Any Harvester fans here?
 

New farm truck: '69 IHC 1200D (2WD 3/4 ton) 131" wheelbase with factory air & auto trans, 304 V8. 77,xxx original one owner miles. Always a farm truck in OK. Not rusty, but well used, with patina.

These old guys are rock solid trucks, easy to work on and operate. Save one today

Did AMC make those? :D

They've made some great trucks from bottom to top over the years. The pickups were rugged, albeit with expensive repair parts and not known for super fuel economy, but in that era, was there ANY small truck with good fuel economy?

I have had that question asked before...:)

AMC DID furnish 304 V8s for a while, and the 258 six cylinder, and Nissan supplied a nice turbo diesel (only in Scouts, I think).

Mine has the SV 304 IHC engine, a huge block of high nickel cast iron that most likely weighs more than a Hyundai..:). Borg Warner cast iron 3 speed auto, Dana 60 full floater rear axle with 4.10 gears and a big azz cast iron FA-12 front axle. I put 235/85 16LT tires on it to kill the gear a bit, but this is not much of a highway truck!

No power steering and non power drum brakes all around. These might be winter upgrades. It does have that nifty knob on the steering wheel that helps when turning the damn thing...:D

AFAIK, AMC never furnished a 304 for IH. For a time, they supplied a 400 V8 for use in some pickups. The 304 was a true truck engine with timing gears, forged crankshaft, valve rotators and machined combustion chambers. They also had valve seat inserts so they could run on any fuel. It was the same family as the 266, 345 and 392 engine.

I had a '74 200, and to be honest, it was a sorry excuse for a truck. The drive train was decent, the rest of the truck was a POS. Rust had already started when it was on the dealer's lot. It had a voracious appetite for fuel, with not much power in return. Cruising range with the 16 gallon tank was around 100 miles- not very encouraging during the gas crises of that era. At the time, it was also about 20% more expensive than a comparable Ford or Chevy, but it had some features the others didn't have, such as front disc brakes and a full-synchro transmission.

I repowered it with a 3-53 Detroit and Clark 5-speed transmission and sold it for $3000 more than I paid for it 4 years earlier when it was new.

Yes, the IHC V8 blocks might very well be the same casting as some of the mid size truck V8's that were common in the 60's and 70's.

There are PLENTY of HEAVY DUTY components to see when rolling underneath an International truck on a creeper, but what got my attention was the frame. It was all welded together on the ones I saw. Not a bunch of heavy stampings riveted together like a typical Ford or Chebby.

I've never checked into it at all, but I fully expect that the weight of an old International pick up would be considerably more than a comparable Ford or Chebby.

oops, you are right: it was the AMC 401 that was offered up. The SV 304 and its brothers are super fine engines regarding how they were built. I have had several Binders and have had 304s, a 345 & a 392.

Mine has two 16 gallon tanks, and yes, they suck the gas. I don't really mind, as I use mine mostly to run to the feed store or to go get 4x5 round bales of hay for my horses. There is a copany that offers up a throttle body fuel injection setup I might put on there when the carb dies. In reality though, it's going to be hard to squeeze any significant amount of mileage out of a heavy , square truck.

Mine doesn't have the rust that most D models have, and most 69's I see don't.

I had a 1310 '70 Model Travelall, a special order truck that I bought up in Iowa in the 90s and it had the tin worm in a bad way in the rear quarters. I didn't junk it since it was a unique truck (392, 4 speed, one ton axles and vinyl and rubber mat interior, plain white). Eventually sold it to a guy who fixed the rust by putting on new quarters and as far as I know, still drives it today. IHCs are enigmatic vehicles, old vs new, and the priice and rust killed the D model, along with a spotty dealer network. Binders have a faithful following, though, like other orphan rigs.

My next to find is a '62 Scout 80. I just need to have a nice stock one.

Your diesel conversion sounds nice. Some forums have thread where guys are dropping early navistar/Ford diesel V8s in C & D models

You are right, IHC put the medium line V8s in it's light line trucks, Travelalls and Travelettes (father of the Avalanche)

Those IH v8's are the smoothest idling v8's I have ever seen including my 51 Caddy which is second smoothest.

They are very very high quality but very very thirsty!

yes they are. I had a '54 L110 and it had a fine IHC (Silver Diamond?) six in it. It was thirsty too, but I was able to drive it all the way from WI to TX, albeit not very fast.....:)

I expect that a good bit of that thirst is the result of the extremely heavy weight of the vehicle. Also, they are about as aerodynamic as a shoe box.

When I was a kid, when my Dad didn't have an Indie shop, he was in the Fork Truck business. A common 15,000 pound Hyster of the day used the Silver Diamond six. They were unbelievably long lived if properly maintained.

a rough curb weight of 4251 lbs. I expect the 1200/1300 were quite a bit more,the 4x4 versions even higher.

American Iron! :D

I have 2 Internationals--
1 is a 1962 Cub cadet Original powered by a single cylinder Kohler 7HP engine. 3 speed trans axle from the larger Cub tractors--built like a tank! Still is regular use.

2 is a 1982 Cub model 782 2 a 2 cyl opposed Kohler engine--currently down for repairs--con rod broke, but did no other damage.

The pickups were too cool.

The rental store I bought in 1998 had a '63 C120 4X4 that was purchased new in 1963. It had the 266 V8 and a 3-speed HD transmission. By the early '80's, it was kind of tired. The local dealer had a new take-off 8'bed for $250, so the project was begun. The engine had developed a lot of blowby (still had a draft tube- no PCV), and the oil pressure was low at idle. However, it would still pass 1980 exhaust emission standards when tested. On disassembly, it had several broken rings, and some of the rod bearings were in pieces, but still in place. The crankshaft was still fine. I had a local diesel shop go over the heads, they didn't need any new valves or guides. I replaced original transmission with the 4-speed from my '74. All the original pistons were still OK, and the cylinders looked fine after a good honing. Needless to say, it ran great. That engine was so over-built it was amazing. The bearings were twice the size of a SB Chevy, and it had an inch of water jacket between cylinders.