I was dutifully researching International 1200 trucks when lo and behold, up comes Scotty Gilbertson’s 2019 article here on Barn Finds. The truck Scotty covered almost exactly four years ago is eerily similar to the one we feature today, sharing original Alpine White paint, 304 cu. in. V8s, Deluxe trim, and a location in Caldwell, Idaho. Amazing! Jim ODonnell also just covered this incongruously named “Travelette”, the “crew cab” version of the C1200. Today’s one-owner International is here on eBay, bid to $8600, reserve not met. The C1200 is a four-wheel drive, three-quarter-ton rig with rugged good looks, following in the footsteps of IHC’s B-series. A new chassis lowered the truck and improved the ride; a focus on comfort in the cab also brought the 1200 up to of-the-day specs. The Light Line didn’t pad IHC’s bank account as expected, and the company ceased light truck production in 1975.
The seller does not directly address this truck’s running condition, and we’re given only a glimpse of the “small -V” 304 cu. in. Its compression ratio was 8.19:1 and its horsepower came in at 193 – not a barn burner, but adequate. This motor was an option on and off during IHC’s Light Line, Scout, and Travelall production; this schematic is from a 1959 brochure. Yearning for a 345 is fruitless: that mill only got you another three ponies. But don’t fret – the market is saturated with performance options. You might even be able to breach 200 hp (ha ha). This truck was factory-fitted with the T36 five-speed manual paired with a 4 Hi/4 Low and 2WD transfer case. A tow package and saddle tanks are the icing on the cake. The odometer reads 10,000 miles, with no claim that the clock hasn’t turned over.
The interior is wonderful, with the factory bench seat, a radio, trailer brake controller, and fuel tank selector switch. Even the door seals are intact. The gauges look nearly new. Not everyone will like the white dash, white knobs, and white kick panels, but I love the tuxedo effect. This truck comes with an “operator’s manual”, too.
Other Deluxe trucks I have seen have side trim, but it is absent here. The BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tires have plenty of tread but as always, it can pay to check that date code. This truck has been stored in a climate-friendly garage, and it shows. Of course, there’s no substitute for an in-person inspection to check for rust, but so far so good on this one. What do you think about this clean workhorse?
omg my new service truck!!!! the boss and i have been benchracing something old flying the company colors from back in the day. this would fit the bill wonderfully. it’s even already the right color. though it might just happen to find a newer ih 7.3 and od 5spd transplanted in.
michelle i like the tuxedo look too, though it takes a bit of work cleaning my greasy paw prints off on a regular basis.
all in all a beautiful truck and so far not out to lunch on the bidding.
Sweet Old Ride
Awesome work truck if you live in a rural area and use it for what it was built for.Possibly went south of the border long ago for that really cool diamond tuft interior.glwts.
What we call a “Bad mah”
It is of no surprise that this is in Caldwell, ID. having spent a year there one day two weeks ago. A farming community, there are a number of different vehicles like this and more up to and including a white1/2 track on a canal bern-for at least 20 years that I know of. A dry climate, you’ll find stuff like this around there if you’re really looking.
One of my dream trucks, I’m a bit old for manual steering but they have large steering wheel.
Yeah.. ummm.. “work truck” indeed. You had to work on it more than you used it. People forget what junk they were and that’s why they didn’t out sell Chevy and others.
Many of these old vehicles everyone has such fond memories of … Yeah they were junk. The ride was okay at best. Handling was like a bucket of vomit. And by 30,000 miles became a money pit.
Now now be nice, I like chev pickups from that era but work trucks they were not more of an impala with a box, rear coil springs ride great and can carry up to 4 sets of golf clubs. GMC built their work trucks. IH was mechanically good but prone to rust and not as pretty.
Man, a bit angry much? Of course the older vehicles weren’t as nice as the new ones they didn’t have the same technology. My grandfather had an old International the lasted 220,000 miles and was still running like a dream when he sold it. Nothing wrong with the old ones just because they don’t have the same technology doesn’t make them a bad vehicle we all need to relax take a breath
Thumbs down to John………again.
Wow, so completely wrong–from my experience anyway. I grew up with these. Learned to drive on a ’64 C-1100 (off road, of course, on construction sites) with its bulletproof BG-241 six and monster 4-speed on the floor with a transmission hump that was a foot high. I loaded a lot of stone into our ’66 1300A dump with its V-266 that pulled four ton loads all the time even though it was supposed to be a one-tonner. My dad was a masonry contractor and we had Internationals going back to a ’46 KB-5 dump and a couple of ’54 R-100 pickups. One thing that couldn’t be said about them was that they were unreliable. The bodies would rust out before they would stop running. Our trucks took the horrendous abuse of construction use (a truck wasn’t loaded unless it was overloaded) and always came back for more. They just wouldn’t break. International never really recognized what was happening to the pickup truck market in the early 70s and never made comfortable, luxurious car-like trucks. They were built to WORK, like the farm tractors that shared their genes.
These trucks were wonderful if used for their intended purpose. They were made to work, and creature comfort was a secondary consideration. The IH V8’s were generally unbreakable since they were used in medium duty trucks and (lots of) school buses essentially unchanged. The driveline components were all robust (again, medium duty truck use influenced the design) and the only real weakness I can recall was premature rust. Most trucks of this era were not commonly equipped with power steering, if it was even an option. Drivers knew enough to have the vehicle in motion when maneuvering; I never once thought anything was amiss not having PS and I drove a lot of trucks this size and much larger in those days. They were certainly not maintenance hogs. I would be far more concerned about having to walk home from a new truck letting me down, as opposed to something like this, which can be “tinkered” by the roadside to get going after a problem. For farm or forestry users, something like this rig (or a Dodge Power Wagon, or F250 hi-boy) can’t be beat, in my opinion. My 2 cents!
Sold. My’74 Scout II was very good to me.