Tag Archives: trucks

Stegeman Truck

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1914 Stegeman 1526 Stake Bed Truck

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 24, 2023

Photo – Mecum

The Stegeman Motor Car Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was founded in 1911 and produced heavy trucks through 1917. The actually offered at least six models of varying capacity – up to seven tons.

You can tell this is one of the heavier trucks because it utilizes solid rubber tires. Lighter trucks used pneumatic ones. It’s a three-ton truck powered by an inline-four engine. It’s also got a three-speed manual transmission and an open-cab body with a stake bed.

Later Stegemans could be had with a six-cylinder engine and electric start. This particular example is one of three from the manufacturer in the U.S. known to exist. You can read more about it here.

Smith’s Milk Truck

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1989 Smith’s Milk Float

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | February 11, 2023

Photo – Brightwells

Smith Electric Vehicles was founded in 1920 in England. They moved to Kansas City, Missouri, in 2011 and were out of business by 2017. Their main product over the years were electric delivery vans.

Which is what we have here. Basically, this is the electric, 1980s British version of a Divco milk truck. It doesn’t look all that interesting, and it probably isn’t too interesting to drive. Even Brightwells couldn’t come up with more than a sentence for a lot description. And that description ends with a question mark. It may as well just say “Well, why not?” (Can we also talk about how fresh milk deliveries are still happening in England?)

What I find interesting about this truck is that it comes from a manufacturer of commercial vehicles that most people have never heard of. And here is someone’s opportunity to have a relatively low-maintenance “historic commercial vehicle” for very little cost: just $3,000-$4,000. Click here for more info. Or less info.

Update: Sold $4,317.

VW Hormiga

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1978 Volkswagen EA489 Hormiga

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | December 2022

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

Functional. That’s what the design of this screams. Volkswagen developed the EA489 Basistransporter for “developing markets,” which I think is code for “third-world countries.” It was produced as a knock-down kit in West Germany and sold under a few names. Versions produced in Mexico between 1977 and 1979 were called the Hormiga.

The engine is a 1.6-liter flat-four located under the cabin. The air intake sprouts out of the roof like a bathroom vent, and the thing is front-wheel drive. Power for Mexican-market models was rated at 50 horsepower, and it was rated to carry about 2,200 pounds.

Never seen one of these? Hardly surprising, just 3,600 were built in Mexico, and even the limited number of examples produced for other markets were all used up and thrown away. This one has obviously been redone. You can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $21,250.

Hummer Soft Top

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2006 Hummer H1 Alpha Soft Top

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Miami, Florida | December 10, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This is the perfect spec Hummer. It’s a yellow, non-wagon with a black soft top. Even better, it’s an Alpha. General Motors acquired the Hummer brand in 1999. Sometime in 2000, Hummer became the marque, and once the H2 was launched, they rebranded the original Hummer as the H1 (in 2003). There were no 2005-model-year H1s.

It was announced that 2006 would be the final year for the H1. It was upgraded to Alpha spec, which means that the engine is a 6.6-liter Duramax diesel V8 rated at 300 horsepower and 520 lb-ft of torque. This particular truck has been fitted with an aftermarket ECU and other bits, bumping horsepower to a claimed 500.

Only 729 H1 Alphas were built, and this one has just 22,000 miles. The pre-sale estimate is $125,000-$175,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $184,800.

Austin Champ

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1953 Austin Champ

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | December 3, 2022

Photo – Brightwells

The Willys Jeep was a hit during WWII, and the basic concept has remained popular in civilian life since. Well, the Brits didn’t want to have to keep buying American Jeeps – and there was some nationalistic pride to be had too by developing their own version.

So in stepped Austin with this, which unofficially became known as the Champ. Produced between 1951 and 1956, the jeep-like truck is powered by a Rolls-Royce-sourced 2.8-liter inline-four that made 80 horsepower. It’s a 4×4 with a waterproof engine and a snorkel. A civilian version was also available.

This one remained in service with the British military until 1967 and later went to the Netherlands. It wears an older restoration and carries as estimate of $14,000-$16,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $21,077.

