The Divco truck was a familiar vehicle for older car guys because of its strong association with home milk delivery during a bygone era.
Divcos were purpose-built to haul dairy products to urban customers who enjoyed the door-to-door service provided by the milkmen who drove the delivery vans.
Jim Sutherland
Divcos were tall vehicles that gave their drivers easy entry and exit because the drivers made many stops on their delivery routes. They were not fast vehicles since Divcos were primarily used on urban streets where posted speed limits were much lower than highway speed limits.
Old school home delivery services for milk and other staples like bread have largely disappeared in North America. Therefore, the sight of a vintage Divco delivery truck inspires a sense of nostalgia for older people, along with a sense of curiosity in a “What-is-that?” sense for younger people who are more familiar with 21st century delivery services provided by internet vendors and local restaurants.
One 1960 Divco truck has an outward appearance of the familiar dairy delivery vehicle from the past, but there is an entirely different beast under its skin.
Don Boyce is the proud owner of a 1960 Divco resto mod that used to be a refrigerated ¾ ton delivery truck for a dairy company. Don bought the retired Divco several years ago and occasionally used it as a local parade vehicle while he formed a long-term game plan for his truck.
Don is a practical car guy who wanted to combine his Divco with a donor vehicle in the finest tradition of old school hot rod builds. He decided a modern donor vehicle would be the answer and eventually won a bid for a retired 2013 Chevy ambulance that answered the bell for his project.
He had a buddy who recommended that Don bid on two suitable ambulances because his friend knew the donor trucks were in good condition. Don won the bid on his best choice of retired ambulances.
Don needed to shorten the donor truck’s frame by 23 inches so he could fit the Divco body on the Chevy platform. He retained the original Divco firewall, but added the Chevy firewall so he could keep the donor truck’s wiring in the resto mod.
Initially, Don toyed with the idea of an aftermarket wiring harness but decided to keep the Chevy truck’s harness because it was in good condition and provided a seamless conduit to the newer vehicle’s 21st century electronic hardware.
The larger 6-liter Chevy engine fit under the hood of the Divco but required a few modifications like a custom-built radiator support and dual electric fans to keep the engine cool on hot days.
Don also shortened the Chevy’s dash panel to make it fit in the Divco so he could transplant the Chevy’s modern technology into his 1960 vehicle. He was able to add wider modern wheels and tires to the old delivery van because of the 2013 Chevy’s donor chassis.
Don removed the original slider doors and replaced them with swing doors for a tighter fit because his resto mod would be a lot faster with its 2013 Chevy foundation and he wanted a solid ride.
Additionally, the ‘60 Divco now has four-wheel power disc brakes, as well as power steering and comfortable seats, thanks to the 2013 Chevy donor truck. Don also added aftermarket electric wipers along with an aftermarket heating system because of space limitations in the Divco.
The net result is a formerly slow-moving 64-year-old urban delivery truck can now easily handle a 70-75 mph (roughly 120-125 km/h) pace on modern highways.
We at MyStarCollectorCar believe Don had an excellent game plan for his resto mod Divco.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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