Any love for the International Harvester Travelall?

I’m looking for a people-mover that’s kind of cool and I won’t hate owning. It’ll be for “suburban douchebag” use: hauling garden crap from Lowe’s, moving car parts around, and occasionally towing a Triumph TR6.

I was offered an IH Travelall 1010 by a friend. I don’t know all the details yet, like whether it’s 2WD, which engine it has, or if the A/C works. Will find out soon. There is some minor rust here and there. The interior needs some carpet and upholstery work. Price is probably $5-6k (will find out soon).

Anyway, besides the obvious hipster appeal ... is this a totally stupid idea?

They’re cool, i sold mine to pimpm3

I think they’re super cool, but I like weird cars. 

Mechanically, they're built like anvils but the bodies WILL rust horribly.

This one has survived some 40 years with minimal rust so far. I think it should be manageable 

I think they are interesting definitely rare to see them on the road now. If it’s in decent shape I’m sure it can be made to be a good driver. If I’m not mistaken along with the scout they had a good reputation back in the day. That being said I don’t know how hard it is to find parts etc for them it will certainly be easier to find parts for a suburban or wagoneer.

Yes.

I had one very briefly.  I wish I had restored it

Had a neighbor that had a '69.  I believe it had a 342 ? CID V8 and a 3 speed slushbox. I seem to remember that it had power windows for some reason.  It was likely 15 years old at that point and had a couple of minor rust spots.  My recollection is that it wasn't horribly slow and that everything still worked - wasn't bad to ride around in.

He got into trouble with the Juneau PD for pulling his kids down the street on a a snow disc with it the last winter I was there.

I have wanted one for years but all the ones here are stupid expensive or have returned to the earth.

We used to meet a guy called Nick at the Essex Junction, VT Four Wheel Jamboree every summer. He had an orange one, lifted with 38” Super Swampers and his wife had a Scout II twin.

My dad had a '70 he special ordered brand new. 345 V-8, 2WD, 5-speed manual, tall axle ratio.

Yep, it rusted.

Yep, getting it moving as a teen with limited driving experience was a challenge.

Yep, the non-power brakes and non-power steering was a challenge, even as a fleshed-out adult.

Yep, it got 12mpg.

It could haul a huge amount, and had a certain style. I miss it a strange way, but would probably never buy one.

My brother just owns a 79 international scout II. It’s a 304/auto. It’s slow, rusty, unrefined, and only gets 10-12 mpg on a good day. 

I absolutely love it. There’s nothing quite like an old truck. It’s fun to drive it it’s own way, and has TONS of character. It also helps that we live half an hour away from a company that makes reproduction body panels for most of the old IH trucks. 

Driving an old International instead of a late model Ford/Chevy/Dodge/Toyota is the same thing as driving that TR6 instead of a Miata. Of course it will be harder, smelly, take more work, use more gas, break down more, force you to search for spare parts, etc. That's a given. But if you like old cars and trucks, which you obviously do, its character, simplicity and that hipster appeal will provide an experience that cannot be matched by the newer stuff.

We had one when I worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.  Think cheap stripper model with auto as the only option.  It was like driving your house. I’m not sure it would do 12 mpg.  It was competent pulling our Boston Whalers.  

Those have great lines! I would be tempted by GM LS drivetrain swap to get some more MPGs and some better day to day livability. Of course it runs the risk of losing the old truck charm.

I saw one this summer that had an entire gmc frame and running gear swapped under and it looked like it was totally the way to go, modern running gear vintage style. The only thing that gave it away is that it looked like it had a two inch body lift, went looking to see if i had a picture but no such luck.

Here’s the truck I’m looking at. He’s asking $4k but will let it go cheaper.

Not sure what engine this is.

Rust doesn’t seem too bad for an old truck from 1974

Yeah, I'd totally do it. If and when it stops running, toss the body on top of a 200x 3/4 ton truck/SUV.

Looks like he put a lot of effort in painting that front wheel. 

Not much that can be said from that pic, but I like them. 

Is that ac or just the most afterthought heater box ever?

I would imagine factory air conditioning was pretty unusual in a truck like that.

It may be tricky to do a permanent repair on that rust in the drip rail area - it really needs to be cut out and replaced with new metal, and there's probably several layers there where it joins to the top of the B pillar.  The rest of it does look pretty solid, though.

edit: from the duct tape residue on the windshield frame that area has been leaking water into the cabin.  So, besides the rust in the windshield channel, look for more rust in the firewall and passenger side floor pan.

Robbie said:

Is that ac or just the most afterthought heater box ever?

Looks like an AC compressor to the left of the power steering?

He did say in the original post it has air conditioning.

I love me some Cornbinder!  I have a Travelette waiting on a conversion to 2wd with a Crown Vic swap in storage right now. 



I'm not 100% sure, but I think the 1010 should be the boxy 4th generation from '69-75, and would be a 2wd.   Since it is a 1000 series instead of a 1100 or 1200, I'm guessing it would have the torsion bar IFS.  And actually, since it is a 1010 instead of a "1000D",  you should be looking at '71-73, s they were renamed again in '74, to 100, 150, etc to better line up with the nomenclature of the Big 3.  Take this all with a grain of salt, however, as terms get tossed about on different years, IH language is a bit fuzzy, and I am barely IH fluent beyond asking for the location of the bathroom and complimenting the streetwalkers on their pastries.

IH Torsion bar IFS being converted to square body GM truck spindles and 4th Camaro rotors front drums. (Factory balljoints are expensive) Notice the torsion bars on top of the frame rails-




It's a good, handsome, hardworking rig, with a few quirks to work around, but if you treat well, it wll treat you well.  The IFS rides well, but some of it is a bit odd, and parts can sometimes be tricky.  I would love to have one.   Get to know the IH forums, suppliers and FB groups.    But if you are expecting a '70s Suburban, you may be disappointed.  

~edit~ I see that there have been several replies while I was writing this.  Good looking rig, but I would be looking at closer to $2K, myself.