Diamond T 730C, a twin-engine handmade truck inspired by a Disney character

ease of doing build a craft truck Or restoring a particular vehicle is not something that every person carries with them. More than a job, it is a passion, something that is lived every day and nurtured with the passage of time and experiences. Of course, there is always an example to follow, and on this occasion there is a story disney This is the starting point.

In the old children’s story, GeppettoA carpenter who lived alone makes a wooden doll called pinocchio He comes to life and his nose grows whenever the little child lies. The story on this note has a lot in common with this character.

Launched in 1957 Diamond T 730C It was equipped with the American-made 7.5-litre “inline 6” 202 hp RD450 engine. International Harvester Which was not powerful enough for many carriers of the time. Thanks to “Geppetto” the heavy truck became a handmade truck with a trunk, which earned the nickname Pinocchio.

An idea, two engines and a handmade truck

Apart from being an upgraded version of the production model, the Diamond T 730C is nothing short of a unique handcrafted truck. But why does an American truck need such a long “nose” that optimizes its design? Firstly, because this is a “homemade” model, secondly, the protruding hood is not a tribute to fashion. But a necessity.

Was the author of “Project” frank grip, owner of Gripp Trucking, a small trucking company in Illinois. From before the war in the 1940s until the 1990s, company directors were involved in grain transportation and helping local farmers export their crops.

In the mid-1960s, a Gripp Trucking executive hired his son as a truck driver. The young man with many ambitions immediately realized that with such a truck he would not be able to become “king of the road”, because Diamond T had difficulty pulling semi-trailer Heavy.

The solution was obvious: I needed a model with a more powerful engine. But things were not going very well for his father and he could not afford to buy trucks with the required horsepower, so he decided to install another power unit. As? Draw the torso into a “nose” shape.

The first attempt was not successful. Father and son put another engine in front of the stock one: a Wisconsin V4 Air Cooled, Everything was done by simply connecting the crankshafts of both units. However, even after several tests the solution was not able to achieve the desired speed and performance.

Then they equipped this artisan truck a jeep engine, a four-cylinder Wisconsin, of course. But again there was a problem: it achieved the required speed, but not the required torque. There was still one attempt left and they tried and succeeded Buick V8 of approximately 5 liters and 250 HP, Here, finally, everything matched: both the number of revolutions and the amount of delivered torque.

There were some problems with the transmission, but a fairly original and simple solution was found. The automatic transmission output of the additional engine was The standard is connected to the “mechanics” of the engine by means of a pulley.

The difference in the first trip was big. The Artisan truck was loaded with wheat and was headed to the city of Davenport, Iowa. Frank Gripp Sr. was in the truck and easily passed all the other trucks on Interstate 80. Only the Diamond T’s clutch slipped due to excess power. Therefore, it was replaced with stronger springs.

The interesting thing is this The control of both engines was uniqueThe truck’s native accelerator, and, when activated, the Buick’s gearbox would go from neutral to third at once, without using first and second.

The biggest drawback was weight distribution. It became difficult to drive an empty craft truck just like thatSteering wheel moved well only when loaded (Not counting excessive hardness…). Another drawback was that the engine could not be switched off to save fuel when driving empty.

This strange twin-engined handmade truck was used for ten years until 1975. Then it peacefully decayed in some unknown location, until they bought it in the early 90s. Adams Transit, transport company, which restored it and maintained it until 2011, the year it was auctioned. Till date his address is unknown.