In 1922, George Bacon, Chief Engineer for the Detroit Electric
Vehicle Company designed a remarkable new milk delivery truck.
It could be driven from four positions, front, rear, or either
running board. But battery power was no match for winter weather,
heavy loads (such as milk) or long days on the city streets.
His employer balked at making a gasoline powered truck, so
Bacon and other investors formed the Detroit Industrial Vehicle
Company (D.I.V.CO.)to produce his invention using a LeRoi
gasoline engine. After testing a prototype in 1924, and 25
more prototypes with the Detroit Creamery in 1925, Bacon and
his investors were ready to go into business:
The original Divco milk truck resulted from an electric prototype
built by George Bacon, chief engineer of Detroit Electric
Car Co. Built in 1922 it had four driver positions, front,
rear, and from the running boards on both sides. Three years
later a separate company, Detroit Industrial Vehicle Co. was
set up to market a gasoline-engined version. This went onto
the market in 1926 as the "Divco", powered by a
4-cylinder Continental engine with Warner 4-speed transmission.
The first 25 Divcos were forward-control vans with a front-hinged
door through which the driver could step ahead of the axle.
Control from the running boards was also possible.
But development of such a specialized "Multi-Stop"
vehicle was expensive. Among unexpected expenses were the
design of heavier brakes, clutch and generating systems than
most vehicles of the time required. New capitol was needed,
and the company was reorganized in 1927 as the Divco Detroit
Corporation.
In 1928 came the Model G which had a short hood and was
available with van or open-sided bodies. The control was from
the normal position, either sitting or standing or from either
running board, using a tiller for steering. A later development
was the model H. This model was the first Divco to have a
drop frame with the walk-through aisle which became a basic
Divco feature. Subsequent improvements took manufacture all
the way through the Model "S" Divco by the mid-1930s.
Divco Detroit was hit hard by the depression, and in 1932
the company was purchased by Continental Motors, one of their
largest suppliers. It was renamed "Continental-Divco
Corporation."
In 1936 through a stock manipulation, Divco was divested
from Continental Motors, and merged with the truck business
of the Twin Coach Co. of Kent, Ohio, who were making a similar
vehicle. Under direction of the Fageol family the merged companies
and products were known as Divco-Twin until the Twin Coach
name was dropped during WWII in 1944. After that the firm
was simply known as the Divco Corporation.
In 1937 the Divco was completely redesigned with a welded
all-steel van body and a snub-nosed hood which was used with
virtually no change up to the end of production. A huge new
plant was built on Hoover Road near Detroit to manufacture
the first snub-noses which appeared in service in 1939. The
doors were of the folding, semi-automatic type, and the power
unit was still a 4-cylinder Continental. In 1940 the first
insulated and refrigerated unit was built. But production
was stopped so the plant could be used for war materials during
WWII. After the war, the 1946 Divcos were basically similar
to pre-war, and came in two wheelbases, the 100-3/4 inch Model
UM and 127 inch model ULM. GVW were 9000 and 12,000 lbs. and
engines were 4- and 6-cylinder Continentals. In the early
postwar years production briefly reached 7000 annually, more
than double the best pre-war figures. In 1954 refrigerated
vans were offered as a regular production option, and the
forward-control Dividend series made its debut in 1956. Continental
4- and 6-cylinder and Hercules 6-cylinder engines were standard
in the 1950s, while in the 1960s 6-cylinder ohv Nash engines
were used in addition, and there was also the option of a
Detroit-Diesel 3-53N 3-cylinder 2-stroke diesel.
In 1957 Divco Corporation bought the Wayne Works, a school
bus builder in Richmond, Indiana, and renamed itself, Divco-Wayne
Corporation. Snub-nosed products remained about the same,
but the firm put more emphasis on the larger forward control
vehicle designed to tap into more delivery truck markets,
including the growing wholesale delivery of dairy products.
Dividend Series trucks were also modified with seats and windows
from the Wayne Works to produce a Dividend Bus. But very few
of these units were built between 1959 and 1961.
Starting in 1964 engine options were Ford F240 and F300 6-cylinder
gasoline units, which eventually became standard for the Divco
range. The snub-hood models were continued in several sizes
and there was also the forward-control Dividend in three sizes,
from 3000 to 9200 lbs. payload, made up to 1966.
The largest Divco ever made appeared in 1961 - this was a
6 ton refrigerated wholesale delivery model with Dividend
chassis and cab, and a separately attached van body in 14-,
16- or 18-foot lengths.
In 1968, The Divco-Wayne Corp. was acquired by Boise-Cascade,
Inc., and delivery truck production was spun off to Highway
Products, Inc., a company using the old Twin Coach plant in
Kent, Ohio to build trucks and buses. Highway Products immediately
resold the Divco line to Trainsairco, later Correct Manufacturing,
a family of businesses owned by Glenn Way, in Delaware, Ohio.
Down a year to move production from Detroit to Delaware, the
Divco assembly line reopened in 1969 producing far fewer trucks
annually. The final models were the 300 and 200 series with
115 inch and 127inch wheelbases, and load capacities from
6000 to 10,000 lbs. The same Ford gasoline engines as in 1963
were available, with an optional 3-speed dual range automatic
transmission. Diesels included Detroit, Caterpillar or Deutz.
Chassis were also produced for other uses, including Divco
Refuse trucks
In addition to Divcos, Correct produced truck beds and Skyworker
Cranes. Product liability suits against some of these in the
1980's and the resulting court battles forced the company
into bankruptcy in 1985. The final Divco trucks were produced
under the authority of the bankruptcy trustee in January,
1986, and the assets of the company were then liquidated.
With no more trucks being produced, one by one the dealerships
closed, until there was only one left. The last dealership
in America was Tri-City Divco Sales in Rock Island, IL.
The final Divcos produced looked like the truck above. But
today there is a growing interest in all models of Snub-Nosed
delivery trucks and their ancestors. The Divco Club of America
is the oldest and largest group of Divco enthusiasts, collecting,
restoring, and operating Divcos for pleasure and business.
Our library is stocked with Divco literature, manuals and
advertising materials. We catalog parts sources to keep Divcos
running and facilitate restoration. And we offer a number
of fun Divco related products for members.