- Divco stands for Detroit Industrial Vehicle Company.
- With snub-nosed styling that changed little from the 1930s right through to the 1980s, this little delivery truck has toon-town charm in spades.
- This 1955 example has been refurbished by a marque specialist in Arizona, and with three days left before the auction ends on Sunday, June 18, the high bid is at $12,000.
Before Amazon, FedEx, and UPS trucks became ubiquitous on neighborhood streets, the most commonly seen delivery trucks were those that plied a regular route, typically delivering milk and other staples. And while it’s hard to imagine anyone will be nostalgic for today’s FedEx trucks years from now, a 1950s delivery van like this 1955 Divco has plenty of charm. This restored example is up for auction on Bring a Trailer, which, like Car and Driver is part of Hearst Autos. It’s a vehicular blast from the past that may be more evocative than any Corvette or T-Bird.
The Detroit Industrial Vehicle Company had a pretty unusual start. Founder George Bacon was the lead engineer at the Detroit Electric Vehicle Company, a pioneer in EVs as far back as 1907. Bacon’s bright idea was to build a gasoline-powered version of a Detroit Electric, the better to handle cold weather and longer-distance driving. Detroit Electric’s execs didn’t think the whole combustion-engine thing was going to work out, so off George went, setting up Divco in the 1920s.
Divco survived some tumultuous times through the Great Depression and by 1937 was cranking out the delivery trucks that would become such a familiar sight. Fleets of these happy-looking little trucks emerged from a huge new plant in Detroit, ready for their sides to be painted with the brightly colored company names of local dairies, bakeries, laundries, and just about any other company making multiple-stop deliveries.
This example is a 1955 Model 11, which rides on a 100.8-inch wheelbase. It’s powered by a 2.7-liter engine rated at 49 horsepower at a leisurely 2640 rpm. Somewhat hilariously, the speedometer reads up to 120 mph. Keep dreaming about drinking the milk at the Indy 500, Mr. Milkman.
The interior layout is basic, with a three-speed column shifter, and a seat that looks designed by Dr. Seuss. Freshly restored and ready to roll up its sleeves, this truck is the ideal blank canvas to be a rolling advertisement for an independent coffee roastery or similar. Or just take it to your local food truck show and sell organic ice cream out of the side. It’s such a fun-looking little thing, it makes you want to come up with a small business just as an excuse to buy it.
With no reserve, this Divco is going home to some lucky entrepreneur. The auction ends June 18.
Contributing Editor
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.