My son-in-law Alex who accompanies me on a lot of my vehicular adventures keeps telling me that he and his wife need a beater pickup. Not a late model like mine (despite it being six years old, I still wince every time it acquires a scratch or dent) but one where he could toss items in the bed without worrying about it–but he still wants it to be interesting. This International could be that truck! It’s for sale in Richardson, Texas and is listed here on eBay, where the buy it now price is only $2,250.
The seller tells us that they purchased the truck, drove it home 60 miles and it hasn’t moved since. Now they are out of time and the truck won’t start, so it’s getting passed along. Obviously that tailgate is from another truck, but it fits well with Alex’s idea that tossing something into the bed won’t hurt. And so what if there’s some body filler in the sides!
Speaking of the bed, it has to be at least solid enough that tossing something won’t mean there’s a new hole. Thankfully, despite a lot of surface rust, this ol’ truck’s bed looks pretty solid to me.
The passenger side looks a little rougher than the driver’s side — but what does that matter, you won’t be seeing it from the driver’s seat, right? This truck sure has character! Makes me want to break out in song!
(sung to the tune of This Ol’ Man):
This ol’ truck,
Down on it’s luck,
It would look nice at my door
With a wash and tank flush
Bet it’d drive real fine
I wish that it were mine, mine, mine!
I know, don’t quit your day job, right? I get it…ok…stop throwing the fruit and veggies!
I can live with the upholstery, and the trailer brake controller just means we wouldn’t have to buy one. Alex, I’ve almost convinced myself that you’re right. I wonder how many feet that shifter throw is? I’m guessing it’s more like 170,000 miles than 70,000–what do you think?
Here’s the International V8. Several of our frequent commenters have vehement opinions on the worth of these engines; I hope you folks will share your expertise again as to what one would look for, especially if I’m right and this really is a 170k mile engine. Could you find a spot in your garage for this ol’ truck?
It’s an International V-8. It could have 370K for all we know. Those engines were used in dump trucks and school buses and would consistently see 200K+ miles in those applications without needing a rebuild… There aren’t many aftermarket parts, which is why people think of them as boat anchors. But they do have lots of torque and longevity.
In 1970 I had a 1966 1100A Travelall, with a V304 and a T34 5 speed overdrive. I pulled my very over weight 1967 27′ Holiday Rambler with it. Even with the equalizer hitch it was hard to pull that trailer. In 1975 I bought a 1971 1310, single wheel with a 7’x9′ flat bed stake body. I swapped the 3 speed from the 1310 with the 5 speed from the 1100A so after 40 years I still have the same transmission. I could pull that trailer without the equalizer hitch connected. The 1310 is a full one ton but if you wanted dual wheels you had to change the whole I beam because the front spindles were bigger on the 1310 dual wheel than the spindles on the single wheel models. The rear drums and hubs were the same. So I found a 1310 dual wheel model which ran, sorta. I need the hood and front axle and after I was done with it I sold it, with the single wheels on it. Anyway, in 1980 I opened a truck tire shop and I got Michelin to paint the truck yellow. After I closed the tire shop the 71 1310 was parked in the back yard. The last time I drove it was in 2006. It did start, but the Holly carbs are a pain in the neck do to the side mounted float bowl. It has 105,000 miles on it and the engine has one cylinder with 75 # compression. Over the years the gas tank rusted away and I used a 5 gallon plastic gas can sitting on the passenger side floor with a length of fuel hose running up to the fuel pump. I don’t know how much better the IH is compared to the big 3, but I know why IH stopped making small trucks. They are a pain. The line setting ticket is usually stuck to the back of the glove box. Without it it will be hard to find parts. IH had a lot of good ideas like a 9 foot long bed and a throttle knob on the dash to rev the motor if you are using a winch.
