Divco (Detroit Industrial Vehicle Company) was founded by George Bacon in 1926 when he left Detroit Electrical Vehicle Company because his boss would not entertain the idea of using a gasoline engine in its delivery vehicles for better range and reliability in cold weather (boy, that sounds familiar!) By 1956 Divco had merged with Wayne Company, but a surprise was on the horizon: Studebaker publicized its interest in buying Divco in February 1959. In the end, nothing came of that foray, and the company continued making its various Model U delivery trucks, widely used by dairies as well as all manner of grocers. Here on eBay is a 1959 Divco looking for a new home. The starting bid is $6000 and no one has stepped up as yet. The truck is located in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and it has no engine or transmission.
From the factory, this Divco would have had a Continental four- or six-cylinder engine, though larger trucks were fitted with Hercules six-cylinder mills by this time. Later, Ford engines were standard. Divcos were never designed to go fast; instead, sturdy brakes and ease of operation under start/stop conditions were the priority. The seller bills his Divco as a hot rod prospect, and that’s certainly a well-trod path. Here’s an example, with a 468 cu. in. Chevy; of course, this one is not on its original chassis!
The genius of George Bacon was inventing multiple ways for a driver to use his truck. The first Divcos could be driven sitting or standing in the cab, or from either running board using a tiller. The driver’s exterior grab handle is just visible in this photo, by the side-view mirror. The clutch and brake were operated from a single pedal. The “step-through” feature made it simple to deliver from either side.
The rear was the business end, where loading took place. The Model U came in several iterations depending on the length of the wheelbase and how much insulation was provided inside. This Divco still wears its “PET Fresh Dairy” signage, and other than the engine and transmission, the truck has most of its original parts. It has been in storage for over fifty years, and the only rust damage appears to be a crusty undercarriage and a few holes in the roof. I love the Art Deco design of the Divco’s nose; even its hood ornament is elegant. In terms of value: if a buyer is aiming for a rod, either mild or wild will cost serious coin. The purchase price of the donor vehicle will barely matter in the end.
Apparently,,,one must be careful of the words they use, i.e., saying,”what a neat find, Michelle”, when some cry sour grapes that the writer didn’t actually FIND the vehicle, so to rephrase, what a great write up, whoever “found” it,,,sheesh. We’re all bozos on this bus,,,the staff and members, anyway.
Everybody has a Divco story, and new stories pop up with every post of one. In addition to the writers great story, I read this was originally a “Divco-Twin”, with reference to its Twin Coach history. It was a marketing success, but it was Divco who later bought out Wayne,( the bus maker) becoming Divco-Wayne,later, just Divco, that got all the credit for the U model. The amazing part here is, of course, its condition. Before onboard refrigeration, the dairy products were kept cool with ice. Divcos always left a trail of water wherever they went. Naturally, coupled to the road salt, they rusted quickly and most became tool sheds out back. Milkmen( sorry ladies, not many milkWOMEN then, although some did come up on images)started early to have goods in the “chute” by 4am for “Ma” to make breakfast for the factory workers that started work at 5. My old man made a “milk chute” in the wall( that me and my brother used to sneak out of at night, until we got caught) but most homes had a 2 way cabinet in the door that the milkperson would have access to the outside door. These trucks had a distinct sound, and we all heard the milkman. So many jokes. We had Sealtest, Borden, Golden Gurnsey, and many more. I can’t think of a more important piece of Americana than the stand up Divco. I’m sure the stories and the notes left in empty bottles, could produce a Hollywood hack. Anyone have a Divco story?
Omg. Little butter wants that milk truck. I would give her a good home, absolutely. She would fit in perfectly.
Howard, I love the Firesign Theater reference. Never expected that.
Yeah, I’m from the shadows too,,,well worth the dollar,,
Ahhh yess, Firesign Theater. Some of my favorite lines include:
He walks across MacArthur Park and into a large Sandstone Building – ‘ouch — my nose!’
“Ralph Spoil Sport Motors, here in the city of Emphysema . . .”
. . . “fully equipped with all options including factory air conditioned air from our fully equipped air conditioned factory!”
“Burch’s Blacklist says this automobile was stolen, but for you friends, a complete price of only two thousand FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS in easy monthly payments . . .”
“Genuine imitation Masonite, with the look of REAL WOOD!”
“it’s just this little chromium switch, I don’t know why you people are so superstitious”.
