Words: John Gunnell
Mike McQueen, of Phoenix, found his ’49 Diamond Reo Deluxe Pickup truck in a copper mine in Globe, Ariz. He’s the second owner of the fancy 1/2-ton truck, which is 99 percent stock restored. He finished that job 21 years ago.
13 years ago, he started resto-rodding a ’37 Diamond T Model 80-D. The “D” stands for deluxe.
“It’s got the deluxe, wide-body express bed on it, along with the deluxe dash,” McQueen pointed out during the American Truck Historical Society’s (www.aths.org) convention in Des Moines, Ia. His absolutely stunning Diamond Ts were among the 1,269 trucks at the event.
The ’37 resto-mod stands out, though. “I have definitely changed a few things on that one,” said McQueen. “Yes, I have. The ’37 is the one that’s got the most changes. It’s got a Corvette engine in it. In fact, it’s all Chevy drive train. It’s got some custom interior in it. But, the majority of the outside of the truck is still all original, except for the taillights; those have been changed.”
The front end on the ’37 Diamond T has been lowered. It’s got an updated suspension and McQueen lowered the front end accordingly. The truck is built on the original frame, however. Yes, that’s right – the “factory” frame is still under it.
“My father used to drive Diamond Ts and that’s all I ever heard about as a kid — how great they were,” McQueen explained to Hot Rod Hotline. “So, I’ve always been interested in the Diamond Ts and I’ve been busy with them for about 30 years. I’ve had other ones, but I sold the other ones to restore these two. So, I’m down to just these two right now.”
Diamond T’s origins go back to 1905. That’s when C.A. Tilt built his first car in Chicago, Ill. He continued doing that until 1911, when one of his car buyers wanted a truck. From then on, the company specialized in building trucks. It was called the Diamond T Car Co. until 1958, the Diamond T Motor Truck Co. from then through 1961 and the Diamond T Division of White Motor Co. in Lansing, Mich., from 1961 to 1966. Then it became Diamond Reo.
McQueen drives his trucks to a lot of local shows in Arizona. But he trailered them to the once-a-year ATHS Convention, which moves around to different places. “We have a 40-ft. open gooseneck trailer and we pull it with an F250,” McQueen said. “Everyone keeps telling me I need o get an enclosed trailer, but I like people to see the trucks when we’re traveling. So, I’d just as soon clean them when we get to the convention.”
The ’37 Diamond T’s Corvette engine came out of a 1991 Corvette. It’s the L98, which is the 350 small block with about 245 hp. It’s got the 700R4 automatic transmission behind it and a ’69 Camaro rear end.
“I did most of the work on the ’37,” McQueen pointed out. “The only things I had to send out were the body and paint work. It was all done at a body shop. The wiring was done by a speed shop because the engine had a computer control system and I don’t know anything about computers.”
