'37 Dictator instrument panel in '48 Diamond T Pickup

[tomlewis]

Did anyone else notice the article in the latest Hemmings Motor News (July 2015 issue, page 82) that featured a '48 Diamond T pickup? The instrument panel pictured is from a '37 Dictator. The article states that Diamond T made 7,000 of this series truck between 1938 and 1949. Can this instrument panel be original to this truck or did someone retro-fit it? I guess the real question would be, if it is original, how many spares did Studebaker make in '37 and how did Diamond T know or guess how many to buy so that they could still be manufacturing trucks with this instrument panel 11 years later?

I questioned the editorial staff at Hemmings about the accuracy of the photo (credited to Mecum Auctions), but I really don't expect to hear back from them. Tom

[Guido]

A friend of mine has one but I am 500 miles from it. All the pictures I had of it were lost when Webshots shut down.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Here are some '48 dash pic's from Google...

http://www.davisengineering.net/diamondt/diamond_t_gages.html

1948 T201



1949

[tomlewis]

Thanks Jeff. Those pictures are great. A mis-identified photo from Hemmings or Mecum Auctions makes a lot more sense than a truck manufacturer using an 11-year-old-at-the-time instrument panel from another manufacturer Tom