About ten years ago, Rick Riley of Middletown, Ohio spotted this neat 1975 Diamond Reo sitting in a barn near Greenville, Ohio. However, it was his wife who saw the “For Sale” sign and encouraged Rick to check it out. After some discussion, Rick struck a deal with the owner and then drove the truck home. He believes that his Diamond Reo was one of the few that were built in 1975 to fulfill the contractual obligations the company had made before filing for bankruptcy in 1974. Although Diamond Reo changed hands several times, the trucks continued to be produced until 1995. This Diamond Reo was one of two that were purchased new by the City of Centerville, Ohio – and they took good care of the truck (it still has a scraper blade mounted underneath). It is equipped with a gasoline engine, an Allison automatic transmission, power steering, and air brakes. The truck was in good shape when Rick bought it, so he didn’t have to do anything more than a few minor things – “Just some tinkering,” he said. The truck is mostly just for show now, but occasionally Rick hauls some gravel in it to use around his property. The big dump truck handles well, and Rick really enjoys taking it out on the road for an occasional truck show.
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John & Shirley Sponholtz
John & Shirley Sponholtz have been involved with old trucks for over 20 years. Shirley was editor at Wheels of Time for 12 years before going out on her own and starting Old Time Trucks magazine in 2004. John is an avid photographer who enjoys taking pictures of odd and/or rare trucks (he provides most of the pictures for this article and their magazine). John & Shirley, who are from Richmond, Indiana, have been regular contributors to 10-4 Magazine since 2006.
1 Comment
I’m assuming it has a Hall-Scott motor?