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Not For Restoration: 1950 International L-110 Truck

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If you read my posts here on Barn Finds, you probably have noticed that more often than not I prefer to keep vehicles as original as practical. This is one case where even I can’t say this truck should be restored. It’s located in Champaign, Illinois and is up for sale here on eBay with a buy-it-now of $4,900 but lower offers are invited. Thanks to Dale F. for this cool find!

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At first glance this 1950 International L-110 looks pretty solid, and it is. There’s a certain weatherbeaten look that I like. The bed looks pretty solid, the windows are intact, and the styling of the truck is pretty great looking.

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What a classy looking, albeit non-stock, front end. I like the bumperless look here, because yes, I’m going to recommend that this pickup become a mild custom at least. Why, you may ask? Here, I’ll show you.

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Here we have a V8 where an inline 6 should be. And the wiring is, well, a mess. It is nice to see such solid sheet metal, though. It looks like someone tried to turn this into a street rod, but either never finished or decided to start over. And I think start over is exactly what I would do!

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If I didn’t feel that way before looking at the interior, and particularly the under dash wiring, that would have been the final straw. I think what this old truck really needs is hot rodding! Yes, there are a bunch of you arguing with me, but I just can’t see the expenditure in returning this truck to stock. Yet there is too much solid truck here to scrap!

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I think I’d like to add some wood to the bed. What would you do? Have I completely driven you nuts by proposing that this is one truck that needs to not be returned to stock?  Let us know in the comments!

 

Comments

  1. Avatar ktypestar

    Why on Earth would you NOT want to make this truck stock!!!??? It’s a simple matter to grab another “Black Diamond” International six with the truck 5-speed…(There are a lot of these trucks around in a 1 1/2 or 2 ton for parts.) I’ve had several of the larger versions…You could put that drive-line back to stock in a few days and have a REAL pickup-not some “butchered” kid’s hot-rod…. ;^)

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  2. Avatar Gary I

    Great find for under $5,000. If it were a Chevy or Ford it would be three times as much.

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  3. Avatar DB

    Really excited by the truck but Disappointing eBay listing! The seller spend more time blabbing about their business than describing the truck. Is the radiator and missing mechanicals included? What’s with 2 transmissions? UGH

    If I was willing to chance it, I’d bring this truck home tomorrow. I’d install a Painless 12v loom and necessary mechanicals, and COMMUTE all summer in style! after a few fall shows, i’d do a winter tear-down to restore the truck. This would be great fun for a few years.

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  4. Avatar Jeff

    LS1, appropriate highway rated transmission, drive line rear end brakes etc. Somewhat stock interior, stance and paint. Vintage style but modern gauges, wiring and sound system. NO FLAMES, LOWERING OR CHOPPING ALLOWED!

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    • Avatar St. Ramone de V8

      Exactly what I think. Would drive well, be reliable and fun, and still look right.

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  5. Avatar Blyndgesser

    Needs a Cummins.

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  6. Avatar Gary Fogg

    Needs Vintage Air, rack and pinion front end, all the comfort goodies.

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  7. Avatar ktypestar

    Again….It’s just as much work to “butcher” or destroy this truck as it would be to restore it back to original…(In a lot of cases I’ve seen personally, it’s actually harder to “modernize” it.) I’ve never seen any advantage to wiping away history, and don’t understand this mind-set…..If a person wants something to run around in, to drive highway/interstate speeds, wants something more “modern” or “comfortable”…Just buy a modern vehicle for those tasks. To me, it’s always more of an achievement to preserve historical things, whether it’s a piece of furniture, an old truck, or even a house…Once the history is gutted out of something, what do you really have?

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    • Avatar geomechs Member

      Hi ktypestar. I couldn’t agree with you more. A modified vehicle is something that the history has been removed from, never to return. You can sugar coat it all you want but it will remain a modified vehicle. That’s one of the reasons why all mine are kept or restored original. If I want to go somewhere quickly, I’ll jump in the modern car; if I need to haul something heavy I use my 3/4 ton pickup; if I want to just have an enjoyable drive on a mild spring day, I’ll start one of the relics and drive it…

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      • Avatar ktypestar

        Geomechs: Totally with you on this comment! (Even down to using a 3/4 ton pickup for hauling/towing-LOL!) I just HATE seeing history destroyed….And with a collectible vehicle, after it gets chopped into oblivion and what’s left of it is passed down through the years, younger people have no idea what they’re looking at, how the original mechanics worked-or even how to repair them!…Such as how a generator system operates, doing a “bench-rebuild” on a starter or a magneto. Or how to even drive an older standard-shift transmission because the original one has been replaced with an automatic…I don’t know how many people I’ve run into that have NO IDEA how to even drive a standard-shift vehicle! (Another thing about the older transmissions…Remember that great familiar “whine” of a spur-geared standard transmission going through each gear during acceleration?) Future generations of owners miss experiencing the “feel” of manual steering, watching the guages on the dashboard for tell-tale signs of engine trouble and so on….As a kid, I could just hear a certain vehicle from a distance, and could generally tell from the sound the engine/transmission made what was under the hood…(Such as when a “flat-head” V-8 Ford was going by, a “slant-six” Dodge or Plymouth, V-8 Oldsmobile and so on…)

        Respectfully submitted,
        James “Cousin Jim” Mitchell
        http://www.IMDB.com: Jim Mitchell XXXII

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  8. Avatar geomechs Member

    To me there weren’t enough of these produced to go anywhere but original. However when you get something like this on which modification has already begun, it would probably be prudent to continue the course and finish it. Complete new wiring harness; throw that old stereo out in the driveway and drive over top of it many times, then toss it in the scrap bin. Since someone has already started with an SBC 350, mount it up properly and continue. IFS would be nice. Remember, no matter how much you hot rod it, it will still be a long-box so its popularity won’t be that great.

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