1970 International Harvester 1600

One of my first purchases was an old truck for hauling. I started out looking at much smaller trucks and gradually drifted towards larger vintage trucks. To my surprise, some of these larger older trucks can be found for a really good price. I suspect it has a lot to do with demand as there aren't too many folks needing this large of truck or able to find space for this size of a truck. I looked at quite a few "classic" trucks, 1950's era Chevy trucks and some late 40's early 50's Fords. I eventually settled on the IH because it was located in Maryland and the price was right. Some of the other trucks I was considering would have either required shipping or were priced a little higher. I was able to get this IH in good running condition for $2800, low enough that I figured it would allow some room for me to make any necessary repairs and still be below my initial budget expectations.

Interesting Features of the truck:

5 Speed transmission with a 2 speed Rear, allowing for an effective 10 speeds. The largest load I have hauled so far was a cord of fire wood. This is probably only around 3,500 lbs. But, with that size load it still isn't necessary to place the rear axle into low gear. The only time I have run in low gear to date has been when the shifter was accidentally depressed so I didn't realized I was in low gear. When I topped out at 50mph I thought something was wrong and it took a while for me to realize that I simply needed to shift the rear into high.

16 Foot Stake Body. The body was added to the truck around 1998 and so is in really good shape. The bed is in great condition and the rails, though showing some rust on the inside are also in great shape. A tool trunk has also been added just below the driver side front of the body (seen in second picture below) and there are four ratcheting straps that slide along rails on the underside edge. Though this bed is a lot larger than I really need, it is nice to be able to drive the Polaris Ranger right into it and be able to haul 16' boards and still close the gate.

Electric Lift Gate. An electric lift was added to the body and that is one of the nicest features of the truck. It really makes loading and unloading nice, even for smaller loads. It is large enough that a garden tractor could be driven onto it. It comes in handy for the trips to Home Depot even as you can push a cart right onto the lift, raise it up and unload.

The Beast 16' Stake Body
w/ Electric Lift Cab Interior Engine

Repairs

December '04: Just after purchasing the truck I experienced some problems getting it started. It turned out to be the carburetor. So I have had that rebuilt. I have had a fuel line come loose and fall off while en route to get my state inspection. During the state inspection I ended up having to replace two tires and the muffler, not bad all things considered.

The transmission has been replaced as well. While picking up a load of wood the transmission got stuck in 2nd gear. I attempted to "nurse" it home but unfortunately didn't make it. After a lot of consideration (including thoughts of simply junking the truck) I eventually bit the bullet and purchased a "remanufactured" transmission. Not rebuilt, but remanufactured. This means that all wearable components are replaced with new, all OEM specs are tested and parts brought back to original tolerances etc. This is as opposed to a rebuild which is often just cleaning, replacing severely work parts but reusing those that aren't too bad. I probably paid way too much, but hopefully the transmission will last another 35 years. ;-)

December '05 Update: Carb issues *again*. I've put on about 900 miles since the carb was rebuilt one year ago. With little use the carb probably has a lacquer build up. However, when I removed the carb for inspect it is generally looking pretty rough. I decided to purchase a new Holley carb since they really aren't that expensive.

Here are some pictures of the existing carb. This model of Holley carb is no longer available. Hopefully I can manage to get the replacement connected properly.

Vacuum Advance Connection

This photo shows the vacuum advance and the connection leading from it that would normally go to a carb port vacuum connection.

Vacuum Advance Connection

This is the other end of the hose from the Vacuum Advance. Not connecting to the carb.

Thing Under Truck

A connection from the air filter leads to this, under the truck, just behind cab.

Renovations

So far I have not done any renovation work and not sure when/if I will get to some of the more aesthetic renovation work. One look at the truck and you can see some obvious things that are "wrong" with the truck. The truck was painted improperly, both in color scheme and technique. The grill should be a very light grey, as should be the dash. Here they have both been painted black. The cab was originally school bus yellow from what I can tell. This grey and black combination looks "nice" but not "correct" and it is clear it was simply can painted as there are drips here and there. With a few spots showing bad surface rust I have to consider repair and repaint of at least the exterior at some point. When that day comes I will try to take it back to a proper color scheme (though not the original yellow).

All emblems are original, though the chrome is severely pitted. I hope to be able to replace these at some point.