J – you’re a wasted musical talent on this site
Well……as a frequent commenter on IHC vehicles here and having owned them for 5 decades…….I saw this one come on eBay. This is a great year, probably a 304 E engine but could be a 266 or 345 as well. Some of the best engines ever built. I had a 63 just like this my grandfather bought brand new. This truck looks like it had a camper for a lot of its life, the bed looks great as opposed to a general use pickup that had hauled stuff for decades. Also, the different tailgate would help suggest that to me too. Probably had Positraction that works incredibly well. I would want either a 3.73 or 4.10 differential for every day use. A lot of 67’s had Power steering and Power brakes, can’t tell from the engine photo……..it will probably be a T98a 4 speed trans with granny gear. It will have a safe inside the frame fuel tank, my 304 V8 3.73 ratio truck like this would get 16 MPG with a 9′ overhead camper 65 MPH. It towed an extra large loaded 2 horse trailer and the camper fully loaded without any trouble elk hunting every year. This looks like a great example that will draw lots of interest on the street. I have about whatever spare parts you might need here in Idaho. Get a “line Setting Sheet” they are 20.00 these days and will tell wvwey nut bolt and component put in this truck at the factory. Parts are easy but you need a little knowledge about the interchanges, all the tune up and common parts are on the shelf of any NAPA store but they don’t know it sometimes. As I remember, the points are the same as some Ford 6 cyl cars, caps are common GM stuff etc. few proprietary parts or things that will need ordered. When these engines set for long periods, sometimes the lifters rattle a little bit. They leak down over time,,,,,,not to worry, let them warm up a bit and they are just fine. These are tremendous engines, forged cranks, rods and Pistons, sodium cooled valves, high rise manifolds with Holly carbs. Efficient exhaust manifolds, rebuildable water pumps, on and on………this truck will spoil you from normal big 3 pickups.
Dave,
I am putting my grandpa’s truck back together and need a few parts.
What do you have?
MJ
My grandfathers old truck had 470,000 miles on the orignal engine when my ex wife let it run low on oil and spun a bearing…..it also had a huge clutch and through out bearing….(not a bushing)….huge heavy radiator that was up to any challenge, I have a wonderful 1968 now, 4X4 3/4 ton, 345 V8 factory 5 speed overdrive trans, 4.10 gears, PB, 8 1/2 foot “bonus” bed…..a very special truck. Remember, all of these trucks are custom ordered from a list of options that reads like a book…….hundreds of combinations and available options. That is why you need a line setting sheet to see what you have.
Great information, Dave.
Cool truck!
Great truck. I’m one of the folks that, I wouldn’t say vehemently think these had bad motors, they did get millions of kids to school everyday, but my experience with the IH V-8’s, in a severe application, they were worthless, and truth be known, I liked the old Red Diamond 450 inline 6 better. THAT was a motor! School buses and pickups are one thing, but dump trucks( especially underpowered gas jobs) require full throttle applications for long periods of time, and I’m sorry, these motors didn’t cut it. The asphalt co. I worked for had Loadstars and were lucky to get 2 seasons out of them.( in all fairness, they did go with rebuilt motors, that may not have been as good) I drove a Loadstar with this motor, and it always wreaked of gas, and you didn’t dare shut it off hot, or the day was over. I can’t argue about IH’s quality, they were the best trucks made, without question, and I drove a few. I’m looking for an older truck too, and if I found this with the V-8, I’d probably go for it, regardless of my past experiences. If you babied these, there’s no question how good they are. Just not the best heavy-duty motor.
I had one of these when I lived in N. Pole AK. Never failed to start. GREAT truck. I loved the interior photo. Saw that floor shift and it made me remember the incredible amount of “throw” from one gear to the next.
I worked as a mechanic on a school bus line. We ran these on propane and the drivers would scream these engines until the exhaust manifold would glow red almost white hot. It wasn’t unusual to see them with a hole burned right threw and these engines just would not die. Propane is a dry fuel and if you run it rich it runs extremely hot the gm and Ford cylinder heads would not take the punishment as well seats would recess and valves would neck or just edge burn out ocasionaly the GM’s would neck out until the head of the valve would fall off. I’ve seen engines where that happened and you’d have a hole the size of silver dollar in the cylinder wall. But not with the IH motors just melted exhaust manifolds. These trucks are not much to look at but that not a bad thing less likely to have it stolen after all how wants an ugly truck.