BF Auction: 1952 International Harverster L-122
- Seller: Ryan T
- Location: Wauseon, Ohio
- Mileage: 101,700 Shown
- Chassis #: 25971
- Title Status: Clean
It is undeniable that Pickups played a significant role in building the country’s prosperity in the post-war years. The list of tasks they undertook is extensive, and they deserve respect and recognition. Survivor-grade vehicles are particularly attractive in the classic market, and that is the best term to describe this 1952 International Harvester L-122. It is a solid vehicle that carries bumps and bruises accrued during a life of faithful service. The seller has invested significant time and effort into ensuring this Pickup is in excellent mechanical health, ready for its next journey to a new home. They have listed this classic with us at Barn Finds Auctions to give it the best chance of finding a dedicated new owner.
International introduced its L-Series model range in 1949 to replace the post-war KB Series. The L-Series remained on sale until 1952, with this L-122 emerging during the final production year. This seventy-one-year-old beauty was treated to a fresh coat of International Red paint by its first owner in the late ’90s. However, no attempt was made to disguise the typical small bumps and bruises accumulated while serving faithfully as a farm vehicle. Returning the sheet metal to a pristine state would have been easy, and the new owner may choose to follow that path. However, this Inter will probably command more attention and respect if preserved in its current form. There are some areas of surface corrosion, but the only steel penetration is restricted to a spot in the tailgate. The owner believes the deterioration was caused by fertilizer being hauled and emptied via the sliding grain door. The trim is in good order for its age, and other than a chip in the windshield the glass is in good condition. The Pickup features a genuine and rare accessory that adds to its appeal. The owner includes an “Ad-A-Rak” bedsides and stakes. These increase the vehicle’s versatility, and a search of various websites and forums devoted to these classics reveals that few people have seen this item. There is a copy of the sales literature and images of the “Ad-A-Rak” in the photo gallery, and the brochure makes fascinating reading.
The positive news continues inside this Pickup. The Red painted surfaces look great. The floor sports a new IHC Supplier reproduction black vinyl mat that was cut to provide a perfect fit in the footwells. The tan seat cover is rip-free, and there are no issues with the door trims or headliner beyond the typical deterioration that comes with age. There are several key positive points worth noting. The horn button and radio blanking plate are intact, which is a victory because both can disappear with age or due to owner modifications. There are no aftermarket additions, but occupants benefit from the genuine factory heater when the weather turns cool. The interior isn’t pristine, but it continues this classic’s theme of being an honest work truck.
Potential buyers seeking a turnkey classic need look no further than this L-122. Its engine bay houses the 220ci “Silver Diamond” six, producing 101hp. That power feeds to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual transmission, and while the output sounds modest, it proved adequate to allow the Pickup to haul its maximum payload comfortably. The owner recently invested significant time and effort into this classic to ensure it is in excellent mechanical health. During the past year, he has rebuilt the original carburetor and installed a new fuel pump. The brakes received new lines, and four new leaf springs were fitted that were built to the original specifications by Eaton Spring in Detroit, Michigan. The Pickup features new shocks on all corners, and a complete exhaust from the manifold back to the vehicle’s original specifications was sourced from Waldron Exhaust. The final piece of the puzzle was a new Optima 6-volt battery to coax the engine into life. This L-122 runs and drives perfectly, and the video clip included in the article allows interested parties to hear the Silver Diamond in action. It sounds sweet and crisp, with no smoke or odd noises.
We see many older Pickups produced by Ford and GM at Barn Finds, but those that emerged from the International Harvester factory are less common. That attribute is one that helps this 1952 L-122 stand apart from the crowd. The other is its overall condition. The owner isn’t representing it as something it isn’t. He considers it a clean and honest turnkey survivor, and that description is apt. A new owner could treat it to a total restoration, and the result would be stunning. However, preserving it as a reminder of the role these vehicles served in the country’s development is equally attractive. Whatever its future holds, it deserves to find a new home with an owner who will treat it respectfully so it is still plying our roads in another seventy-one years. Would you like to make that home your garage? Doing so might be a single bid away.
Bid On This Auction
Ttfrost bid $9,000.00 2023-11-06 09:59:37
Geoff bid $8,500.00 2023-11-01 14:55:58
Sunny Duke bid $7,500.00 2023-10-31 16:56:48
Badscooter57 bid $6,500.00 2023-10-31 14:24:06- Sunny Duke bid $6,000.00 2023-10-31 12:15:02
George Smith bid $5,000.00 2023-10-31 10:41:19- Sunny Duke bid $4,000.00 2023-10-31 10:38:29
Henry bid $3,500.00 2023-10-31 08:05:08
John West bid $2,000.00 2023-10-30 18:34:15- Sunny Duke bid $1,500.00 2023-10-30 17:58:17
Steve bid $1,000.00 2023-10-30 17:09:10
Charles Flerlage bid $200.00 2023-10-30 15:15:24
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Comments
Absolutely wonderful truck, I would buy in a second if I could afford it.
Cool truck. I love the ‘orphans’. I don’t think I could talk the Wife into this purchase however. Gotta keep peace in the home. Good for whoever succeeds in the auction. Treat it nice.
My neighbor had a similar one. Funny thing about it is the throttle linkage went straight through the engine block from the driver side to the passenger side. Almost as if when they designed it they forgot about it until the last minute. Ha! It must have been an earlier model or this one had it removed because I don’t see it on the pictures.
