nifticus caught a rare traveler on our streets these days, an International B-Series pickup (1959-1961). The B-series was a direct evolution of the the all-new A Series, which came out in 1957. The biggest change s were a new grille and stacked quad headlights, and V8 power was now optional.
The only ad I could find was this one featuring a 4×4 pickup. Unlike nowadays, 4x4s were quite uncommon, and generally bought only by those who really needed four wheel drive, not city folks in Texas.
The standard engine was the venerable inline six, and optional were the 266, 304 and 345 cu.in. V8s, rated at 115.4, 193.1, and 197.6 hp, respectively. Only IH gave such precise hp ratings, and you know they weren’t inflated, or reduced, for insurance reasons.
And IH also advertised net power and torque figures in addition to gross. I’ve seen an ad from the late 60’s where IH compared the advertised power figures for the other 3 to real world net figures to show just how trumped up some of the other numbers were.
That cab looks quite a lot like the Loadstar cabs. Maybe a slightly different roof?
The Loadstar was introduced in 1962, with the cab taken from the ’61 C-Series (with a taller roof, as you mentioned). The ’57-61 A/B-Series cab is almost identical, but the C-Series has either taller rocker panels or shorter doors.
The Loadstar series was a replacement for the 1957-61 A and B-140 through 180 models, which used the smaller A or B-Series cab, just mounted higher. The conventional practice when building a medium-duty truck with the light-duty’s cab was to give it larger fenders to hide this higher mounting (think a Ford F-600 or Chevy C-60), but IH apparently couldn’t afford that, or just didn’t care.
I’m struck by how short the bedsides are, vertically. I would expect the bed to be level with the beltline at the bottom of the door glass, or at least close to it.
The 1961 C-Series made the bedsides taller, but because the body was mounted lower on the frame, the overall height stayed mostly the same.
After the Loadstar (the real one with twin wing hoods, not that tilt-nose thing), these are my favourite IHs.
I am amazed by the long front overhangs on several 50s pickups – the Ford is the other that comes to mind. I have also always been fascinated by the combination of high cowl and low beltline on these.
And was there a single vehicle of the 50s that pulled off the over/under headlight look? I’m can’t think of one.
All that kvetching aside, I would not kick this one away. But I would probably trade it for a Studebaker Transtar of the same era. I already have Studebaker disease, and am afraid of what awful things might happen in my life if I were to contract I-H disease too. 🙂
I already have Studebaker disease, and am afraid of what awful things might happen in my life if I were to contract I-H disease too. ?
You make that sound like a bad thing. I was born a carrier of Studebaker’s disease and it’s clone Packarditis, then added Ramblerism, in it’s various mutations. Then I contracted VeeDub syndrome in the mid 70s. Fortunately, I have the immune system of an ox, so, outside of a recent minor breakout of VeeDub syndrome, I have avoided rash outbreaks.
This must be among the first american vehicles with stacked headlights, ahead of Pontiac by a few years.
The early ones I was thinking of were the 57 Lincoln and 57 Nash.
I don’t think quad headlights were quite legal in all 48 states until 58,
The vertical stack was probably easier to work into existing fenders than horizontal duals Compare the adaptations on the 57 Lincoln and Nash vs the horizontal adaptation on the 58 Studebaker.
The ’57 Lincoln headlights were not true quads. They were standard duals in the upper portion and smaller “driving” lights in the lower portion.
But, um, does that make them any more attractive? 🙂
Is the long front overhang a result of using semi-elliptic leaf springs?
As a kid I had a children’s book about IH pickups. It was mostly about how they were built on the production line. IIRC it had the same illustration style as the ad shown above.
What made it particularly memorable for me was that it also came with cardboard punch outs to make your own IH pickup.
As a kid I had a children’s book about IH pickups. It was mostly about how they were built on the production line. IIRC it had the same illustration style as the ad shown above.
What made it particularly memorable for me was that it also came with cardboard punch outs to make your own IH pickup.
