Diamond T Trucks

Diamond T Trucks (Diamond T Motor Car Co. 1919-1967) "The Cadillac of Trucks" C.A. Tilt, son of a Chicago shoe manufacturer, established a machine shop in a corner of his father's Diamond T shoe factory in 1905. He obtained financial backing and began manufacturing automobiles. The Diamond T Motor Company produced cars until 1911, when a customer asked Tilt if he could make a truck. He could, and he did, and soon Diamond T quit making cars to concentrate on trucks. By 1915 the company began selling trucks outside the Chicago area. During the First World War, Diamond T built 1500 class B trucks for the army. The company continued to grow through the 1920s , and in 1927 and 1928 made a major change, switching from slow, heavy duty vehicles, to lighter, faster, and much more stylish trucks. The company became one of the major truck manufacturers, and from 1911 through 1966 produced over 250,000 Diamond T Trucks.