That was part of the LH Drive trucks’ T,O & E. Saw lots of them back in the day. One thing that the Afrikaans, Aussies and Kiwis had an advantage over. They didn’t need that control rod routed through the block. Interesting enough, I saw more than one of those rods seize, and I had a customer with coolant bubbling out through the side. He had to do some major reinventing to the throttle linkage, not to mention sealing off the coolant leak…
The L Model has is a very comfortable, great visibility cab. I had a 1951 L-160, 3-4 yard dump truck, 5 speed, 2 speed. Used it for delivering Top Soil to customers and commercial snow plowing in winter, 9 ft Fisher Hydro turn plow. Served me well for the 8 year’s, 1972-1980, I was in business. Sold it off as a no problem working truck. Also a 1955 R-100 (same cab) short bed pick up. I’d like to have it as a every day driver today. So simple and easy to maintain.
I’ve owned 3 L series International trucks, a 51 short bed 3 sp, a 52 long bed 4 sp that was all original with the owners manual in the glove box and a 54 short bed 3 sp.
Each one had 16.5 tires, was 6 volt systems/w positive ground, vacuum wipers and when going up hill in the rain you would have to let up on the gas so that the wipers could take a swipe! I had a set of chains for the 52 and I will say that when I put those chains on whenever it snowed heavy, it would almost go anywhere without weight in the back even, in Missouri we called them “old corn binders” Good running and Solid old trucks!! I wish that I had one of them back, Loved them!!
Boy that thing ticks over as smooth as silk. Sweet optics too. Hate the color. A nice lighter two tone would do it justice and give it some real style. You can get way more horsies out of that six with not too much money too. I am starting to hate red though. So many classics seem to be painted red because it’s always been seen as a a good color for a quick sale. Anybody ?.
It’s because old pickups just happen to look good in red. You sure wouldn’t like mine, I have a 56 F100 bright red inside and out lol. But there’s a few other colors that go well to.
We had a trucking business and farm when growing up. Neighbor had one of these as well as a IH grain truck. We had Fords. Dad said Ford’s cost more, but that IH earned the nickname “Binder” for a reason. Terrible QC at factory and main bearings constantly failed and locked up. Hense the term Binder. Neighbor’s pick up always had a bright oil light lit on his dash. Didn’t move much after that.
Hmm, never heard that term regarding the motors. They got the name “Binders”, as in Cornbinders, from it’s farming heritage. The “D” series motors were some of the best engines made, I never heard of one spinning a bearing.
D as in Diamond motors.
Quite a find. Most, if not all had the front grill rusted around the parking lights. I had a ’53 R model, like in the 2nd last pic with this motor. This is one truck that will go 55mph, motor a hollerin’, but not much more. These motors could be held wide open for hours, with no damage, trust me. The R model did away with the 2 small back windows for a larger 1 piece one, but they continued the 2 small windows on bigger trucks for some reason. The L model had the new “Comfo-Vision” cab, that was used for many applications well into the 70s. As nice a find as it is, it’s still a 1952 pickup, and many today will find, it may not meet their expectations.
So Many “EXPECTATIONS”, are ya 35 and need to burn rubber, or 81 and just want to cruise down to the Town Diner for breakfast and BS with your other old cronies every morning, maybe a trip to the dump, some groceries on the way home. Exercise her well, put her away for the Winter if your in the Sand n Salt Rust Belt.
Man. Breakfast out,..shoot the sh*t with the boys. Hit the dump (rummage, snoop) and then home with a bag or two of groceries. Richard? You should be making movies my friend.
I had a 1947 KB6 International, I got from a junk-yard. engine was bad I put in a 390 Caddy engine–blew it up–2–429 Caddy engines–and 2 472 caddy engines. Caddy engines were cheep but they just could not take the reves. It was a sleeper and surprised many. Cool truck crank out windshield and a frame and suspension that was a solid. as a rock. It’s rear springs were 6 main with 4 helpers.–all torque no reves.
My dad had a 52 L-60 on the farm for years, he put behind the wheel at a young age, I could barely reach the pedals, but all I really had to do was leave it in granny gear, and steer, and idle along, with our ferris wheel bale loader hooked to the bedside, while my dad and another guy stacked hay on the back. Good ole childhood memories. International made some good trucks. This pickup’s a rare beauty
This pickup brings back many memories, my Dad had a 1950, the paint had faded badly it was nicknamed the “pink elephant”. In the summer of 1967 at the age of 13, my twin brother and I learned how to drive and shift a manual transmission driving around the barn yard. Once loading logs into the bed one of us, I don’t remember which, broke the right rear window. Later the story of one of my sisters falling out of the passenger door lives on to this day. She was unharmed, those door latches on the outside had better been returned to the up position before you got inside. Nice old truck.
How do these slide past me? The L-120 is one of my favorite trucks of all time. Lots of them out west; I’d have to say that there were as many 3/4 ton trucks as there were 1/2 tons. Interesting that the majority of these ran the Budd wheels. Those are definitely my preference. Another item is the choice of transmissions. I would say and equal split between 3-speed and 4-speed, with the 4-speed being mostly the old Warner T-9 crashbox (the synchro T-98 was available later in the ’51 offering). You heard the latter driving down the street on the other side of town. Well, in my home town 3rd Street was on the edge of town. The only truck that made more noise with a T-9 was a Ford Flathead V-8.
A lot of these were equipped with the T-87 3-speed which was about the heaviest 3 speed I ever saw. And it was every bit as heavy as a T-9. Just shifted with a column shift.
This truck. You could park it at my place. I’d probably go out and try to source out some Budd wheels and hubcaps to go with them. It would be like my dad’s old truck back in the day, so-equipped. Otherwise I’d preserve and enjoy it.