Old International trucks: hard
to find parts
make their restoration very dificult.
|
The
history of International trucks began at the onset of the
20th Century with the production of farm equipment as well as
heavy trucks. By the 1940's they were making some of the hardest
working pickup trucks in America. These trucks built a
reputation of
ruggedness
and high quality
that made them highly desirable by many farmers not only in
North America but all over the world. At the beginning they
looked almost like all the other trucks on the road. |
 |
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By the the late 1930's they became much better
looking, as we can see in this picture of a 1939 International pickup truck.
This truck has been restored and customized but we can notice the round
edges that weren't so common at the time. Fords, Chevys and Dodges of those
days were much rougher looking than this although they also had their own
positive points in terms of design. Doesn't this
antique truck
look great,
though? |
. |
All
the other car companies built automobiles first and then adapted them into
pickups. With International Harvester it was the other way around. They
built pickups first and then adapted them into large station wagons of a
model they called
Travelall that really rode like passenger cars, large, comfortable and
strong passenger cars. The company still exists, albeit completely changed.
But unfortunately they don't make Travelalls anymore.
For the owners of classic International trucks the
biggest problem is where to find parts for regular repairs and maintenance
of these old trucks. Restoration projects, on the other hand are close to
impossible unless you buy another truck like the one you're trying to
restore and use both of them to make one. Not a very practical idea, of
course. In this case, as well as in the case of old Studebaker trucks it is
wise to find other owners of the same brand of truck in order for you to get
information about the availability of parts.
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The scarcity of parts is not such a big
problem if you are willing to sacrifice the originality of the truck. You
can modernize your antique truck and adapt parts from other types of pickups,
maintaining as much of the original appearance as possible.
There are good restorers who can suggest what you can do to your truck to
have it riding well and looking great. |
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Once there was a man who needed a pickup truck
for deliveries. He was in the business of recycling used tires and he felt a
pickup truck would do fine. He was short on money and so he bought a used
1952 International L110.
The truck was drivable but had many problems.
Little by little the old man worked on his truck and fixed the major
breakdowns. The tire recycling business picked up and he decided to make
some improvements to the old L110. A few months later somebody offered him
almost twice as much as he had paid for it.
Before agreeing to the sale the old man looked
for another old truck and found a 1951 International L110 for the same price
he had paid for his, that is one half of what he was getting for his truck.
He sold the 1952 and went after the 1951.
The story repeated itself for 22 years. The
old man would buy an old truck and restore it, sell it and buy another one.
The tire recycling business was sold and the old man dedicated the rest of
his life to the truck restoration business, doing almost everything by
himself. He died two days before his 72nd birthday, in 1982. During the long
years he dedicated to the restoration of old International trucks he bought
and sold 18 trucks and made a small fortune with them.
This man knew everything about old
International trucks and how to get parts for them. Too bad he isn't around
anymore.
Classic International pickup trucks may be a
great alternative for those interested in owning a classic truck. Most of
their models look great and can be found at very reasonable prices. Be
patient and look hard and you'll find one.
You can visit TravellalParts.com and search
for parts for International
trucks. They have parts catalogs for International products from
1910 to 1980 and their site also has an interesting Restoration Gallery with
photos of great trucks.
OldIHC.org is another
great resource for you to find parts for your classic International truck.
They don't sell the parts themselves but they keep in touch with other
owners of products from the International Harvester Company, which is the
best way to find out what's out there in terms of parts.
Here are more links to sites with pictures and info on
old International trucks:
http://www.classictruckshop.com/47IHC.php
http://www3.telus.net/earthone/1936ihc.html
http://www.magney.org/photofiles/IH_Trucks3.htm
http://info.detnews.com/joyrides/story/index.cfm?id=174
http://www.antiquecar.com/index/listings/page13442.htm
