1938Diamond1939T1940Pickup1941Truck1946Ford1947International1948Chevrolet1949

Description

PLEASE  NOTE :
Please read the updated (12/30/2020) description below. A much better right hand or passenger's side door is now included with this truck. It is shown on this truck in the first photo of this listing. That pictorial installation was done with my friend's Photoshop program on her computer. That door has not yet been installed on this truck.
This listing is for a very scarce and desirable 1938 Diamond T Model 201 one ton pickup truck. The last photo of this listing is of a beautifully restored Deluxe version. That photo is included for your reference only and to show you how absolutely stunning a truck like this can be when it is restored properly. That beautifully restored truck is NOT part of this listing.
SOME  DIAMOND  T  PICKUP  HISTORY
This 1938 Diamond T pickup truck is very special for several reasons. I believe the beautiful low windshield cab was introduced in mid 1936 on the Model 80 pickup and larger trucks too. The 1936 and perhaps early 1937 Diamond cabs had wood framing materials. Most of the 1937 cabs had more steel framing. The waterfall grill introduced in 1936 was used on all of the Model 80 pickups produced in 1936 and 1937.
The beautiful low windshield cab was carried over into 1938 and used on this truck even though the front sheet metal was entirely new for that year. The much more beautiful new grille for 1938 featured 18 small horizontal bars made in two halves from stamped steel. These grille halves were painted silver on the standard trucks like this one and chrome plated on much fancier Deluxe trucks like the one shown in the last photo.
I believe that it was in later 1939 that Diamond T decided they needed a taller windshield in the cab so they raised the top of the windshield about 2 inches. This functional improvement made it easier to see ahead but it hurt the looks of the vehicle. The beautiful 1936 through mid 1939 low windshield cabs almost looked as if the roofs had been chopped or lowered at the factory.
I believe that the beautiful new grille for 1938 was carried through most of 1939 before it was replaced with a similar but much coarser grille for the 1940 model year. That 1940 grille consisted of a pair of die-cast halves that had 9 coarser horizontal bars rather than the 18 finer horizontal bars used in 1938 and 1939.
These 1940 and later grilles were generally painted light yellow on the standard trucks and chrome plated on the Deluxe trucks. These die-cast grille halves were used through part of 1947 at which time a similar looking grille made of riveted together stamped stainless steel parts was introduced. This design of grille was used through 1949 and perhaps part of 1950.
In later 1950 Diamond T started buying the same cab that International Harvester used on their pickups and trucks. Some of the earliest of those IH cabs used hidden door hinges which must have been problematic. Most of the 1951 and all of the similar later cabs shipped by IH through mid 1957 or so had the much sturdier exposed door hinges.
ESTIMATED  NUMBERS  PRODUCED  &  SURVING  TODAY
My great Diamond T friend in Texas just shared the 1938 and 1939 Model 201 production numbers with me. They are as follows:
Model Year          First Serial #            Last Serial #            Total Built
1938                  2010001                   2010367                   367
1939                  2010368                   2011011                    644
If one assumes that the later third of the 1939 production had the 2" higher windshield, the correspondingly higher front on the cab roof, and the newer large bar grille, that would leave only 2/3 of 664 units or only 430 units of the 1939 production that looked like the sleeker 1938 pickups. That would mean the 367 units built in 1938 plus 430 older looking units built in 1939 would give a total of only 797 of the sleeker 1938 style pickups built.
Since I sort of enjoy speculating based on what I believe are reasonable assumptions, I will continue a bit further here. If one were to speculate (and conservatively I believe) that 10% of these 797 beautiful trucks are still with us today, that would mean that only 80 are left in all of the world.
If there was only one of these trucks left in each state here in the USA, that would account for 50 of the total of 80 left. That would leave only 30 more trucks to be distributed throughout the rest of North America, all of South and Central America and the rest of the world. Now you know why I call these beauties scarce trucks.
This truck had an awful looking yet very functional grille guard on it when I found it. That guard bolted to the front bumper and had angled braces going back through the pair of vertically slotted holes you can see in both front fenders. Thanks to that horrible looking grille guard, the grille on this truck is in truly exceptional original condition with only a very tiny bit of minor deflection damage on one grille bar on the lower left side. The center of this grille near the bottom was pushed in about a half inch or so but will not be hard to straighten.
The very distinctive chrome plated die-cast grille ornament is present but the back of the tail upper tail is missing as it usually is on these trucks. That happens when the stop links that keep the hood halves from opening too much break or become unhooked. I have a very nice original correct grille ornament for this truck with the black and gold cloisonne medallion that will be included.
Fortunately, the pair of stainless steel trim pieces at the top of the grille are present as are the pair of similar trim strips that run the length of the top of the hood sides. The right hand brass plate that says "DIAMOND T" that is screwed onto the right side of the hood side is missing but I have several nice ones the new owner can choose one from.
