The Other Project

[Boomer]

....besides moving to VA and the three year old daughter, that is.

Picked this up back in 2014 up north. Missed my 4WD of years past and wanted to replace it with something a little bigger. Looks like hell and needs a lot of work, but it's IHC's first 4WD and with only 995 ever made over a 3 yr period, it's worth saving. Got a good deal on it after the PO lunched the mill.

It's been sitting at a friend's place up in VT since shortly after I got it. This past weekend a buddy went north to collect it for me, along with a replacement engine with 5K miles out of a fire engine. We'll be doing the swap soon to get the old beast moving again. With a top speed of 50mph or so, it'll most likely get hauled to VA instead of driven.

This is the reason I tried to buy a C Body that was road ready, at least - already had a project. We all know how that worked out....

 

[The Horvaths]

Awesome truck!

 

[shooter65]

Very very cool...I had a 72 with the 345 ci. What engine are you putting in it?

 

[Boomer]

It has the original SD-240 (Silver Diamond) in it but the former owner floated the valves and it swallowed some pieces-parts. Found a BD(Black Diamond) 240 for it with low mileage, also has the redesigned tilt-valve head so the valve problem is eliminated. Not a lot to it, so it should be a quick & easy swap.

Was thinking strongly of a Cummins 6BT but didn't want to get into chopping the frame and don't want an automatic tranny. Might look at it again in the future, though.

 

[Fury440]

Man love those Corn Binders. I had a '70, short wheelbase HD 1/2ton short box with a 345 and 4 speed stick. Dual range transfer case and leaf springs front and rear. Hardest driving truck I ever owned, but in 4L would literally climb trees. I loved that fool truck!

 

[1978 NYB]

Nice project truck.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Nice

 

[live4theking]

That's not a truck... that's a beast. Way cool.

 

[detmatt]

Whatever you do to it will be great but it looks killer as is!

 

[Boomer]

Yep, my buddy was saying the same thing - and if it was a solid truck from a dry climate, just clearcoat and go. But having spent it's life in OH and northeast winters, that's not an option. You can see through the fenders and grill in numerous places, and the rear bed is totally shot. I recall the PO referring to its "great patina" and saying how it should be left that way. I pointed out that when you can stick your finger through it, the patina is gone. We call that "rot".

The good news is, the frame is excellent, still has original paint in a lot of places. Running gear is good, too. Sheet metal will all go, cheaper to replace than repair. 9 foot beds were used on several 120/130 models, all front metal is from the R-150 farm truck/box truck of the day. The R-140 is just a R-150 with a front axle and transfer case added.

I had a '70, short wheelbase HD 1/2ton short box with a 345 and 4 speed stick. Dual range transfer case and leaf springs front and rear. Hardest driving truck I ever owned, but in 4L would literally climb trees.

This one has the Hi/Lo Timken divorced transfer case and some incredibly large helper springs above the main leaf springs. As someone said, you may not get there very fast but it'll pull a house down the road all day at 35mph.

 

[Fury440]

This one has the Hi/Lo Timken divorced transfer case and some incredibly large helper springs above the main leaf springs. As someone said, you may not get there very fast but it'll pull a house down the road all day at 35mph.

Reminds med of a funny happening with that truck. I was out for a week of moose hunting and staying in a line shack deep in the bush. There was about 12" to 15" of fresh snow so I had the IHC chained up on a four wheels. It was about -25C with clear blue skies, a great day to crawl through the bush in 4Low. Anyway I stopped for a pee and I noticed the left rear wheel had zero snow on the rim. Turned out the outer wheel bearings in both rear axles were gone and I really mean gone with no rollers left at all. The truck still drove just fine in 4Low.
I chain sawed a couple of nice blocks and with my trusty bottle jack got both rear wheels off the ground. Pulled both axles and started to walk out. A buddy shows up and we took the axles into a little town, Cremona which at the time was comprised of a gas/service station and a hotel with a great country bar. The country garage had lots of IHC parts in stock and he found the correct bearing, seal and retainers, installed everything and charged me $75. Don't see that anymore. Anyway after a few beer we drove back to the truck, stuck in the axles and drove it off the blocks and went back to hunting.
I loved that old binder.

 

[Boomer]

I think that simplicity is a big attraction to many of us. Not just because we love to tinker, but because with the older rigs, we actually can.

Spent yesterday up in VA taking care of the home inspection while the girls toured the school. Wednesday afternoon though, I took the daughter over because she kept saying she wanted to see Daddy's big truck (she'd seen photos online, that was it). Took a few shots of her with it.

Also took the opportunity to park my Ranger next to it for a bit of a size comparison. Ranger is only 2WD and the wide angle lens does skew things a bit, but it gives a good overall comparison.

Pickup trucks: Now and Then....

 

[300rag]

... a little town, Cremona which at the time was comprised of a gas/service station and a hotel with a great country bar.

Not a whole lot has changed.

 

[Fury440]

Not a whole lot has changed.

Except the garage is now a self-serve 7/11 and the hotel's 25 cent draft is long gone. Times change and not always in good ways.

 

[65sporty]

That truck is awesome, great project

 

[cantflip]

If I was to ever climb into a pickup restoration project, yours is one of the few I would really enjoy. Rare enough to be a PITA to find stuff for and tough-ugly-strong in a beautiful way... all that a truck was meant to be.

Unless you get lucky, I suspect there is a lot of fun metal fabrication to bring the body back... but I really enjoy doing a little metal shaping in small doses. Just tackle it one piece at a time...

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Now there is a PU I would spend time on

 

[live4theking]

Not that they are pretty or anything, but I almost bought a 68 Dodge pick 20 years ago to go with the first 68 NYer I had.

 

[Boomer]

ACHOOO!!

And out it came. Definitely one of the bigger 6 cylinders I've come across.