(first posted 11/20/2017) How could I possibly resist the shots of this Travelall posted at the Cohort by William Oliver? What a gem, with original paint and natural patina, including the faded sign on the side for Elite Decorators. This truck is an elite decoration in itself. And not just because it’s an old Travelall, but because it’s in superb condition, just the way I like old cars and trucks. Or better yet, both.
The R Series of International trucks were built in 1953 and 1954, as the Cornbinder builders didn’t cotton much to model years back then. The R replaced the L Series, the first new postwar truck by International; it was really just a new grille and probably a few other minor changes.
Power came from a Silver Diamond 220 cid (3.6L), in-line 6-cylinder engine with overhead valves (of course), and a 100 hp rating. Quite adequate for the slower times back then. It was a gem, naturally. I do love International’s naming of their engines.
This truck is in the kind of condition that’s become most desirable these days: original, with its natural patina, but undoubtedly mechanically sound, better tires and quite possibly some minor improvements to the running gear, but not too much so.
I feel vindicated: this is how I have liked old cars and trucks for quite some decades now; ever since several friends in Iowa City in the 1971-1974 or so would find old farmer’s pickups and appreciate their well-aged condition but keep them running. And of course, it’s how I’ve kept my truck. The urge to “restore” old cars and trucks has been essentially absent from me since about that time. Especially since all-too many restorations were botched, and the historical authenticity of the vehicle lost forever. So yes, this is how I like them, and this old Travelalls is a nigh-near perfect example of the breed.
What was the reasoning for mounting that fuel filler so low?
You’d dang near have to kneel on the running board – god forbid you were a really tall individual.
The sheet metal opening appears to be determined by the interior floor height.
International could have run the fill pipe up the inside of the body panel and put a “bump out” panel inside the cab to cover the fill pipe path, but chose not to. Their justification may have been a wider interior floor with fewer obstructions, but I’d imagine the engineers either did not concern themselves with refueling ergonomics or (more likely) they went with the cheapest option.
And back then the owner wouldn’t really care how inconvenient it might be to fill because Stan at the Sunoco station took care of that. 🙂
Bingo! Same with all those fuel fillers behind the rear bumper mounted license plate, an old Mopar favorite.
At least it is on the driver’s side like god intended (now that we can’t have rear fillers). 🙂
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I associate those dumb behind-the-plate fillers with GM cars. Can’t think of any Mopar models that did it, though my familiarity is more with the A-bodies than with the bigger cars.
My ’69 Polara has the gas filler behind the rear license plate.
The ’65 Fury is an oddball with the gas cap on the side like an A body. I believe all of the other C bodies have it at the rear, either behind the plate or above it between the taillights.
This does not include the wagons.
My 69 Dodge Coronet 500 had the fuel filler behind the rear license plate, had it been a Charger, it would have been on the top of the drivers side quarter panel.
Our 1959 Ford Zephyr had the filler behind the license plate. I remember many times when the attendant had to be told where it was.
The Aussie fuselage-body ’71-’81 Valiants had the filler behind the plate in the bumper.
Stan? Is that a reference to Gus Wilson’s trusty assistant at the Model Garage?
It would have been if I had consciously thought of it. 🙂
In addition to structural issues the low filler height and protruding tube makes it easier to fill the tank from a gas can.
It looks like Suburbans did the same thing, only on the passenger side. I suspect that it was because these vehicles put the tank down in the frame instead of upright behind the drivers seat, which led to the high filler pipes on pickups.
Also it looks like IH put the tank down low in the pickups too.
Yes IH put the tanks under the body and actually touted the added safety and extra room in that comfo-vision cab vs some of the “other” mfgs with their in cab tanks.
Hi there, where can I find a rear bumper for an IH R110 1954 pickup truck, ? used or new ??? Thanks to all
The early 50s was a great time to be a truck buyer because the market was full of great choices. It was hard to go wrong. Between Chevy, GMC, Ford, Dodge, International and Studebaker there was surely the right truck out there for you.
I have loved Travelalls since the early 70s. However, I don’t really recall seeing many older than the 60s. This one is a treat to look at. I agree, its condition is about perfect.
My taste in automobiles and trucks is virtually identical to our leader’s tastes in cars and trucks. I stand and applaud his choices every time.
Except this time.
Maybe because I’ve owned two different R-110s. They are honest trucks, no doubt about that and they are reasonably well built. But . . . .For one thing IH insisted that the driver exit at the curb. So you can’t unlock the driver’s door and get in that way. They are HEAVY. and CLUNKY. If I remember correctly, the engine weighs about 700 lbs.
The steering is heavy and slow. If you were to remove the body, the chassis would look no different from any other light truck built in 1910. That front clip is notorious for collecting dirt and quickly rusting out. IH thought positive ground was a good idea.
They were built to deliver good service to a commercial market. Period. They are way, way down the list on fun-to-drive.
Incidentally, other engines were available. The R-series covered a lot of ground. (R-100, -110, -120, -130, -160 in various wheelbases, various rear axles, various transmissions) Besides the 220 there were 240s, 241s, 264s, etc, all sixes with overhead valves. IH built a truck to fit every nook and cranny of the truck world, way broader than Ford, GM or Dodge.
You had to kind of admire the deeply conservative nature of International Harvester. The dealerships were relics from an earlier age. The parts department shelves smelled like your grandfather’s attic.
But you had to put up with a deeply conservative truck.
All trucks of this era were not very pleasant to drive. Plenty of treasured classic cars also were so cursed. I don’t see why this is cause not to admire them.
Paul admires the historic accuracy of this truck. If its a handful to drive, like it was when new, then it’s all the more admirable.
