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Chain Smoker: 1923 International Dump Truck

This old truck probably doesn’t run, but if it did it would likely smoke. Rather than provide any details in his craigslist posting, the seller chose to instead, well, rattle on about how much money one can make restoring and flipping this truck and he even guarantees the buyer will double their money. The asking price is $12,900 so that’s hard to imagine anyone willing to pay $26,000 for this old truck, even restored. But that’s OK, the seller guarantees it!

The steering wheel rim will need a little help, but the dash will only take a little sandblasting and paint.

There’s no word on the condition of the engine. Judging by the overspray on the hose, this engine has been painted since that hose was changed. The engine does look complete and hopefully, it’s not frozen.

Can anyone see this dump truck in their future? I certainly hope it can be saved but it’s hard to imagine a use for this old truck except in a museum or as advertising. It would be great to hear it running and hear those solid rubber tires rolling over the pavement but it would take a lot of work to get it there. Just hauling it home from Houston would be expensive.

Comments

  1. Avatar Oingo

    If someone says you can make money restoring the are making assumptions.

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    • Avatar Mark-A

      And we all know what ASSUME does, to Assume makes an A$$ out of U & ME! 👍

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  2. Avatar 68 custom

    now that is a lumber wagon! imagine driving down a cobble stone street in that one it would shake your teeth loose!

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    • Avatar jcs

      Teeth and bones!

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  3. Avatar Lee Hartman

    Looks like he accidentally added an extra zero at the end of the price.

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  4. Avatar JW

    If he’s willing to guarantee you can double your money after restoring it WHY hasn’t he done it ??? Because he knows it can’t be done with this truck.

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    • Avatar Woodie Man

      Reminds me of the radio ads where folks have seminars TO TEACH YOU how to flip houses. Of course if you’re making money doing something why would you waste your time teaching someone how to do it if its that easy? Probably because the money is in roping the suckers together in a seminar not actually doing what you’re supposedly teaching them.

      So you want to sell the truck, sell the steak not the sizzle!

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      • Avatar DAN

        SAME WITH THE GOLDRUSH

        guy that sold you the pans and shovels, food etc made the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

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    • Avatar jcs

      Because it is MUCH easier to give a meaningless (and worthless) guarantee than to rebuild it. I would love to see someone try to collect on that guarantee.

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  5. Avatar Lee

    Hauling from Huston ? for that price I would be driving / with Mr.Flipper in the box

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  6. Avatar G.P. Member

    I wonder how much rubber was on them tires when they were new ? Cool old truck, but no on that price. Not even close.

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  7. Avatar Don

    Trucks like this were drove by the men that mad this country ,they did not cry about being hot our the streering wheel is hard to torn our the brakes are hard to use ,did not cry when it was cold out ,people have gotten real week kind of sad

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    • Avatar Oldog4tz

      How true, especially basic literacy

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      • Avatar Dave Wright

        These were the next step up from Horses and shared the road with them. A truck driver was a highly technical job in these days. Studebaker was still selling more carriages than cars in the early 20’s.

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      • Avatar Slick51

        Now that’s funny .

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    • Avatar Van

      Nobody cried when you froze to death in the winter, got heat stroke in the summer, broke your arm from the kick back in the steering. Had an unsecured load kill as it fell out the back, killed from a minor impact in a crash. When a driver got fired for complaining or asking for health insurance. I feel like such a pansy.

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    • Avatar grant

      My brain hurts….

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  8. Avatar Dave Wright

    Chain drive was old technology by this time, my 1920 Packard has a modern differential and was available with Goodyear pneumatic tires. I have a wheel and tire like the ones on this truck, it is cast iron, (my truck has wooden spokes and hard rubber tires) we use the forklift to move it……must weigh over 300 lbs or more. Top speed on mine is about 26 MPH but with the Pneumatics it was about 36 MPH whitch would be plenty scary considering the condition of roads and the simple mechanical band brake off the rear of the transmission (like later emergency brakes)

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  9. Avatar geomechs Member

    Chains kept on pretty much until the war started. Mack used them until ’39 on its heaviest trucks. The technology to build an axle strong enough to handle the load plus drive it was a long time coming. I remember some old trucks out of the 30’s with axles that looked like they could handle 60K lbs. on their own but they had welds all over them, indicating that they could break. There were a couple of old White gravel trucks that had trusses underneath the diffs. Just to look at those axles I couldn’t imagine that they could break. Obviously they did….

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    • Avatar Ross W. Lovell

      Greetings All,

      Never gave that a thought on axle strength or the metallurgy limitations back then?

      Interesting, seriously.

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  10. Avatar Aremee

    The seller is obviously completely inexperienced and ignorant about business in general, classic cars specifically, and seems to erroneously believe he has a desirable truck here. I would have to disagree. The more efficient way to extract money from this vehicle would be the scale at the local scrap metal dealer.

