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Restoration Required: 1967 International Travelette Crew Cab

This 1967 Travelette looks pretty rough, but if it is solid, it may be a worthwhile restoration project. Alternatively, you could always consider doing what the owner had intended to do, which was to drop the body onto a newer chassis as a restomod. You will find the Travelette listed for sale here on eBay. It is located in Belmont, North Carolina, and is being sold with a salvage title. The owner has set the opening bid at $1,500 in this No Reserve auction, although there is also a BIN option of $3,500.

The body of the Travelette is complete, but it has a number of dings and scrapes on it. There are a few areas of rust in the vehicle, but the worst of it appears to be confined to the floors, and it looks like they will need complete replacement. We get no indications about the condition of the frame, but the frames on these were quite robust, so it might just be okay. The glass all appears to be present, and it all looks good, except for the windshield, which is badly cracked.

The interior of the truck looks a bit on the scary side. It is complete, but it looks like a flock of birds may have been nesting in there judging by the “deposits” that are present on the seats. Still, apart from the seat covers, the rest of the interior is in quite good condition, and shouldn’t take much work to whip into shape.

The engine on the Travelette is a bit of a mystery. It is the 266ci V8, which is backed by a 3-speed manual transmission. The owner has not done anything with the truck since he purchased it and doesn’t know if the engine turns freely. He does state that the truck had been sitting in a salvage yard for at least a couple of decades, so you can be reasonably sure that it will need some work on all of the mechanical components.

At the start of this article, I stated that this Travelette may represent a worthwhile project, and this is for good reason, but it also comes with a few “ifs.” If the frame is solid, then the only major rust to repair is in the floors. If the engine can be revived relatively easily, then the rest of the mechanical restoration may be straightforward. The International Travelette doesn’t come onto the market very often, and as a result, they do actually command fairly respectable, but not startling, prices. With average examples selling for around the $10,000 mark, and immaculate examples selling for twice that amount, if you could get this Travelette at a price lower than the BIN price, that leaves a reasonable amount of scope for a restoration.

Comments

  1. Avatar Gaspumpchas

    Clean it off so maybe you could get an idea of rust?? Good luck to the new owner- might be one of the custom made cabs they made for the railroads. Neat truck- good luck to the new owner.
    Cheers
    GPC

    Like 1
  2. Avatar geomechs Member

    Binder really brought out the crew cabs back then. The only competition back then would’ve been Dodge. They were good trucks, with the emphasis on TRUCKS. Nothing special in the comfort department. You got a heater and defroster, and a radio if you were real nice. Light ’em and ride ’em was what you did. The engine is almost indestructible; the only weak point is I’ve seen pistons let go and the rod flies everywhere, but it was still a rare occurrence. A Binder block is one of the hardest blocks I’ve ever seen, so the cylinders last a long time.

    Like 3
  3. Avatar Dirk

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess but to this beholder, that is one ugly old lump. I wouldn’t restore that thing with your money.

    Like 2
  4. HoA Howard A Member

    Who would have thought, 50 years ago, that this, would be the #1 selling vehicle. Certainly nobody I knew. Strictly business, hence the name, crew cabs. Since being the #1 selling vehicle today, I can’t help it’s the #1 wrecked vehicle, and at $50+g’s, for half that, you could have a really cool retro truck on one of those totaled pickups chassis. You’d have to really love this style, as it would be a ton of work. Looking at pictures for vintage crew cabs, this appears to be a hot item.

    Like 2
  5. Avatar Matt steele

    Ugly and awesome at the same time..just like me.lol

    Like 1
  6. Avatar mark

    Buy it now price of $3500 and the seller does not even take the time to clean it up a little and provides basically no information on he mechanical details of the vehicle. What is wrong with these sellers?

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Fordguy1972 Member

    Interesting rig but seeing as the seller is too lazy to provide some basic information, better pictures and at least remove the bird sh*t, I’d be too lazy to offer more than the opening bid. The two door version would definitely appeal to me but not one with four doors; I”ll never own a pickup with four doors. A pickup should have only two doors and have nothing behind the seat except a gun rack.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Dave Wright

      The only real disadvantage with a 4 door truck is it is more difficult to get weight on the steering axle when loaded. This appears to be a short bed version, they also built them as a long bed. I can envision it full of loggers with chainsaws, lunch boxes and fuel cans in the bed going to work.

      Like 2
  8. Avatar RicK

    Back in the ’60s when I was a youngster, the only crew cab (sorry Travelette) Internationals I ever saw were owned by the King County Road Dept Motor Pool, and were painted school bus yellow with a black hood, and then were surplussed – and after that you would see them occaisionally in their new life in private ownership. It’s possible this one may have lived a similar life

    Like 1
  9. Avatar Beemoe

    The floors in these are an easy fix,
    But if the cowl is rusted through under the hood, put the hood down and back away slowly.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar notchback

    One just popped up for sale in Salt Lake City today. $1000, no engine or trans.

    https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/54468637

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Mark

    Duralast batteries are decades old? Looks like newer battery , and maybe junkyard had it running. Should engine be a 345 motor?

    Like 1

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