The vertical ribbed stainless steel piece that runs down the center of the grille is in fairly decent shape with a moderate dent near the bottom. Again, I have several used ones of these that the new owner can choose from if they wish to upgrade this one.
The very vulnerable compound curved panel below the grille is generally called the "chin" by Diamond T enthusiasts. I suspect someone many years ago decided that it resembles a person's chin to some extent and introduced that name. That "chin" is often missing on these trucks and is usually dented somewhere if it is present. The "chin" on this gem is very nice and has most of the horizontal trim parts still on it. Those parts are often called "whiskers" because they sort of resemble the whiskers on a cat. The pair of upper "whiskers" are missing but I have a pair of loose ones that will go with this truck.
Most of the rusted out sheet metal on this gem is in the right hand or passenger's door and in the bottom outside of the tool box located below that door. Not only is the bottom of the door rusted through, the front where the hinges attach is also badly rusted out too. I can not understand how a door can be so bad on such an otherwise solid truck.
I did see an older truck of this vintage many years ago that someone set a battery on the passenger's floor board. That old hard rubber battery case eventually froze and broke and spilled acid on the floor and destroyed that part of the cab. I don't think that happened on this truck because the passenger's floor and door sill appear to be fine. Perhaps that door was filled with blow dirt or a mouse nest.
My great friend in Texas sent me a door a few days ago and I just received it on December 23, 2020. The door and I are in Bozeman Montana and this truck is 225 miles north of me at the home ranch. I have a friend who does great things with her Photoshop program so I had her replace the original door with the better door. You can see her handiwork in the first photo of this listing. As you can see, the second photo shows a lot of rust in the bottom of the passenger's door.
This replacement door has remnants of paint on it. I has no rust in the outer skin but it has some small rust holes in the bottom of the door frame where the bottom of the outer skin attaches to the door frame. It appears that someone swung an axe at the outside of the upper rear window corner. That could be repaired or one could cut that part out of the bad door that came on this truck and place it into the very much better replacement door shown on this truck in the first photo of this listing.
It appears that the roof on this cab was never caved in by careless operators or by vandals jumping on it. That is at least a ,500 bonus if the new owner is not capable of straightening out a messed up roof and had to hire a professional metal worker to work straighten out the beautifully sculpted compound curved roof.
Someone installed a dual rear wheel rear axle assembly in this beast a long time ago. I have the correct single wheel rear axle assembly that is included but not installed yet. I may try to work on installing that if time permits this spring. I also have a correct spare tire and rim to go with this truck even though it is not shown in these photos.
The very hard to find original Diamond T box is present on this truck as are the even harder to find rear fenders. Those fenders have been reinforced over the wheel opening with 3/8" or so steel rod welded in place. That is a very functional addition but not acceptable on a restoration. Someone will have to spend a considerable amount of time using a cut-off wheel on a small grinder to grind through those welds.
My Diamond T friend in Texas told me that someone opened up the wheel cutouts in these rear fenders a bit to clear tires. That is no bonus for sure but Diamond T pickup rear fenders in any savable condition are still worth ,000 to ,500 each. I know of one Diamond T pickup builder that modified the short front fenders like those on the front of this truck for use on his pickup box.
I have never seen another tailgate like the one on this truck so I am sure some craftsman built it many years ago. It was beautifully made by a very competent craftsman and has a rotating handle on the inside that extends and retracts latching bars that hook into both sides of the box.
The very hard to find original spare tire carrier for the 16" Clark rims is present on the right side of the box where it normally is located. I have an extra loose proper 16" Clark rim that will be included as a spare with this truck. I know I have at least 2 and perhaps more of the correct dog dish style of hubcaps for this truck. I will include all of them that I have with this truck.
The dash gauges are intact but will need some restoration done on them. The original ignition switch is present and still has it's original Briggs & Stratton key number C1519 in it. It is very rare to find a truck of this vintage that still has it's original ignition, let alone it's original matching number Briggs & Stratton key. I have the right outside door handle even though it may not be shown in some of the photos. That ignition key should fit that outside door handle but the lock cylinder in the door handle appears to be seized up somewhat.
It appears that both of the original seat springs are present but there is none of the original upholstery remaining on them. The front bumper is not an original but is a piece of steel channel iron instead. There is no rear bumper and likely never was on this truck. It was a factory option on the later Diamond T pickup trucks. This truck steers and rolls so it is not hard to load or transport.
These outstanding trucks could have been ordered from the factory with a 20" single wheel option. The second to last photo of this listing shows nice original 1949 Model 201 that I owned for a while about 6 years ago. That photo is for your reference only. I nearly had a set of four 20" wheels and five 20" rims bought for ,000 a few months ago. The seller kept his word and sold them to a guy who had inquired before I did and had been working to get the money together to buy them. That seller told me he is working on getting another set of these very scarce 20" wheels and rims so I might get them yet.
