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READER AD: 1957 International Harvester A120

SOLD

Asking Price: $7,000
Location: Custer, South Dakota
Mileage: 112,000
Title Status: Clean

Seller’s Description: It was owned and used as a fire truck for the California Division of Forestry in The Lake Tahoe area until sold to a private party. I am the 3rd owner and after it sat parked in a barn for 11 years, I spent 6 days sprucing it up before driving it across the country to its new home in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is all original… factory bumper and PTO. 1957 was the 50th anniversary for IH trucks. This truck was built from the factory with a large steel bumper & factory PTO-winch with large full-size loadmaster bed, despite the stepside setup. It has factory rails and steps on the bed for climbing up and into the back of the truck (see flat steps on top of stepside fenders). With side racks, it will haul a bona fide cord of wood or a nice low profile Alaska camper. Reliable and runs great, dual tanks with floor switch, original interior, and headliner intact. Doors and windows shut and roll up smoothly. You won’t find another like this unrestored IH any time soon.

Body Condition: Body is in good condition, paint is faded, rear corners of cab have a small amount of rust out only in corners, inside steps and rockers are SOLID. The truck runs good, does not smoke and is mechanically sound. Lights, gauges, etc work. Steers well, factory 17.5 wheels and tires with two spares….8 ply mud gripper tires. Divorced transfer case, 4-speed with low granny gear and three sticks beside the 4-speed shifter. Two for The transfer case, and one for the PTO winch.

Mechanical Condition: Mechanically sound…..driven across the country from Lake Tahoe to Custer, South Dakota with NO ISSUES! Engine runs smooth, no misses. The 260 Black Diamond long stroke straight six is the stock motor. T-10 Transmission and T-140 transfer case are sound and 90 weight recently changed. Front and rear axels also drained and new 90 weight installed to capacity. The brakes work great. Power assist vacuum brakes bypassed, as this was installed to give truck extra braking power for the weight of the pumper which is no longer installed. Headache rack and such was aftermarket and is easily removed as needed.

Our thanks to Craig O for listing this awesome truck with us. If you have a classic 4×4 that needs a new home, please consider listing it here on Barn Finds!

List your classified here on Barn Finds!

Comments

  1. Avatar Gaspumpchas

    This is a real truck that would pull down a skyscraper!!

    Good luck to the new owner!!

    Like 6
  2. Avatar angliagt Member

    Cool old truck at a fair price.
    It should sell quickly.

    Like 5
    • Avatar leiniedude Member

      I really do not get the price. 5, 6 hundred bucks.

      Like 1
      • Avatar Crow

        You have no concept of the worth of these old trucks….do the research…they are hard to find in this condition…good luck

        Like 0
  3. Avatar Todd Zuercher

    Nice rig. Cross country drive impressive!

    T-10 transmission? Same on as used in muscle cars in the 60s?

    Like 4
  4. Avatar ccrvtt

    Just. Freaking. Cool.

    Like 3
  5. Avatar geomechs Member

    Good truck but having said that, it is good as a truck and not for the ride. It will be rough, but it will take you anywhere you want to go and bring you back. My dad had a ’56 S-120 which we didn’t have all that long but it is still in use by the 2nd owners to this day….

    Like 2
  6. HoA Howard A Member

    Yeah, well, I’ve got news for ya’, a trip like that ,,in this, was no day at the beach. I’m sure it has like 5:13 gears, so it was a loooong ride. The old BD was a hollerin’ at 55. A models were only made one year, so it’s rare, but again( and again), I just couldn’t pay that for this. It’s an old, rattley door, vibrating Cornbinder, that I’m sure loves oil. Been there,,,

    Like 2
    • Avatar geomechs Member

      Hi Howard. I guess driving old trucks during my pre-adolescent/adolescent years broke me in as far as not expecting too much goes. It seems like every truck on the farm would rattle the fillings out of your teeth, and pound your backside up to your neck, all at a speed you could walk beside. You haven’t lived until you go deer-hunting in a Dodge Power Wagon, or a truck like this. I knew a guy who broke the side window out of his truck with the barrel of his rifle. He says it got bounced out of the gun rack in the rear window. I’m more inclined to believe that they were involved in that age old hunting tradition of mixing copious amounts of whiskey with a handful of bullets.

