For Sale at Auction: 1948 Divco Delivery Truck in Monterey, California

Chassis No. F4162A31773

Paul Helms, a New Yorker who moved to southern California in 1926, opened a bakery at the corner of Venice and Washington on 2 March 1931. The next year Helms was named the official baker of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, its signature "Olympic Bread" a regional staple for decades to come. The bakery's massive production plant straddling Los Angeles and Culver City once produced 150 different lines of baked goods. But Helms baked goods were not available in grocery stores and supermarkets, instead delivered fresh to neighborhoods from San Diego to Fresno by a fleet of Twin Coach vans manned by "Helmsmen" wearing white shirts and chinos, neckties, and caps.

Twin Coach vehicles were originally built by brothers Frank and William Fageol in Kent, Ohio, who also produced twin-engine city buses. The Twin Coach had a unique patented drop-down center frame section allowing easy entry and exit for deliverymen and were designed to be driven seated or standing. The driver used only two pedals to operate the coach, with a unique left pedal that acts first as a clutch, then, when pressed further, engaged the brakes. The brothers sold the delivery truck division to Divco (Detroit Industrial Vehicle COmpany) in 1936, and the rectangular vans were then known as Divco Twins, not to be confused with the famous "snub-nose" Divco Model U trucks favored by many dairy producers. Not surprisingly, Helms Bakery was the largest buyer of Divco Twins, but after World War II Divco no longer produced the Twin. In 1948 Helms Bakery ordered 195 bare chassis, a last one-time buy for the discontinued model, then had aluminum bodies made by the Standard Body Company of Los Angeles. Like previous Twins built for Helms, interiors were fitted with oak chests of drawers custom-made to Helms' specifications, used to display bakery items for customers. Built for the long haul, Helms used their special Divco Twins until 1969.

This 1948 Divco Twin Coach is one of the 195 ordered by Helms in 1948. It's powered by a Ford 172 industrial engine producing 62 hp at 2200 rpm driving a four-speed manual transmission. Beautifully and recently restored with updated with 12-volt electrics, it carries the specification and distinctive livery of Helms Bakery, a wonderful memento of life in mid-century America.