Barn Finder Ikey H has an eye for the unusual and managed to spot this 1935 Divco Helms Bakery Truck. Thanks so much for the lead Ikey. This Divco is a bit of a rarity, being 1 of 148 vehicles built by Divco for Helms Bakery, who operated home delivery services for their goods within a 15-mile radius of their base in Culver City. You will find this 1935 model listed for sale here on eBay. Located in Anaheim, California, it is being offered for sale with a clear title. The seller has set a BIN price of $13,900 for this Divco, but the option is available to make an offer.

The vehicle still wears its original Helms Bakery yellow and black paint, although it has obviously faded somewhat since the closure of Helms in 1969. The vehicle looks to be largely complete, and the body exhibits a few minor dings and dents, and no major rust. I don’t think that the wheels that are fitted to this vehicle are original, as the original wheels were a different style, and were usually fitted with small center hubcaps.

The cargo area on a Divco was cavernous, and this one is no exception. The vehicles that were built for Helms tended to be fitted out quite lavishly for that era, because they didn’t merely function as delivery vans, but also functioned as mobile bakery shops. This meant that the section between the cab and the cargo area was fitted with timber and glass display cases which showcased all of the sweet treats like pies and cakes that Helms also manufactured. Sadly these fixtures are missing, but it should be possible to fabricate replacements using photos of the originals that can be found on the internet.

The seating and cab on the Divco was quite unusual, as it was virtually possible to operate the vehicle in the standing position. The seat fitted to this Divco is not original, as the original was shaped more like a bicycle saddle. The engine cover on this vehicle is also not original, as it would originally have been fitted with a flat metal cover. The chrome rack above the windshield is also missing, as is the distinctive Helms Whistle, which was their distinctive “calling card” to alert people that they were in the area. Those whistles were actually fabricated by Helms from a pair of pie tins and was powered by a set of bellows.

The engine in the truck was built for Divco by Continental and is a 4-cylinder engine backed by a 4-speed manual transmission. This engine produced 24hp and allowed the truck to keep up with the majority of the traffic in the areas that it was designed to operate in. There are a few components such as the intake and carburetor missing off the engine, and we also get no indication of the condition of the engine itself. These were a pretty robust commercial engine, so it is entirely possible that it could be returned to a fully operational state. I’ve also noticed that the shifter and e-brake levers are missing, so I’m not sure whether the transmission is present.

This Divco Helms Bread Truck is going to require a full restoration, but it has a solid base to work from. It may seem like an odd little vehicle, but very few examples have survived since the demise of Helms Bakery. As a result, good examples are fetching some pretty respectable prices. How respectable? A sympathetically restored one went to auction very recently, and it sold for $74,000. That’s a lot of dough.