1961 International Harvester B120.

June 11, 2014

9 comments
Another fine International owned by the good folks at Scoutparts.com. You can read the thorough and satisfying rejuvenation story here.

Recognize that butterscotch truck in the background? Check out the OPC International Harvesters tag to see the rest of it, and the evolution of IH emblems.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a beauty! Love the funky little mirrors and the chrome door trim! Such a classy grandpa of a truck!

captaingizmo54 said...

Right you are Anon, I'm so glad to see that someone enjoys these old brutes as much
as I do. As I mentioned to Thomas in another post, these were the first imported ve-
hicles that I'd ever seen. The farmers in the Midwest prized them for their "Never die"
toughness and reliability. The one pictured here looks like it may have seen service
with some state or federal agency. That massive cow catcher front bumper is definately
government issue, as are the combination spotlight/mirrors. But after all this time, it
would be hard to determine for what special purpose this truck was built. The only
thing you can say about this 2-ton Timex is that it took a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.

Justin said...

That is one honest workhorse of a pickup.

captaingizmo54 said...

Yeah justin, these things were built to take care of business, period! IH did a great
job of tailoring its trucks to the many needs of the people who bought them. As a boy
growing up in the Midwest, I saw them almost constantly. Farmers and contractors
loved them--and so did my Dad. He bought a couple of travelalls which pulled our
32 foot travel trailer among other things. When the company re-organized in 1982, I
was saddened to hear that they'd done away with the pickups and Travelalls. Oh,
I see that your tinworms didn't like the taste of this one as it is nearly rust free.

nunya bidness said...

Captain Giz - where do you live that these were imports, Canada? (or maybe I missed the sarcasm tag)

captaingizmo54 said...

International trucks were always built in Canada. Only the tractors and other farm implements
were built in the 'states. The "made in Canada" tag appears just below the doorjamb on the
driver's side of these vehicles. This fact alone made them imports. International Harvester
never assembled here. Like you, I thought they were built at the IH plant in Canton, Illinois.
That was until I helped my uncle put new floors in his '54 pickup. That's where I found that
Canada symbol and import sticker. So there you have it, these trucks were imported.

great white tiburon said...

so much to look at in those first two pics. the cool streetscape, the jolly green pickup as the center theme, the cameo opc's, two scouts and the front of that all too familiar black fx16. great shots Ben.

Richard said...

When I was a kid growing up they were called "Binders" or "Corn binders" because of the other farm equipment IH made

Tony Piff said...

you'd have to write a book to catalog all the levels of cool going on here.

thanks for the nice shots and all of the details, benjabong.