International’s Light-Line, or D-Series, pickups were quite a change from the previous rounded, 1950s-looking trucks, and this new design gave International stylists and engineers a chance to redo them to appeal to modern buyers. Cab air-conditioning was now integrated into the dash and other interior features were much more user-friendly and comfortable. This 1973 International 1210 4×4 four-speed truck is a rugged 3/4-ton model, let’s check it out.
Now that’s a profile. Let’s see a show of hands who would rather have this ’73 I-H 4×4 over a new Cybertruck? I see, 99%. I’m with you. The paint has seen better days, the worst of which seems to be below the gas filler door but also on the tops of the fenders and in many other places. It’s said to be from Oregon and has never seen salty roads so the rust is less than I have on my own body, but it does have its share of nicks, scratches, and other flaws.
Still, having no giant rust holes is a major feature of a truck that’s over five decades old now. The seller has included a wide range of photos, including the underside, so a big gold star to them for that. You can see that the original tailgate is missing, but the previous owner came up with a very cool solution complete with an original INTERNATIONAL script. The seller got this truck a little over a year ago from the original owner and it has just over 73,000 miles. The bed looks good but shows a lot of wear because, you know, it’s a truck. It’s covered with synthetic wood, according to the seller.
There’s nothing fancy about the interior, but stamped door panels are a nice touch for those who didn’t need a higher trim level with upholstered door panels. The steering wheel shows some cracking and the pedals are appropriately worn. Luckily, the Scout version looks like it would be a direct replacement. This looks like an honest and regular pickup, in nice condition overall but not perfect, which makes it perfect in my world. You could use it as intended without being worried about it too much. A four-speed manual is what most internet/social media buyers/lookers want in their vehicles today, and power steering makes it much easier to drive than it could have been otherwise.
The engine is a 304-cu.in. OHV V8, which would have had around 140 horsepower and 245 lb-ft of torque. Sending power through that four-speed manual and a transfer case to all four wheels when needed, this would be a fun truck to own. The seller has it listed here on eBay in Baker City, Oregon and the current bid price is $6,300, but the reserve isn’t met. Hagerty is at $6,100 for a #4 fair-condition truck and $14,600 for a #3 good truck as a general reference. How much would you pay?
Now this a truck u don’t see anymore.
It’s what a truck is supposed to be. You got what you need and don’t have what you don’t need. Trucks today are ridiculous. remember a truck is a truck and should be used as one. Just my opinion. Good luck to the lucky buyer .
The side view shows what this truck was intended to be used for. The longest section, the bed – used to haul stuff. Next in length, the hood and fenders, for the mechanicals. Least in size is the cab – where you operate the vehicle. You don’t need cup holders or many passengers, you’re workin, son! Get over it. I think I used to draw this model in grade school by accident when I was drawing a picture of “a truck”. I’d love to have one of these. I love IH 70’s light trucks, or at least the look of them.
Of course I don’t mind the new crew cab trucks, personally. If you’re a truck guy, who wouldn’t want a modern 3/4 ton truck that can haul twice as much, carry twice the people, and get twice the fuel mileage? The only issue is, I think the new trucks are more than twice the price, will probably last half as long before expensive repairs, and I’d be afraid to do any maintenance or repairs on one more complex than an oil change.
Not quite the grocery getter that they are today
who needs a 4-door truck to haul groceries?
True that!
Now THIS is what my SIL and I needed yesterday! We were out Door Dashing when we got an order at Lowe’s to be picked up. We thought
it was gonna be something like a lawn mower or a couple gallons of
paint. You know, something small.
But noooo, not this time! We were
shocked when the stock man came
down the aisle with a 6 foot tall, 150
gallon water heater and all that went
with it! Insert buzzer sound here, but
there was no way in hell that thing was ever gonna fit in our K-5 sedan!
If we would’ve had a truck like this with a Tommy lift on the back we could’ve taken that order and gotten
a nice fat tip in the process. Do I like
this truck? Hell yeah! Just wish it was a 392 instead of a 304. 304s
were slugs with a weak bottom end.
Especially since AMC engineers didn’t
really didn’t think things through when
they omitted that little fact when they sold that engine to IH in ’70. And too,
there’s also something about young
ladies driving big old trucks like this
that really gets me goin’ so I figure if
we had a truck like this, she might meet a nice guy and settle down.
I didn’t know the 304 was an AMC engine. I do know that IH made most of the engines for their vehicles. This truck should have had the 345 as used in a lot of Travelalls.
I’m pretty sure that IH had their own 304 V8 that had nothing to do with the AMC engine of the same displacement.
I thought she met a nice guy,and settled down .She,s your SIL,right.?
Definitely an IH engine, check out that waterneck!
As others have noted, this generation of Internationals were trucks through and through. One of my dad’s oil field co-workers, the drilling rig supervisor, had one, a 3/4 ton 4-speed-equipped model just like this. (As opposed to the stripper 1/2 ton Fords everyone else had.) I always liked its no-nonsense look and feel.
Howard or Geomechs could fill us in on IH’s place in the light truck market at this time.
Good work Scotty.