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  11. HoA Howard A Member

    This is an incredible find. This is an exhibit, whether rolling ( slowly) or static. It has to be trailered. It’s somewhat ironic, yesterday, I went to a scrap steel yard in N.Wis.( I love retirement) and the guy had 2 solid tire axles, tires, and springs, clearly from a truck like this. In 1923, this was the hot setup. I can’t see a PTO, but the dump box has a “tower” in the front, indicating a hydraulic ram, which would have indeed been a luxury, more so than the cab ( most of these trucks had no roof) as hydraulics were just coming in, and a hand crank was not unusual. Or a cable lift, but you’d see that. Sorry, no “girly men” on this rig. I also heard of solid rubber tires, that would lose a chunk, and the driver would have to drive it like that, kind of like that shopping cart with the flat wheel, only 100 times worse. Chain drive was an efficient way of transmitting power to the back wheels, as metallurgy was still being tested and axle breakage in conventional axles was common. Obviously before my time, but chains were a constant hassle. They had to be greased every day ( or more) constantly adjusted, and more than once, did a trucker have to put a “dropped” chain back on. Chain drives lasted into the 50’s, I believe Sterling was the last to offer them, although, I heard, Kenworth still had them for certain customers into the early 60’s. The top speed for chain drives was about 20 mph, but I’m told, the sound is unmistakable, “singing chains”. Brakes too, I can’t see it either, but most just had one brake on the driveshaft. Don’t forget, crank start too. It’s really not so scary if you know what you’re doing. Price? Hard to put a price on such an antique. If anybody resto-mods this truck, I’ll,,,,,,be very disappointed. Museum worthy.

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  12. Avatar Van

    I like it. Great parade float. Could you add pneumatic tires, at least then you could drive it?.

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  13. Avatar Stu

    What? No instrumentation, headlights, taillights, power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission, air conditioning, seat belts, air bags, 12 speaker audio system, cruise control, daytime running lights, mirrors, spare tire, lane change alert, backup camera, forward collision alert, traction control, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes. How the heck did they get so much done in the 20’s? It’s kind of embarrassing when you think about it.

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  14. Avatar BRAKTRCR

    As we spoke about Fire trucks, unless you have a farm or some other purpose, this wouldn’t be to practical. I agree with Howard a museum would be best. Making it a car hauler would keep it alive in spirit only

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  15. Avatar Ross W. Lovell

    Greetings All,

    Massachusetts still allows you to drive one on the road, IF it has been registered for about the last decade.

    Had you owned this before the change in law, no problem……..as long as it was registered.

    A newly restored one WILL NOT be allowed on the road.

    I had been looking at a Triton logo-era Mack with chain drive and solid rubber tires and wood wheels.

    Like 0
  16. Avatar BRAKTRCR

    Note to self… don’t move to Massachusetts. Why would they make a law like that. You pay registration fees, which of course is just a tax, what could it hurt if all laws are followed
    You won’t see it running down the freeway.

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  17. Avatar Fred Hicks

    Must have been really cool to own new. Anybody have a good guess what it cost new ?

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    • Avatar Stu

      International Harvester Red Truck
      Price: approximately $1,500 (1922 International Harvester Red Speed Truck)
      Description When we think of the “International Harvester Company” we automatically think of farm machinery but they manufactured a full range of trucks including this great example. The trucks ranged from 1,500-lb to 10,000-lb heavy duty capacity.

      Like 0
  18. Avatar Stu

    From the internet:
    Model S International Speed Truck, with regular panel stake body and three- quarter enclosed cab. MODEL S SPECIFICATIONS Capacity—2,000 pounds. Speed—25 to 30 miles per hour. Wheel Base—124 inches. Frame—5-inch pressed steel channel. Engine—4-cylinder block cast, L-head type. Lubrication—By pump and splash system. Cooling—Thermo-syphon type; fin and tube radiator and fan. Ignition—Distributor mounted on engine. Clutch—Dry plate multiple disk. Transmission—Sliding gear, selective type; direct on high. Gear Reduction—Engine to rear wheels, 6.3 to 1 on high. Front Axle—I-beam, heat-treated, steel drop-forging. Rear Axle—Internal gear type, heat-treated drop-forging for carrying load; live axle for transmitting power. Wheels—Artillery type, equipped with demountable rims and heavy truck cord tires. Brakes—Service, contracting on rear axle drum; emergency, expanding, in rear axle drum. Springs—Front, half-elliptic, 2 ¼ x 39 inches. Rear, half- elliptic, 2 ¼ x 52} inches. Rear auxiliary springs, quarter-elliptic, 2 ¼ x 24 inches. Fuel Capacity—12-gallon tank in cowl. Regular Equipment—Heavy pneumatic truck cord tires, power tire pump, self-starter, electric lighting system, storage battery, electric head lights (bright and dim) and tail lamp, front fenders, electric horn, and tools. Special Equipment—Supplied at extra cost. Open express body; enclosed panel body; seat and cushion; semi-enclosed, three-quarter enclosed, and enclosed cabs; full- length top; side and rear screens for full-length top; wind shield; skid chains; spare tires and spare tire carrier; speedometer. (Transmission is regularly equipped with speedometer gears to which speedometer drive shaft can be connected quickly.) Suitable bodies can be supplied for every hauling purpose.

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    • HoA Howard A Member

      Hi Stu, I don’t think this is a Model S, I believe it’s a numbered truck, like 33, 43 etc. The S was a lighter duty truck, although, shared some of the components. BTW, $1500 doesn’t sound like much, but in 1923, this truck cost almost $22,000 dollars today, which, I suppose, still doesn’t sound like a lot, considering what it replaced.
      http://barnfinds.com/tough-truck-1923-ih-model-s/

      Like 0
      • Avatar Stu

        Hi Howard, I’m know you’re right. I wasn’t able to find this particular cab style on the internet but I’m going to try to find more info.

        Like 0
  19. Avatar James

    I can see someone putting those wheels on an 85 Caprice…

    Like 0

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