Original Paint: 1951 International L-110 Pickup
Vintage trucks continue to grow in popularity and be a bit of a phenomenon . According to Hagerty Insurance, prices for vintage trucks rose more than fifty percent in the past four years. And while I appreciate beautifully restored to better-than-when-new examples, I love original survivor pickups like this one even better. Chevys and Fords dominate the vintage truck market, so it’s refreshing to see one of their distant competitors featured here (it’s only the third International L-110 pickup listed on Barn Finds). This 1951 International Harvester L-110 pickup is located a few hours west of me in Asheville, North Carolina, and it’s for sale here on craigslist for $20,000. Our vintage pickup spotter, T.J., found us another gem to feature. Thanks, T.J.!
The seller doesn’t share any history or background about “Old Red,” but I’m going to assume it’s lived most of its life on a North Carolina farm. The brief ad description is a little confusing and reads, “Original paint, never been restored, and running and driving condition. All maintenance items have been capped up and replaced and this truck can be driven as a daily driver. In-line six cylinder OHV , 6 volt House new brake parts generator radiator and miscellaneous items like windshield and seat cover.” I’m assuming the last sentence refers to maintenance and upgrades, given how new looking the bench seat, radiator, and windshield appear to be in.
I really dig the genuine, authentic, and rugged looks of this survivor. It’s original Harvest Red paint is faded and worn, and there are some fender dents, a rusted front bumper, and other imperfections, but that’s part of its charm. You’ll also notice a handle on both sides of the hood. That’s because the L-110’s hood opened on either side (like a Buick). Based on the photos, the bed looks to be in good shape as does the glass, and rust is minimal. Overall, this appears to be a solid survivor.
International-Harvester was late introducing an all-new postwar pickup, but they also had an advantage of trying to improve on what Chevy and Ford had rolled out. With pickups going into a new direction of comfort and convenience for drivers and passengers, International made a big selling point about their new Comfo-Vision Cab, calling it the “roomiest and most comfortable cab on the road.” They also touted better “full-front visibility” than their rivals with its one-piece Sweepsight windshield. The simple, spartan interior looks good overall. The seat has been recently recovered and the floors look solid, but you can spot ripples in the door panels and new door weatherstripping is needed.
Look under the natural patina of that Harvest Red hood and you’ll see a 220-cubic-inch, 101 horsepower overhead-valve “Silver Diamond” six-cylinder engine. It’s paired with a three-on-the-tree column shift manual transmission. The seller lists 85,980 miles on the odometer, but doesn’t say if they’re original or not. Survivor pickups like this are near and dear to my heart. I hope the next caretaker continues to keep “Old Red” unrestored and looking this authentic for another 71 years or more.
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Comments
It may be titled as a ‘51, but my understanding (having owned a ‘50 L-170) is that the ‘50 had hidden door hinges (as does this truck), and the ‘51-52 had exposed hinges.
Hi Ed, hmm, have to bring out the big guns for that one.( Geomechs) I noticed on “images”, some ’51s have hidden door hinges, some external. ’52s all seem to have external hinges. IH did some funky things, like the constant debate was the 2 back windows. While it seemed all pickups used a single back window later on, I have seen some R190 models that still had 2 windows. I’m surprised the parking lights( not turn signals) are intact. That was a bad spot for these.
It would be a ’50 or early ’51 as the hidden door hinges were sort of phased out through ’51. The VIN would tell you WHEN this truck was built although Binder habitually didn’t officially assign a model year until the title was issued. Of course there’s a monkey wrench in the works should the truck happen to originate from north of the 49th. The records there are stored away in a warehouse that no one can gain access to so if the VIN tag says, “Hamilton,” you’re going to be using a dart board or Taroh cards to guess the year.
The engine in this looks like a later version of the venerable Binder six. In ’57 they started building them with tilted valves to improve scavenging. That made the valve cover wider. To get a positive ID you need to look at the RH side of the block, at the front, just under the head. There’s a machined pad that should have the engine model and S/N stamped into it.
Chassis and brake parts (including drums for the 1/2 tons anyways) are easy to come by. Weather-stripping, window seals, even a new windshield, are readily available. Engine parts are tricky. Our local machine shop has said that things are improving as suppliers get away from the previous 2-year catastrophe and get back to work.
Overall this truck could come to my place. Patina is not welcome and would be replaced with a decent driver-quality paint job. Whoever gets it should be happy as Binder’s popularity is increasing, and they’re a good looking truck as well…
$20K huh?
$20k? I don’t think so.
I like the divided rear window, which certainly must have cost more to manufacture.
Almost as cool as the five Window Chev/GMCs and Dodges.
Not 20K, but I would give $7,500 for it. For 20 it would have to be a Ford or Chevy , but a cornbinder, the money is just not there.
I sense that more enthusiasts are discovering these IHs. The seller is certainly asking top dollar, but rarely do you see one as complete as this one. I see an aftermarket radiator and a couple of other things. The CL link isn’t working so I didn’t look past the photos here. Only thong I’m undure of is the dash color. On earlier IH’s it was boxy color.
I see more 1937-1940 D2’s also being discovered lately and they are my favorite IH. Now is still the time to get these IH’s.
I dont like them aftermarket radiators in most vehicles but it looks ok in that truck