      Like 4
    • Avatar Ken

      My cousin had a ’56 S-120 4×4 on his wheat farm here in eastern Washington. It didn’t need to be fast; it needed to be reliable and able to plow through soft summer fallow to haul diesel out to his Cat D5. It was the perfect truck for the job.

      Like 4
    • Avatar Crow

      Wrong….4:55 gears, factory line setting ticket verified, and not at all a bad trip across highway 50 “tbe loneliest highway”….and this 264 BD does not burn oil, the doors are sound and shut tight…power brakes, no power steering, but steers and handles well for a 61 year old truck. Cheers Howard

      Like 0
    • Avatar Crraig Olofson

      They may be stiff in the suspension department, but it goes straight down the road, with no wheel wobble, and no significant vibration….one of the best trips accross Highway 50 i have made in years…and along the way, everybody loved the truck!

      Like 0
  7. Avatar Matt S

    I think the price of $7000 is realistic for the truck. If it is in mechanical condition the seller says. Cab corners look sketchy but the rest looks great. Overall it is rare corn binder in its condition and options.

    Like 4
  8. Avatar chrlsful

    Many variations in this BW transmish, Todd:

    T-10- Design I (1A): Apr. 1957 – June 1959:
    Cast Iron Case w/23/64” Bore, 3rd gear 1.37
    No thrust flange for 2nd gear, Mainshaft 3rd gear has bushed hole, Reverse idler halves lock with 4 lugs

    T-10 Design II (1B): June 1959 – Jan. 1961:
    Cast Iron Case w/ 1.5” Bore
    Mainshaft 3rd gear has a ground hole
    Reverse Idler halves are splined (27)

    T-10 Design III (1C): early 1961– 1962:
    Aluminum Case
    Everything else is the same as above
    Except 1st gear bushing on Mainshaft was eliminated

    T-10 Design III (1D): early 1963 – mid ’63:
    Aluminum Case w/smaller bore than before
    Mainshaft 1st & 2nd gears are given wider driving surfaces
    Main drive gear re-designed
    Snap ring clip was changed to threaded nut

    T-10 Design IV (1E): late 1963 – early 1974:
    (1stDesign SUPER T-10)
    Aluminum Cases from GM & Cast Iron-After-Market
    Offered TWO new gear ratios: 2.64:1 & 2.43:1
    Side-Loaded w/side-lever shift linkage
    Counter-shaft was enlarged to 1.00 inch
    Mainshaft resdesigned redesigned for larger 1st gear Journal

    T-10 Design V (1D): mid 1974 – 1982
    (2nd Design SUPER T-10)
    Same as above with MORE variations of a minor significance
    Main Shaft is 32-spline
    Gear Ratios are 2.43, 2.64, 2.88 or 3.42

    Like 3
  9. Avatar Mike A.

    For coolness, this truck definitely gets high marks; for today’s drivability, not so much, but no one’s buying this as a commuter car ! It’s liable to ride like my 1952 IHC L132 (extra-heavy 1-ton), and at just about the same speed.
    Odd about a couple of the photos, though. One photo of the open driver-side door has the inner door in blue paint, and another photo has the open driver-side door in red paint (plus one of the passenger-side door in red). Am I missing or overlooking something here?

    Like 3
    • Avatar Craig Olofson

      That door picture was mistakenly added and has since been removed. The pic removed was from a 47 Willys pickup also on the property…..more correct photos have been added to the Craigslist ad!

      Like 0
  10. Avatar Mike Auldridge

    Hmm, looks like the seller is Craig O, and that he added a comment to this thread on 2/22/2019. Does that mean that this truck is still unsold by him? Following the progress of a FSBO item on this site isn’t as straightforward as is something on, for example, the eBay site. Even considering how far away it is from me, I could’ve been interested. Thanks. Mike A in MD.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Scott

    Leiniedude you simply have no clue about the value of something like this. A very good example of a great, heavy duty old truck at a very fair price for the condition. I only wish I could buy it myself.

    Like 0

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