1952 Ford half-ton- pretty much fun to drive. With the stock-size 6.00×16 tires it steers nicely & doesn’t need power steering.
Wasn’t it Dick O’Kane who said: “A sports car is nothing but a small truck”?
Exiting on the curb side or in other words only being able to lock the outside handle on the passenger side was not something that was unique to IH’s in this era, that was the way my 50 F-1 was too. If you wanted to lock it you locked the driver’s door from the inside, slid across and out the passenger door then locked the outside handle from turning which was completely different from lifting up on the handle from the inside and locking the latch.
That was also common on cars at one point too. I guess the theory was you only locked it when you went into the big city and parked on the streets. if you were on the farm or at your suburban home you didn’t lock the doors and maybe even just left the key in the ignition so you didn’t loose it.
The deluxe (5-Star?) Ford cab had, amongst other things, an OUTSIDE lock on the driver door.
It also had armrests + 2 sunvisors!!!
Cool truck. Note the owner eschewed the cheaper historic- vehicle plate and it’s limited-use criteria in favour of the pricier general-use plate. This suggests the truck is no garage-queen, and is back at work doing all the jobs it was intended to do.
I see what you did there.
Nice old ‘Binder .
I prefer the L series grilles, we had two on the farm, both were BIG mothers capable of serious hauling .
Most everything before 1956 had positive ground, non ? .
If you think all old trucks drive poorly, you’ve never driven a Chevrolet .
-Nate
I like positive ground clearance.
This binder has three fuel tanks.
15 ga driver side.
15 ga passenger side. (Factory option)
And a 30 ga bed tank.
That’s a sweet R series Jesse .
Because :
A. I’m old
B. I’m a Farm Boy I like them this way too, I used my 1949 Chevy 1300 as my shop truck until my knee gave out, sold it and spent a couple years doing P.T. whilst searching for a light truck with automatic, in the end I stumbled across a sweet deal on a cherry low mileage Ford Ranger, it has a 5 speed but my knees’ doing fine…..
As far as Cornbinders I prefer the L series because that’s what we had on the farm…..
Simple and dead nuts reliable , nothing to dislike at all .
Roomy cabs, great heaters (New England) and good visibility, on and on….
-Nate
I don’t recall ever seeing a picture of a Travelall from the Fifties until now. I like it!
In the late Sixties, my dad had a 1960 Travelall. I was just beginning to build model cars and pay attention to vehicles. Even now, I like the egg crate grille and stacked headlamps on the ’60 (and would love to see one restored/mildly customized).
Since the truck has Ontario plates and we salt anything that moves here in the winter I’m guessing it must be a recent import from somewhere with a much nicer climate.
It would be interesting to find out the background. Where it originally came from and who went to the time and trouble to bring it here.
“For one thing IH insisted that the driver exit at the curb. So you can’t unlock the driver’s door and get in that way.” Now that brings to mind all the TV and Hollywood movies in which a driver, or a passenger, is made to enter or exit a car by the “wrong door” — entirely to suit camera placement and blocking of the scene. All those actors, sliding across the seat as if it were the most natural thing in the world !
The wheel rings on that green Travelall cover the rims, just like the white “spats” we saw on that Chrysler we looked at a little while back. I would think some sufficiently vigorous driving would knock those right off the wheels, with tire sidewall flex. But I guess no one’s going to be hot-dogging in that bus — or in the staid Chrysler either, come to think of it . . .?
IH also beat GM to the three-quarter-ton truck-wagon game: they always had a 120 model alongside the 110. The Travelall was built on the same WB as the short bed pickup, so IH was also the only company that made a short bed 3/4 ton pickup, all the way through at least the early ’70s if not 1975. The Suburban, meanwhile, was half-ton-only until GM moved it from sharing the short bed to sharing the long bed chassis in 1967.
Nope, Short bed (6.5′) trucks had 115″ wheel bases and the Travelall had 119″ from the 60’s until the end. Off the top of my head I’m not remembering the wheel bases of the LRS trucks and Travealls.
Could it be a faded “SCHOOL BUS” above the Kentucky semi-trailer placard?
I liked the hoods on those. One piece, but you could open it from either side. Unlatch both handles and it came right off. The 220 Silver Diamond faded away rather quickly, but the 241 and larger Black/Blue Diamonds lasted until the late 60’s before being replaced by the AMC 258.
Great old truck, the IH L and S series are my favorite light ‘Binders. Their basic ‘Comfo-Vision’ cab was used until 1974 on some heavy vocational Internationals.
Love it, I had a AL110(Australian) flatdeck for a while it never carted anything seriously heavy while I had it though it did pull a K model Bedford and 21ft Launch up a boat launchung ramp the Bedford couldnt get traction on. Great old truck the AR here kept the awkward R/H three speed column shift that bashed your knuckles on the open vent window though the one 1/2 ton versions got a floor shift.
Near perfect patina and colouring. I believe William Oliver is Toronto-based.
This would be in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
Whereabouts is Daniel Stern? Really miss his expertise, and banter here.
I had a L series AL actually Aussie built same engine tough old trucks mine had been rolled on its side and only had gravel rash no structural damage to the cab.
I didn’t realize that the Travelall went back quite that far. What a great vehicle!
The frontal shot took me back to a best friend’s 1954 IHC pickup. A R120, I think. He had the beast for some years. In early 1971, we took it on a 2 month long surfing trip, prior to me being inducted in the military. Three of us lived in a tall plywood camper box on the back. Two slept on double decker bunk cots and one slept in the cab. The one and only time it balked was when it had a damp distributor after a heavy storm. I believe it was 6-volt, positive ground electrics. Someone had made up a conversion box to use a 12 v, neg ground tape player.