube, here is a picture of my old K-W. Tons of stories in this farm truck. Can retell a few later if anyone’s interested.
Nice! I rattled around in plenty of those older trucks. Most had Hendrickson rubber pad suspension.
I like the design of this with the grille.
It would make a nice car hauler with updated mechanicals 👀👍🤠
Besides being great farm trucks, flatbeds, dump trucks and other commercial enterprises, they clean up nice and look fantastic towing vintage campers (a task they surely wouldn’t have been chosen for originally). This one – towing a late 1940s Spartan – belongs to a Facebook buddy.
Man, I like that setup!
On the original listing, upgrade the mechanicals and add a suitable flatbed and winch, now that would be a car hauler.
Love the Spartan, we have a ’54, in fact people are still living in it on an old movie lot.
Wow This guy has a lot of Diamond T stuff, along with numerous other offerings. He must have hit the mother load of old vehicles, that or he just travels round the state scooping them up. Either way he is making money. He would be well served to do a multi listing here on BF’s. Cost less that Ebay I bet.
And Craigslist would cost even less! An experienced seller however realizes that advertising that produces results is worth what it costs. But what good would it do the guy to list them all on Barnfinds? He’s got to find actual buyers, not just guys that look at and talk about listings and never buy anything. I like this website and hope it grows, but until it’s got the same readership numbers as Bring-A-Tater or eBub, nothing listed exclusively here is likely to sell, at least for a price fair to the seller. Look at the BarnFinds auctions of a few months ago – they’ve fizzled away to nothing. Perhaps I shouldn’t reveal this, but because most people have always had the same attitudes towards advertising and simply go for “the cheapest” instead of that which is effective, I was able to buy an unlimited number of cars off of Hemmings that got advertised cheaply month after month after month with no real buyers appearing so I’d finally make an offer, usually about 50% of the listed price and successfully buy the car. Then I’d immediately re-list the car elsewhere but I’d pay between $300 – $500 per ad but the car would sell almost instantly at my full asking price once the ad came out. My friends would claim I was the craziest and most stupid man on the planet to pay $500 for an ad when much cheaper ads were available, but I was selling cars at outrageous mark-ups. It’s too bad the internet has killed that market completely and it’s never coming back. But it’s still true – “cheap” advertising is worthless, advertising that produces results is pure gold and one shouldn’t shy away from paying for it. I do hope this website gets promoted enough and attracts enough attention that it can produce real buyers, not just the keyboard critics of craigslist/ebay ads and photos that seem to look at it now.
Interesting points, and I cannot disagree with what you have written. I used Ebay often about 4-5 years ago with pretty good results as far as getting near or at my ask. These days…..forget it. Might as well take your $90 it’ll cost you to list there and flush it down the toilet because you’re going to get the same results as if you had listed it there. I wouldn’t dare list a car there with no reserve unless I had $0 into it.
CL: I sell most of my trucks there. I get about 80% of my ask. Not bad considering it’s free. You do get a lot of yokels but you can sniff them out quickly after enough experience.
I’ve tried selling on Hemmin*s a couple of times. I get a lot of calls, but usually only about a month after the car/truck has already sold (usually on CL). Not sure what’s up with that.
I tried listing on BF once.
I have no problem investing good money in advertising if I knew of a good place to do it. For now, I guess I’ll stick with CL not just because it’s free but because, at the, it seems to produce the best results.
Always liked the lines on these trucks.
I have come across this truck ‘s listings for a couple of years now, same seller, same wording. While I have absolutely no idea how much a truck like this is worth or what it would take to get it on the road in some manner again, something tells me he’s asking more than it’s worth in the vast majority of peoples’ minds and wallets.
Same goes for the rest of the seller’s listings.
Simply a thing of beauty. Keep the original parts boxed up and stored properly and set this beast on a wrecked late model diesel (Buy at insurance auction) Screw those late model plastic wagons,, put some class and style on your frame and roll in style!
I (Heart) this truck!
Exactly how I’d do it, Sluggo. One could repower this orphan with any brand they like: Cummins, Duramax, EcoBlue… heck, even a Mercedes Blutec would be neat in this thing. Toss some comfy, 6-way power seats and a console with a few cup holders and you’d have a neat long distance road trip towing machine.
If I had a business like, say, an up-scale catering operation, I’d buy this truck and RESTORE it. Go to a big-truck wrecking yard and buy a box-bed to cut down and re-size, then add coach lights, a leather interior and a dark blue paint job with silver lettering… With a good accountant, you could probably write off the whole thing to advertising! Haul all your equipment to fancy parties and park where you’ll be seen. When it’s not working, take it to cruise-ins for free advertising. I just don’t see any downsides here!
Diamond T in my opinion made some of the most beautiful heavy duty trucks.