Was it the one about the boy and his dad on their farm? Their late 30s sedan couldn’t haul all their stuff, so, since their tractor was a cornbinder, they headed to the plant for a new pickup. After going through the plant, the boy was looking over the test track, and there was his dad pounding their new pickup over the Belgian paving blocks.
That must have been a dealer give away. My grandfather liked to play farmer when he wasn’t wrenching for the truck line and brought home a Farmall Cub somewhere around 57 or 58. I remember being at the dealership with him one day and checking out a new first gen Scout in the showroom. I must have picked up that book somewhere along the line.
My uncle was a big guy, 6’3″ or more, with size 14 dogs. At the end of the 50s. car designers were dropping rooflines so far he couldn’t find a car he could fit in. Off to the cornbinder dealer for a new Travelall, which had a front very much like the pickup above and a red and white two tone paint job.
That storyline does ring a bell. I actually have many of my books from back then, but not that one unfortunately.
I have no idea how I would have gotten it if it was a promo though – I grew up in the Philly suburbs…
That storyline does ring a bell. I actually have many of my books from back then, but not that one unfortunately.
My kid’s book went in garage sales decades ago. I don’t remember seeing it since the late 60s.
I have no idea how I would have gotten it if it was a promo though – I grew up in the Philly suburbs…
I don’t know how old you are, but, from the vehicles pictured in the book, it was published in the 50s. If it was a dealer promo item, as I suspect, a lot of them were probably handed out to people who were not really interested. Yours could have floated around from person to person for several years before it came into your hands. I remember the punch out truck kit pages in the back, but I remember them with the parts already removed. I don’t remember building the truck. I had that book from before my memory is clear, so probably dated from when Gramps bought the tractor, when I was 5 or 6. I have vivid memories of it because it was still around when I was in High School.
IH dealers were a lot more common in the 50s and 60s. My uncle bought his first Travelall when he lived outside of Cleveland. Then he was transferred to a burb of Baltimore, where he bought his second Travelall in 68. Then he was transferred to Philly and lived in King of Prussia and had the Travelall serviced at the local dealer through the mid 70s.
Steve, must be something like that. This would have been the tail.end of the 60s, I was born late 62.
Paul et al – This is thread that could exist nowhere else and I really appreciate that.
I like these, a mate had a flatdeck A/B 120Australian production then bought a travelall the same model both were sixes the ute was kept as parts it was literally knackered but still went, another guy I met had a 4WD wellside with V8 but I’m not sure how factory it was it appeared to have been built out of several cabs so the running gear may have not been original it had dual rear wheels and the engine was claimed to be 304, four speed box with 4wd selectable. there was an immaculate B parked next to this but I didnt shoot it, local truck so I could if the need arises but the restored coupe utility caught my eye, S series model before the B I think.
That would be so fun to take to the IH shows in America. I’d have to swap out the badges for S110 and tell everyone it was a lost prototype of a proposal that never made it to market.
I’ve always had a soft spot for these pickups. Or the Travelall! I like that egg crate grille/stacked headlamps combination.
My parents had a ’60 Travelall for awhile in the mid to late 60’s. Even as a kid, I thought it looked cool (I was only just getting into building models/becoming a car nut).
I still think they look good today. I’d love to have a restored/resto-mod version.
An uncle of mine had an A. I always thought it looked weird. I still do.
The A/B-Series Travelall was still based off the short bed frame, like all other Suburbans and panel trucks of the time, but with two distinctions:
One, it was also available as a 3/4 ton 1200 model, in 4×2 or 4×4. IH was the only company to make regular cab short bed 3/4 tons, which rode about as well as you’d expect. And they made them all the way up to the end, AFAICT.
Two, more noticeably, it had a third door curbside. Suburbans wouldn’t get a third door until 1967, and they had to move to the long bed chassis to make room for it. And by then, the Travelall had had a fourth door for six years, since the 1961 C-Series redesign.
“Travelette” crew cabs of the time were based off the Travelall, so also had only three doors until 1961
I saw this interesting one a couple of weeks ago.
I really want to like these but the proportions are just wrong. When I see trucks like this compared to the Chevy/GMC it just goes to show what good stylists they were.