Hi Bob, not much to add, IHs light truck line was gasping for breath, and a totally new design was needed. The 2wd truck still had front king pins. Something IHs boardroom decided not to do, and stuck all their interests into the heavy duty line, that was going great guns at the time. The IH 9670 cabover was without question, the most popular class 8 truck. Of all the HD trucks I drove for a living, I’d say a good 75 % were IH. IHs pickups catered to farmers, that aside from pride, could get parts at the IH implement dealer, in many cases, a weekly visit. I remember, IH used funky commercial filters and tune up parts not available at Moreway. Most IH buyers were ex-Studebaker owners, that would never buy a Ford or Chevy. Municipalities, military, and govt. agencies used IHs, as they were almost $500 cheaper( $2961) than a Ford or Chevy.( $3410) After IH went south, most bought Dodges.
The AMC 304 was never used. AMC did supply the in-line 6, and the 401 when the 392 was in sort supply. Unfortunately, I’ve had experience with these trucks, and I wouldn’t want either( cybertruck) These handle poorly, rough ride, hard starting when hot, gas usage, extremist maximus, braking, shifting,( that shift lever right out of the Loadstar) steering, all leave a bit to be desired, but don’t take my word for it. They made much better tractors, both road and field.
Thank you Howard. Two of your comments flashed these thoughts into my mind:
— when as a kid I would entertain myself on interstate drives by tallying the semi tractor makes. International often was the winner.
— the shifter comment. Reminded me of the medium and heavy duty oil field trucks which I used to admire, many being Internationals (though in my area Ford was the dominant brand).
Ha! I still do that, watch every truck that goes by. Ford was #2 in the trucks I drove, lot of Fords too, and while IH was enjoying the success of the HD line, they never figured on a make that started out simple enough, White/VOLVO/GMC, blissfully unaware Volvo would decimate the American truck makers market. Sound familiar? On a recent trip, I did notice IH is making a comeback, of sorts. Class 8 trucks today are all pretty much the same, and like anything, it comes down to price.
There are a lot of versions as to why IH quit the light line and stuck with the heavier trucks. I was first told that IH was losing badly with its light trucks, which wasn’t very accurate. Binder was just as good (or better) than the most popular makes on the road. In reality, IH was having more problems with its truck dealers. The big truck dealers didn’t want to sell the small trucks so they did little to promote them. The more rural dealerships were having problems with International as the main management decided that it didn’t want tractor dealers to handle trucks in the same building; it wanted them to split into (2) divisions. Binder really shot itself in the foot because it was paying out massive dividends instead of reinvesting back into itself from way back before the war. Consequently, it came to the realization too late that it had to upgrade ALL of its facilities in order to remain competitive. That required heavy investment when interest rates shot up.
But a customer of mine, a former dealer from outside of Chicago, told me some interesting news:
Chrysler was struggling with everything in the 70s. It came to the realization that its heavy truck line was losing ground so it decided to push its light trucks and diminish the heavy ones but there was still too much competition in the light market. Chrysler approached Binder and suggested that IH shut down its light line and Chrysler would shut down its heavy line in trade. That actually made sense to me. It seems more likely now when I look back on it because Dodge didn’t make anything larger than the 300 after 1976. IH didn’t make anything smaller that the 1600 shortly before that.
Personally, I think that Binder was just as competitive in the looks department as anyone else. Get some nice paint and trim and they are fine. Take a Ford, or a Chevy, or a Dodge, or a Binder bone stock and you’ve got a turd to polish, no different than anything else.
I like this truck. I think it would look a lot better with a decent paint job but there’s nothing wrong with it. They’re just as easy to work on as the others and they’ll take a lot of punishment. Contrary to a lot of comments on BF, I never saw these rust any worse than the others, at least out west. I go out to visit my daughter and her family in WI and I see everything getting rusty as a bed-wetter’s mattress springs. And the tin worm is not picky; it takes on a Cadillac with as much aggression as it does a Lexus. I might add that my 2013 Chevy Avalanche is starting to pop through in the lower hind quarters, just as my ’85 Bronco popped out above the rear fender wells. And that’s from being fanatical about directing the pressure nozzle into those hard-to-reach places. Take them out into the elements and you’re going to risk them getting rusty…
The Cabal can’t remotely shut this truck down!
I’ve hoped to own a light truck from one of the heavy truck franchises I have worked for and IH would be the obvious choice, the 304 may not be as power full as you would like but it burns less fuel and today that counts for a lot plus lets face it the truck spends at least 60% of it’s time drawing sail boat fuel. PS it and the 345 and 392 share the same block.
My dad 68 international 1200 series four-speed, granny gear, with the international 304 with a two barrel from Holly, Manual choke that you had to pull all the way out on a cold winter day! L O L! Couldn’t kill those trucks, AMC used a lot of their version 304s in their javelins an AMX is! OK for a car, but not a truck and guess what, we still have the dads 68 IH!!!!
Love it! It’s just a truck! Nothing more claimed. It will last forever and still be a simple easy to work on tool!
That she is, TC. And I’ve known her since she was 15. Smart lady though.
But when it comes to her choice of men, her picker outer is definitely broken. Seems like all the men she
dates are real losers. One time she
told me that she wouldn’t ever consider seeing someone like me
because I’m TOO much of a nice guy.
And though I try to butt out, I’ii still
say something which falls on deaf ears. The last dumbass she was seeing put a dent in our K-5 sedan
while driving it drunk. That was her
wake up call and I never said I told you so. Had to let her find out for
herself even though it was a really hard thing to watch..