1918 Peugeot Truck

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1918 Peugeot 1525 Flatbed

Offered by H&H Classics | Buxton, U.K. | November 30, 2022

Photo – H&H Classics

Peugeot set up a commercial vehicle plant in 1912, and from that factory they helped France’s WWI effort by producing trucks like this. This particular example was built as a troop carrier. After its military career ended, it was converted to civilian commercial use.

The Type 1525 was produced from 1917 through 1920, with about 4,084 produced. It’s powered by a 4.7-liter inline-four that made 22 horsepower – enough to get it to about 19 mph.

Used at the end and after the war by the French Armed Forces, the truck has since been bodied as a dropside pickup and flatbed. It was refreshed in the last three years and now has an estimate of $23,000-$28,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Thames Trader

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1961 Thames Trader Flatbed

Offered by H&H Classics | Duxford, U.K. | October 19, 2022

Photo – H&H Classics

Beginning in 1933, Ford of Britain sold commercial vehicles under the Fordson brand. In 1939, they changed the name to Fordson Thames, perhaps because their first factory was located on the River Thames in Dagenham. After 1957, they dropped the Fordson, making the brand just Thames until they reverted to Ford in 1965.

The Trader was the largest truck built by Thames, and it was in production the marque’s entire existence. The Trader has a pretty distinctive cab and front-end design. This one is powered by a gasoline inline-six.

This Mk I example features a rear flat bed after having previously been configured as a box van. Thames was a short-lived marque that produced vehicles meant to be used and discarded. It’s pretty great that one still exists in this condition. The estimate is $12,000-$14,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

OAF Fire Truck

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1930 OAF AFN Fire Truck

Offered by Dorotheum | Salzburg, Austria | October 15, 2022

Photo – Dorotheum

So it’s not pronounced “oaf”… it’s actually ÖAF, for Österreichische Automobil-Fabrik. The company was founded in 1907 as the Austrian Fiat truck plant. The trucks were called “Austro-Fiats”, and they started developing their own stuff during WWI. In 1925, Fiat lost control of it, and the name shifted to OAF.

MAN took over OAF (what a sentence) in 1938. After WWII, the company was split off, eventually going private in 1970, merging with Graf & Stift. The following year, MAN acquired them again. The last OAF-branded trucks left the assembly line in 2008.

The AFN express truck debuted in 1924 powered by a 2.9-liter Fiat inline-four that made 42 horsepower. This fire truck dates from 1930 and remained with it’s local Austrian fire department until 2009 (though not in use, I hope). It was then sold into private ownership and restored. The estimate here is $24,000-$34,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Twin Coach Delivery Truck

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1933 Twin Coach Delivery Truck

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 5-6, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

I can’t believe it’s taken this long for this site to feature one of these little trucks. They are a lot smaller in person than you’d think, even though the door makes it pretty obvious that they aren’t that large. Twin Coach existed from 1927 through 1955 in Kent, Ohio.

The company was actually formed by Frank and William Fageol after they left their eponymous company. In addition to their delivery vans, Twin Coach also made buses. Flxible acquired them in 1955 and continued marketing vehicles under the Twin Coach name through 1963.

The delivery trucks are most famous in the Helms Bakery livery, but they were used by other companies as well. It’s powered by a Hercules inline-four, and the driver can operate the vehicle either standing or sitting. This one is selling without reserve. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $49,500.

Pre-War Divco

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1931 Divco Model H Milk Truck

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 5-6, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The classic milk truck, the Divco milk truck, was introduced in the late 1930s. It had a streamlined design with a waterfall-ish front grille and would be produced into the 1960s with a few design tweaks but the overall profile remaining essentially the same. That’s what most people picture when they hear “Divco.”

But the company was actually founded in 1926 by George Bacon, an engineer at Detroit Electric who wanted to try a gasoline engine in their delivery vehicles. The company balked so he set out on his own with the Detroit Industrial Vehicles Company. Earlier Divcos, like this one, featured a snub nose design but looked much more similar to other trucks and cars of the era.

They still had a step-through design with a flat, low floor. This one is powered by an inline-four and has had its rear cargo area converted to bench seating. It’s selling without reserve. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $36,300.