History The Salt Lake Diamond T: A History of Tires, Bonneville Racing, and Old Farmers

If I can do hand-painted lettering, I think anybody can.

Photoshop was my friend for imagining fonts and spacing, etc. I used a projector to project my draft image onto the boards. Then I free-hand painted approximate to the projected image. I probably would have gotten better results with stencils, but that would be a little sterile.



I spent big money on the nicest 3/4" oak veneer plywood I could find. I'm sure the original boards weren't this nice, but I wanted to splurge. Lots of sanding and coats of spar urethane gave me a smooth, hard, glossy finish for lettering.

I am happy with the results.

 

I dig the history attached to this truck. The sign from the LA dealership is really cool!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1940...2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&forcev4exp=true

 

I just found this photo of President Eisenhower and Diamond T founder, Charles A. Tilt (The T in Diamond T stands for Tilt.).




In 1954, the Murray Eagle (a UT newspaper) noted that O.J. Wilkinson, the Salt Lake Diamond T dealer also met with the President.


Ab Jenkins used his racing fame to promote Utah, lead Salt Lake City as its Mayor, and influence politics with local and national party leaders like Wilkinson.

 

Here's another photo of Tilt. By the time this photo was taken, there were not that many independent auto manufactures who were still run by the same man who founded the company.

 

Inside the Diamond T factory in Chicago circa 1946.

 

That's a great pic of the dash and firewall! That air drill looks more ergonomic than anything around today?

 

Ab Jenkins in Salt Lake City and the Cord that was provided for his personal use.

 

August and Gertrude Duesenberg were also providesd with a Cord for personal transportation when in Salt Lake City and to the Bonneville salt flats. The Cord likely came from the local Wilkinson dealership.

 

This Cord was modified to match the styling of the Duesenberg Special (a.k.a Mormon Meteor) for Ab Jenkins' personal use.

 

Here you see Cord #1 waiting out a flooded Bonneville for Ab Jenkins to give her a go.

 

Cool pictures thanks for sharing them.

 

Before Jenkins drive Cords at Bonneville, they did some runs in Indiana. Here you see Cord #1 again.

 

Jenkins with Cord #2 at Indy.

 

Perhaps why, they needed 2 Cords?

 

great researching! and a good read, thanks for sharing

 

Jenkins on the left

 

Jenkins and Cord #1 sans hubcaps

 

One of these Cords that was used for speed and endurance racing now resides at the national auto museum in Reno (part of the former Harrah's collection). It is easily identifiable by the louverend transmission conver up front-just like the one Jenkins posed in front of with the Diamond T dealer.

 

Thanks, for posting this – it has been an interesting read and it looks like you found a real nice old truck.

I am a bit confused, though.

Are you saying that the ex General Tyre truck you have is the very same truck that is in the Ab Jenkins photo in post 39?

 

The data tag tells us that General Tire truck left the factory as a cab and chassis. We know this becuase the chassis weight is only 2930 lbs. The standard pickup bed was constructed of heavy gage (11 or 13 gage) steel and would have bumped the chassis weight up to an even 4,000 lbs.



If I am to believe the old farmer (and I do) that worked for General Tire and owned this truck for 47 years, General Tire installed the custom bed on this truck in 1947. Juding by the Dodge panel and the Ford wagon in this photo, we can deduce that this pickup was probably photographed in 1949. The logo on the door indicates it is from the Diamond T dealership, which was owned by OJ Wilkinson. This proves the relationship between Jenkins and Wilkinson was longstanding-at least 14 years between 1935 and 1949. It is likley that many Diamond T trucks were used on the salt over that period. This just happens to be the best photograph we have of one of those lowly trucks servicing the world's fastest car.

 

Auburns, Indians, and Ab Jenkins. I don't know what this photo comemorates, but Ab Jenkins is posed with a couple Auburns from the Wilkinson dealership.

 

I found a tag from Seiberling Rubber Company, Denver Colorado in the truck.

 

Somebody is selling reproductions of the dash placque featured on the supercharged Auburns that certified they were driven in excess of 100 mph by Ab Jenkins.

If nothing else, the auction provides a nice clear photo of what the plaque looks like.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Auburn-1935...Parts_Accessories&hash=item461096f403&vxp=mtr

 

Here's another old photo at the Salt Flats during an Ab Jenkins run.

 

Cool little truck. Thanks for the story!

 

Ab Jenkins and the Moron Meteor with Diamond DX logo.