“It’s nice out! Yeah, I think you ought to leave it out!”
And finally; I recently asked my girlfriend Nikki to hand me a pair of pliers, and she said ‘I didn’t crush the dwarf!’
If none of the above makes any sense, then I suggest you set aside a couple of hours and listen to Firesign Theater on YouTube. Enjoy! Afterwards, some of the quotes above still won’t make much sense, but your belly will probably hurt from laughing!
Howard you are correct. The stand and drive is the invention of W B Fageol the cofounder of the Twin Coach Co. and Fageol trucks. He filed and is the Patten holder. Divco copied the invention and a lawsuit was filed by Twin Coach Co. To settle it was decided to merge the two delivery parts of each business. W B and F R Fageol were both on the board of directors of Divco hence the name Divco Twin on the pre war trucks.
Firesign Theat”er” AND Sealtest……..OMG! …………man that tickles some milkbones.
You can always count on HoA for the cerebrum reorientation Love some Divco .but a shell for 6K?
interested in this divco. would love to come and look at it . when would you be available.
Greg,
This was on ebay 2 months ago, and the listing has expired, so unless the owner sees your comment and replies here, there is little chance of contacting the owner.
Howard you are correct. The stand and drive is the invention of W B Fageol the cofounder of the Twin Coach Co. and Fageol trucks. He filed and is the Patten holder. Divco copied the invention and a lawsuit was filed by Twin Coach Co. To settle it was decided to merge the two delivery parts of each business. W B and F R Fageol were both on the board of directors of Divco hence the name Divco Twin on the pre war trucks.
I remember years ago driving one of those on a milk route in elkhart Indiana
This one looks to be in better shape than others I have seen pop up for sale at a higher price I think it would be kinda fun to follow and see what the buyer does with it.
I agree, my first thought when I saw the picture was the old milk trucks that left bottled milk on the door steps and picked up the empties. I felt sorry for the drivers having to stand and drive.
The first thing I’d do with this is rip out the seat, steering column and all the sheet metal in the drivers compartment, re-design everything for seating and driving, a modern suspension with modern engine and transmission. paint the entire truck and make it into a nice camper. Throw away those old wheels and put some nice polished aluminums with radial tires. Of course money has to be no issue when doing something like that, but price a new R.V, you’d probably be money ahead with the Divco and make it your way.
God Bless America
johnmlovhry,
My shop once did some mechanical work on a nice DIVCO milk truck, and I have to mention there is damn little room in one for creating an RV, especially for more than 1 person!
We had a milkbox on the porch and my memory suggests it held 4 bottles and was something like galvanized steel lined with cork. The Brock Hall driver showed me the driver’s cockpit which had a seat but he folded it up and preferred to drive standing up. I remember (whether it was true or not) that the gas pedal was a lever that move horizontally with his right foot and the other pedal was the clutch half-way down, and then further push was the brake, so he must have been balancing on his right heel and the steering wheel.
In the 50’s, my dad would drive to Detroit from Johnstown Pa and bring a Divco back to Sanitary Dairy. Divco either didn’t deliver or the dairy was cheap. That had to be a long and tiring 8 hour drive before modern interstates. Dad was a mechanic at the dairy and knew these trucks inside out.
When I was a youngster I bought a Divco from my neighbor to drive in the wood trails boy did that thing like its fuel
DIVCO also offered the bulletproof Nash Ambassador 7-main-bearing Six as an option. The last Nash Sixes were in ’56, but AMC was still making the engines on order from DIVCO into 1969, when I left AMC.
I used to be a mechanic in a truck shop and we had a fleet of Divcos we worked on. I hated those things because they were so rusty and hard to get parts for, and yet I find myself wanting to buy this thing and make it a new home for an 8.1 Chevy engine I have sitting around. What is wrong with me??
Nothing wrong there, Bill P-this is one you DON’T have to work on and fix by some deadline, that you can do on YOUR time card. That monster Chevy motor would be perfect for this 👍🏻. Make sure you replace the gas tank tho with something MUCH bigger than this one had stock!
I’ll give $2500 and come and get it.
Wow Mr Generous, like 500$ tops. I have some prime swampland for you. Give a call… 1800BIG-SCAM for money transfer info HhhhaaAa
Did you happen to buy that rust pile Chevelle with motor for like 13k that was on here?
HhhhaaAa sorry just had to bust 🐴