There’s a romance to the world of trucking that the 1970s bestowed upon popular culture (“Convoy,” Smokey and the Bandit, etc.), but the realities of the open road were often (as several of our commenters can attest to) a little less glamorous (here’s a link to an interesting video on the trucking world of the early 1980s). Nevertheless, the trucks were super cool, including this 1979 International Transtar II Cabover that Barn Finder T.J. found on Marketplace in Garden City, Kansas. If you have a need for a 1970s big rig in your life, it may be helpful to know that this truck “runs great” and has “brand new tires and batteries,” certainly at great expense. The asking price is $10,000.
Like many readers, I have a distant fascination with trucks. I didn’t grow up with them and I’ve never worked in the industry, but anyone with a love for machinery can’t help but be susceptible to their charm. I particularly love the ’70s flat-nosed Transtar for its styling; somehow, International (almost) always got the look just right. I would probably get rid of the lethal lug nuts if this truck were mine—there’s such a thing as going a step too far in the name of fashion.
According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, who has uploaded plenty of documentation on International Harvester products, the Transtar II had a Cummins NTC-290 (whose name indicated its horsepower rating: 290). It is a 855-cubic-inch inline six with a turbocharger and a torque rating of 831 lb.-ft. The seller says that it’s fed through twin 120-gallon fuel tanks, and it feeds its exhaust through a five-inch stack.
I’m sure truck interiors have come a long way in the last 46 years or so, but this one has an AM radio (but will you find any active channels on the dial?), along with air conditioning and heat. The transmission is, according to the product materials, a “T-129 (RT-910) 10-speed twin countershaft Roadranger.” The seller quotes the mileage at 379,193 (and includes a picture of the odometer to prove it).
I kind of wish I was the person who had the space for a big COE from the ’70s (along with a CDL, for that matter). The ad says that the seller “has no use for it anymore,” which is too bad, but that brings up a good question: What does a 2025-26 buyer use a 46-year-old cabover for? If you have dreams of a cool Transtar, let us know what you’d do with it in the comments.
Careful what you wish for,,what a day, chainsaws, garden tractors, oh my and the site is back, and now THIS? Oh boy, ( turbo spooling up), settle in, folks, this will be a fun one. I was hoping someone would write up a “Trashstar” someday, a huge tip of the hat to Aaron, you( hopefully) opened up a can of worms here.
1st, I happen to know, this is an old “Pumpkin” ( Schneider) truck. I had a good friend that had one of these, spec’d the same, 290. 10 speed, Reyco spring rear, big tanks, it’s a Pumpkin truck, alright. Schneider had 100s of these.These were the anti-Freightliner, if a company didn’t have FLs, they had these. They had a funky greasing system, I see removed, that was supposed to lube critical points while on the road for a spell. All they did was make a mess. Like the 5 digit speedos of cars, I can say without reservation, this truck has a MILLION,,,300K, and still at it. I drove a similar truck, only a “shiny 290( 300) and a 13 speed. I don’t care for cabovers, but I liked the Trashstar, the 4070B was a stark improvement over the old 4000 series, but not much. These trucks shook like a whowho in church,( as if she’d be there anyway) but they racked up the miles, and air ride for for the elite, this was just the way it was. Has tube type tires, I don’t recall Schneider having those, but easily swapped the 22.5 for them, but get rid of them. It’s 2026, not 1967. These had the nastiest blind spot of any truck I drove, and am surprised that right tank isn’t creased, but this truck hauled a lot of TP, Schneiders mainstay for years, and the drivers that drove them made America work,,and wipe,,, Amen
Now, a bit of a down side, hey, trucks rule our lives, BFs started it,,. Trucking is in peril, companies are throwing in the towel every day. And BIG companies too, not just O/Os, which are practically non-existent today. The industry has gone about a huge change from when this truck rolled. There is simply no interest, and ironic, in that, trucking has never been easier. Why, rolling apts, electronic doo-dads, automatics, we would have loved, but did it the hard way. Like the chainsaw post, this was considered a step up from an old Emeryville, and drivers loved them. I would love to see the horror in the face of a new applicant, :0, see ya’,,,I’m telling you, we’re going to have the National Guard driving AM Generals pulling Swift trailers, you’ll see.
Great post, made an old gearjammers day, fo’ sho’!!!!!!!! see video posted separately, just in case, you know. :)
CONVOY, I had to recite the 1st 2 verses for my chauffeurs license,,hot really, but not much more. Look at all the cabovers, circa, 1974. Most of them IHs, with companies that are long gone. CONVOY!! By the way, I realize the blooper, i’s a cabover FL with a reefer on, not a Pete, and I don’t recall the National Guard either. Old balance beam scales, those were the days! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVifNkBrn7E
I’m with Howard. Buicks chainsaws medium duty tractors and now an International cab over!! Love it!! I’ve already mentioned I drove a cab over Freightshaker in the early 90s hauling medical gas cylinders in the NY metro area. And I can totally attest to the blind spot on the passenger side of these. That and aprox 6 foot in front of you was also a blond spot too believe it or not. These used to be everywhere years ago. I’m glad this one still seems roadworthy. I wouldn’t use it professionally, but definitely would love to drive it on my days off. Theres nothing like “feeling ” an old rig as you drive it, hunting for gears. Thank you so much for writing this up Aaron. This is great!!!
Boy, 10 new 10.00R20 tires on aluminum budd wheels no less. I’m surprised they found someone to change those. (The inner drives are steel.) It looks nice, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to drive it for a living. The modern rigs are nicer inside. You’ll have a hard time getting your pants on in that bunk. If a guy were to have a use, perhaps hauling grain a couple months in the fall with it, by then you’d be tired of it. I hope it gets preserved and used by a hobbyist or something like that.
Can’t add much except I’m surprised to see it sitting on Budds and not Daytons. Make some farmer a great truck.
Aaron, you pretty much described my relationship to big trucks. I never had first-hand experience with them, just some passing shoulder-rubbing with oil field trucks and farm trucks when I was a kid. But I always found them quite interesting, and cool. And I too thought these Internationals were the best looking over-the-road trucks.