1961 International B-120 4×4 Turbo Diesel

It appears that this 1961 International B-120 4×4 short-bed “step-side” pickup was on its way to a restoration, with an interesting restomod touch in the name of a Mercedes-sourced turbodiesel engine and a GM-sourced Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission. It sounds like it’s working now, but it just needs some finishing touches. The seller has it listed here on eBay in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and there is an unmet opening bid price of $4,500.

These 1960s I-Hs are such rugged-looking trucks, aren’t they? My forearms hurt just thinking about driving this beast, but I’d sure love to own this one. Although maybe with the factory-installed engine rather than a Mercedes turbo diesel, even if it was regarded as one of the most reliable diesel (car) engines of all time. Hey, it has new tires, and these are the exact wheels/rims and tires I would want for this truck or any vintage 4×4 pickup. International went out on a limb and named this color – are you sitting down? – Red. If there was a more pragmatic truck company, I can’t think of it off-hand.

I’m sure the tailgate weighs more than I do, which isn’t saying much anymore in my skinny old age, but dang is that thing rugged. The bed floor is similar and looks like a custom “insert” to me. -Cap’n Obvious here. It looks fairly recent and like they were both very well done. I’m wondering how a person opens the tailgate, but then again, I see the pins on each side now. You’ll want to add a tail light on the right side, or come up with a more rugged tail light system. Speaking of rugged, how about that rear bumper?! My shins are quivering now as I look at that trailer hitch. The International B-Series pickups were made for 1959, 1960, and part of 1961 before evolving into, yes, the C-Series.

The seller says this one has a GM-sourced Turbo-Hydramatic 350 automatic backing the replacement diesel engine, and I’m wondering if the shift levers are connected to that or where the shifter is for the transmission? They show a close-up photo here, and hopefully, one of you transmission experts can decipher what’s going on there. They say it works well, as does the transfer case, which is as divorced as 74% of Hollywood couples. The underside looks solid, and you can see some new parts there, including that new driveshaft and huge exhaust.

Here’s where I’m guessing a six-cylinder lived, although a couple of V8s would have also been available. This is reported to be a Mercedes-Benz OM617A, which is a 3.0-liter SOHC (with chain) inline-five diesel. In 1976, Mercedes added a turbocharger (the “A” designation), which gave it 187 horsepower. Power was up to 227 hp by 1978, and we don’t have a clue what year this engine is, but Doomsday Diesel out of Nebraska provided the conversion parts. They’re basically the go-to shop for such conversions, especially for OM617 series engines. The seller says this truck runs, drives, and stops as is, but needs to have the alternator connected (it has a new battery), and also needs a new vacuum shutoff. I think this truck would be killer with an International diesel and a manual transmission, but that’s just me. Any thoughts on this diesel conversion I-H 4×4 pickup?