Divco Milk Truck Rat Rod
 

I have the opportunity to buy a 1950s divco model 13 milk truck for pretty cheap. I would love to throw it on a chevy truck frame and build a cool rat rod out of it. I can't find much tech info on the frame, wheel base, width...etc. it looks pretty damn short and i'm not really worried about having to chop a truck frame and do some fabrication. I know this is kind of a shot in the dark but if anyone has any info or experience with these things, some knowledge would be greatly appreciated before i drive the 3hrs to go check it out... and if i go check it out i'll probably come home with it. Thanks!

EDIT: so it looks like its has a 100" wheelbase. thats close enough to an s10 frame to make it work. it has sit/stand controls so the seat is really high up... any ideas on how to build a platform or something for a bucket seat that would be NHRA compliant? going to look at it this weekend. wish me luck!

I was going to bring up the S10 frame, to tell the truth. Actually, I was originally going to say you should use an olds bravada frame and enjoy some awd action. But it's all the same, you could just as easily use a 4x4 S10 frame and convert it to awd using bravada or astro parts.

As for a platform for the seat... No. You're thinking in the wrong direction. Channel the body, mount it as low on the frame as possible, do whatever it takes to not have a lifeguard tower in your hot rod.

PS. This is going to be absolutely awesome when you are done.

I would LOVE to have awd action for the street but i also am looking for 600ish hp at the tire. The only thing that keeps pushing me away from the awd option is the cost of mating a t56, tr6060 or a 4L80e to an awd transfer case. Input shafts, tail housing, all custom and cost an arm and a leg. And i have my doubts that a stock s10/bravada front diff would be ok with that much power. I bought a 2dr 4x4 blazer a while ago with the intention of lowering it, converting it to awd, twin turbo LS with a 4l80e. After I realized the TC wont bolt right up to the 4L80e i had laying around, i nearly fell out of my chair when i saw what i would pay to make it work. I ended up selling off the blazer and the trans to fund a house project. Unless there is an option i've yet to find, an awd set up capable of 600ish hp at the tires seems like a bit too far of a reach for me. I still day dream about that blazer and occasionally regret selling it... maybe someday, hopefully someday.

This truck is going to need a completely new floor and i found some old basic diagrams here http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/d/divco/divco.htm down by the Divco Twin placard. So channeling the crap out of it will probably be what ends up happening. The thought of a lifeguard tower in a little ass truck made me laugh pretty hard.

My fingers are crossed that this thing isn't consumed by rust cancer. I can deal with replacing the whole floor since channeling the body needs to happen anyways. I do not want to replace too much of the actual body, i'm not a body guy and this truck has really cool patina that i really want to keep.

EDIT: found my some of my old awd info. all of this assume a bw4472 TC.
4L80e would require a custom input shaft $595 + shipping and tail adapter $425 + shipping, $1020 + shipping assuming these guys still make these parts.
I could use a 4L60e to avoid the custom mating nonsense but then i'm spending 4K+ on a level 7 or greater built trans. And at the end of the day i'm still not convinced the stock front diff can handle that power and i've never seen other options for a front diff. I also cannot find my info on mating a t56/tr6060 to a bw4472, i remember it being more expensive tho :(

What about the np136/236 transfer case(s)? I'm pretty sure that tc was used in quite a few astro vans, and the two speed 236 case is used in the avalanche, if I remember correctly.

I am going to convert my dime to awd, or at least plan/want to. And I want to use the two speed case for some serious hooning action. Going to run all time awd, and have it switch to rwd only as soon as I engage the hydraulic hooning/emergency brake... Just like Ken Block's "hoonicorn" awd mustang.

PS. You are right about the power limitations of the typical awd drivetrain. I plan on using a 4.8 with a small turbo to soften the torque delivery a bit. I figure that a short stroke and a mild turbo would be about as gentle as it gets, and may allow me to push the limits of the awd system a little further. But I don't have any power goals in mind, I just want something fun and I want to spend my time driving, not fixing broken shit.

I did some research on Divco's a while ago .I read that using a full frame has some challenges related to the side door openings , I think some have used different front ends . I think there is a divco club or forum with some info there ,ultimatley I didnt get a divco . JOHN

David Boren - I don't think those NP TCs can switch between rwd and 4wd that quickly under load or under a heavy load like that at all. I could be wrong tho. I ASSUME that Ken Block's rigs have a beefy ass center diff that is rigged to release manually with the handbrake or set to release on a certain torque or speed differential. I don't think a transfer case can mesh gears that fast or under a load like that. A hoon dime would be fckin awesome tho, if that did work.

john 67 - i could see how a full frame would conflict with the side doors. one of my buddies has a parts s10 in his backyard. i'm going to grab measurements and do a quick sketch before i go look at the divco tomorrow. Thank you for the info, i probably would not have thought about that otherwise.

Yeah, the hoonicorn has some fancy French made rally racing awd transfer case, that disengaged the front diff as soon as the hydraulic hooning brake is pulled. I'm going to rig the electric awd/rwd switch to the hand brake, and see what happens. If it doesn't disengage the front, then I will probably be invited to meet the nearest wall. If it does work, yay me! Because just that French transfer case, alone, costs more than my entire initial engine build is going to.

And why would a frame present a problem for the side doors? It's just metal, cut it up, make it fit, weld it back together... S10 frames are cheap enough to give it a couple tries. Lol.

That would certainly be a cool project and if/when you get it started, i hope to see a build thread. I'd love to see what you come up with regardless of outcome. Screw high end pro race parts anyways, i have more appreciation for "sloppy"/garage engineer ingenuity.

I was thinking i could chop the frame at the doors and fab a tube chassis for the front. basically front half it. or have a section of tube chassis at the doors. it is just metal but i'm not sure that i want to put that much time and fab into the project though.

Line it all up, centering the front wheels in the wheel wells. You are probably going to have to shorten the frame to line up the rear, anyways, so brace the frame to maintain plumb/square and section the center where the side doors are. You can either make the tubular "mid-frame" or just reuse the sections of frame you cut out, just move them inwards to the center until you clear the side doors.

Lots of options.

trailblazer ss awd underpinnings ???

Read this:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/gener.../954207?page=1

thanks for the link. interesting read.

Unfortunately, the divco ended up being a total rust bucket. All the glass was missing and its been outside for decades. Not much solid metal left in the entire truck, rusted through in more places than not. :( very disappointing but i'm glad I went and looked at it. If i happen upon another divco thats got better sheet metal, i'm going to jump on it. I would have more work and money in rust repair and body work than anything else on this one. I got pretty pumped up about this project but if i bought it, i would have regretted it.
Ive been following casias's 4x4 durango build. I have a 4x4 dak with a popped motor and tc in my driveway. Once he gets an oil pan sorted and confirms transfer case/front diff alignment, i plan on following suit. I do need a working pick up truck after all and my old dak either needs to be scrapped or brought back to life. Looking at casias's dak RT build, there seems to be plenty of room for a turbo or two... it wont be my daily driver so we'll see where that project goes.