The second to the last photo here shows a set of 4 super hard to find 20" wheel covers to fit the optional 20" wheels. I have those gorgeous wheel covers in my Diamond T spare parts collection. If the seller of the 20" wheels comes up with another set of them and I buy them, I may decide to keep this truck and install them on it and make it run and drive without restoring it. I have a very serious fascination for these beautiful old Diamond T pickups and an even greater fascination for the ones with the very scarce and impressive looking 20" wheel and wheel cover option.
Some collectors refer to the Diamond T's as being the Cadillac or Rolls Royce of trucks. Cadillac, maybe but Rolls Royce definitely not, at least in my opinion. Most of the Diamond T's used the Hercules flathead 6 cylinder engines which in my opinion are no match for the International, GMC or Mack overhead valve 6 cylinder engines of the same era. In my opinion again, what the Diamond T's lacked in mechanical sophistication, they more than made up for in appearance, especially in the Deluxe models.
One can restore this truck to make it look like the Deluxe truck shown in the last photo of this listing. The Deluxe version included the following goodies to improve the appearance of the truck:
Exterior Additions :
Stainless steel windshield frames (good restorable loose pair included with this truck)
Chrome plated grille halves and horizontal hood side trim strips
Chrome plated front bumper
Chrome plated dual windshield wipers versus single windshield wiper
Fender mounted parking lights as used on similar vintage Buick cars (reproductions available)
Full wheel covers (I have both 16" and 20" covers available at extra cost
Chrome plated escutcheons where the front bumper brackets come through the front fenders
Interior Additions :
Super fancy chrome & green instrument panel (left over 1934 Packard stock) larger gauges, clock, cigar lighter
Pair of chrome & green trim panels on both sides of the instrument panel
Fancy chrome plated steel spoked steering wheel with chrome plated horn ring
Chrome plated interior side window garnish moldings
Metal arm rests with rubber inserts on both door panels
Some Reasons Why The 1938-1939 Diamond T Pickup Trucks Are So Special :
1. Cabs with 2" lower roofs & windshields look like they were chopped at the factory
2. Finer & arguably prettier grilles than the waterfall grilles on 1936 - 1937 trucks and the coarser grilles on 1940 - 1949 trucks
3. Streamlined long bullet shaped headlamps rather than the shorter stubby headlamps used later
4. Availability of the absolutely gorgeous Deluxe option which may not have been available after WW II
5. Much lower production than the 1940 - 1949 Diamond T pickup trucks with the coarser grille
If I did not already have over 250 collector vehicles to dispose of and was going to be able to have only one Diamond T pickup, it would have to be the 1938 or early 1939 with the lower cab front, 2" ;lower windshields, finer grille and the Deluxe option. In my opinion, the 1938 through mid 1939 cabs looks even better than the later 1940 1949 cabs which look great in their own right.
The engine in this truck appears to be stuck. I used moderate force to try to turn it over and was not successful. I like to see trucks like this left with the original drivetrain but have a suggestion if you want something other than the original Hercules flathead 6 cylinder engine.
A friend had a postwar Diamond T pickup that had a late 40's 59AB flathead Ford V8 retrofitted to it. That truck was a real sweetheart in my opinion. It was very smooth, had plenty of power and it was easier to get parts for than the original Hercules flathead 6 engine was.
I believe the Ford 1 ton and 1-1/2 ton trucks from 1930 through 1949 or so used the the Borg Warner T98 un-synchronized 4-speed transmission. I believe that same transmission was used in the 1936-1949 Diamond T pickups. Other than the engine's front motor mounts and double inlets and outlets needed on the radiator, that engine was pretty much of a bolt-in conversion.
NOTES  REGARDING  INFORMATION  FOR  ME  TO  ADD  HERE  SOON :
Availability of reproduction parts including:
New black or brown urethane rubber floor mats with 2 large Diamond T logos molded in on both sides
All other rubber parts
Cloisonne enamel emblem for grille ornament
Fender lamps for Deluxe model
I do not yet have a title for this truck. Getting a title for such a vehicle here in Montana was a .36 problem and took 10 days to get for many years. A few months ago, our DMV decided that they had to protect everyone from themselves. They now require that we buy a bond for 0 or so and post the vehicle on a 90 day list to see if anyone has any claims on it. I will sell this with a notarized bill of sale for now. I will have my title application mailed to our DMV before April 15, 2020.
I have a network of friends and associates that deliver vehicles and parts for me all over the USA and Canada. It is very likely that one of them may be able to safely and economically deliver this vehicle to you depending on where you are located and when you want it. You can figure between $ .75 and $ .95 per loaded mile for a vehicle delivery lately.
I will be adding more information later this week as time permits. I have many more detailed photos of this truck that I can email to you if you send me your regular email address. Please do not ask me to send them using the eBay email system because I can only send 5 at a time and the eBay email system reduces the quality of the photos sent that way. Thanks for looking, Bob Woodburn in Bozeman Montana USA