Canadian Art Deco - Seagram's 'One Of One' Streamlined '38 Diamond T Found! I Found this on the net on he 'Hemmings Auto Blog' site. This 'one of only ever built', Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky-designed 1938 Diamond T 'streamlined delivery truck' was originally built for 'The Seagram's Distillery Co'. of Waterloo Ontario (my home town!) After years of neglect, the truck has recently resurfaced again and is now apparently undergoing restoration! I can't wait to see it when it's finished! Enjoy! Mart3406 ------------------------------------------------ http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/...eagrams-diamond-t-found-awaiting-restoration/ Found: the only streamlined Seagrams Diamond T As Rollan Jerry wrote in the recent SIA Flashback article on coachbuilt trucks, many such vehicles were built in Canada for beer brewers because Canadian laws at the time banned them from advertising their products in print. Apparently that ban extended to spirits distillers as well, as evidenced by this recently found 1938 Diamond T, a one-off design built fo r Seagrams, the famed Canadian distillers. Yes, it looks rather horrible. According to its known history, after Seagrams commissioned Toronto-based Smith Brothers Body Works to build the steel-bodied truck in 1938, Seagrams used it as a delivery van and mobile billboard until 1949, then sold the truck to Holman Construction in Rockwood, Ontario, which simply painted over the door signs, then hauled building materials with it, possibly until the early 1980s, when Holman sold it to a s**** dealer. How it escaped the crusher remains unknown, but it now sits at Ron Fawcett Motors, a well-established restoration shop, in Whitby, Ontario. I spoke with Art Carty at Fawcett, and he said the company would like to find a buyer who can fund the trucks restoration rather than restore it themselves, though it looks to be all there, save for the wood structure underneath the steel skin. Seagrams is in no position to buy the truck back the company closed its museum in 1997 and has since been sold off to other beverage companies. We searched American Beer Trucks and the two recent SIA articles on streamlined and purpose-built trucks, but saw no additional photos on the Seagrams Diamond T, and only have the one directly above provided by the folks at Fawcett. Smith Brothers, however, did build the most famous of the Canadian streamlined beer trucks the Labatts White truck and trailer, so we have to wonder whether Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky had a hand in designing the Seagrams Diamond T as well. ========================================
What a great piece of history. We have some small pieces from Herman Bodies in St. Louis that advertised "streamlined bodies". Always loved those trucks.
That is pretty mean looking. I think we should have a "Purpose Built Customs" thread here on the H.A.M.B, if there isn't one already.
Big forehead and missing teeth, I knew a girl like that once... Now thats a real fixer-up-r and I'd drive it
wQw !! that is really sumthin' ,,home it gets restored back to original ,,darn ,,makes me thirsty for a "Seagrams 7 and Coke" ,'hhmm,,beter go to the store ,,lol
I p***ed by that truck a week ago, not getting restored just yet. It is still sitting outside Fawcette's on Highway 12 in Whitby Ontario. Sure is "unique" looking.
Only in Canada eh! That is such a cool truck, glad its still around. Hopefully someone will get it soon! -Shiny
Out-f'n-standing! That is a smooth deco ride like nothing else. Good luck with the restore. That original picture is awesome!! Thanx for sharing. ~Sololobo~
Because of it's uniqueness - the rarity of being a "one off" - and the history of it, it should get put back to completely original.....but damn....I just can't help thinking what a totally cool and outrageos RV conversion it would make!!! Mart3406 ==========================================
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