Old School Panel Truck: 1959 International Harvester A120
In the panoply of International Harvester offerings, one of the rarest is the panel truck. Here on eBay is a second-generation 1959 International Harvester panel truck for sale, with an initial bid wanted of $8,000. No one has bid yet, with the listing ending shortly. The vehicle is with a dealer located in Trevor, Wisconsin. This is a project vehicle that runs and drives. As an “A” series, it’s part of the “anniversary” refresh that IH conducted in 1957 to celebrate fifty years in business. New features included fenders nearly flush with the body, and a wider cab with a large wrap-around windshield. Interior improvements were focused on heating and ventilation. The “120” was a three-quarter ton vehicle, and this one sports an all-wheel drive badge. Interestingly, this truck is listed as a 1959 and is clearly an A120, but must sit on the borderline of the later “B” series which hit the ground in 1959.
The motor is a Black Diamond 240 cu. in. in-line six-cylinder, making about 140 bhp. The transmission is a Borg Warner T-10 four-speed manual, and the transfer case is a T140. Binder Planet forum entries indicate that Braden Winch made a PTO for the T140, and this truck appears to be fitted with that rare accessory, running a front-mounted winch. Well, hopefully, it’s running – the seller doesn’t say. Fewer than 8000 miles are currently showing on the truck’s odometer and the seller implies that that reading is true and correct.
The interior is spartan, but not bad for its age! A backless bench seat outfits the rear, and a divider separates the cargo area. This view shows the steering wheel and part of the dash – a few cracks in the steering wheel to fix, but I might leave that dash alone.
Loading is simple thanks to the twin barn doors at the rear. This truck was fitted with painted bumpers, a painted grille, and painted tow hooks. And how do I know all these details about its original equipment? That would be because the lineticket is still with the vehicle – a minor miracle and ok, not proof but at least supportive of the mileage indicated. I think this is a pretty special truck. No doubt there’s work here but does the interesting configuration and potentially low mileage make it worth some elbow grease? How would you tackle this project?
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Comments
Hmm, have to bring out the big guns on this one, GEO???? Perhaps he can shed some light here. I thought, ( I know, that’s what I get for thinking), the A series was a 1 year design, and the B series came out in ’58 with stacked headlights. I never heard of a ’58 A series, much less a ’59. Since 4 wheel drive hadn’t caught on with the public, this was clearly some forestry or municipal truck. It’s a great find, and has a snowballs chance in Hades of remaining like this.
Looks like an old Civil Defense truck.
International’s method of identifying the model year could often get quite skewed. IH ran the S-series into the ’57 production year and ended the year with the A-Series, which would remain in production until the ’59 models came out in the late fall of ’58. But–IH didn’t actually assign a year for the truck until the title was issued, a practice that muddied the waters even more. The lineset ticket that is with the truck is likely a condensed version which went with each new truck at the time. Copies of linesets are available back to late 1955 and can be requested through the Wisconsin Historical Society or a Navistar dealer. I request linesets ($20.00 fee) for customers on a daily basis and they come through fairly quickly. They are the truck’s DNA and tell everything about the truck except who was working the assembly line (the IRS could probably find that out in addition to the graffiti they wrote on the bathroom wall) at the time.
Now this truck. Just forget about it and drop it off at my place. Lots of Travelalls out there but panels are about as common as the winning Powerball ticket. Good trucks, the A-Bs were and they lasted well. Parts for the chassis are fairly easy to come by but sheet metal, although becoming available, has got a long way to go. I AM trying to find a set of locking hubs which are becoming a bit of a challenge, especially when very few trucks had such a feature back then (this one doesn’t have them).
From your posts I see you’ve been around for awhile! I bought a 37 Intl D2 a couple months ago and have to do some work to get it on the road. Can I talk to you about it on the phone sometime? Jim 5756352072
Are those ’54 Chevy taillights or did IH have their own version?
Hi Bob. I was just talking to my boss about that. I’ve got a friend in the local car club who has a ’54 Chevy and I thought I would see if I could borrow a taillight from him and compare it. If it did fit it would solve a problem that has plagued us in the vintage binder business for years now…
Movie Pray for the Wildcats , hippie wagon
Considering the exterior and interior photos, I’d be a bit leary of the 8K mileage claim. Quite possibly it is 108K considering the overall condition. $8K and no bid yet indicates this one is direct from the Junk & Scrap retail Sellers price book.
The City of Waukesha WI had one of these for years. It was Civil Defense and used very little. It mostly sat in the basement of the PD. In the 80’s they got rid of all the Civil Defense supplies and the truck. It had about 7,000 miles on it at that point. I’m not sure what happened to it but I thought someone said the local old car club bought it. I never saw it after that. It was always in like new condition.
Gunnar, you are correct. The paint scheme is for Civil Defense with their specs on both the winch and van configuration. I would guess that the milage on this old beast is correct. Nobody drove these very far or very much.
I see this truck no longer listed on ebay/auction ended. I personally don’t think it was priced bad in the current market and rarity of the panel version.
My grandfather was a building wrecker and bought a fleet of ’59 internationals so I am drawn to them when one is on the market. The A had a cleaner front end IMO so like this one.
Curious on the paint a bit. I see the salmon paint on the interior but not exterior. Understand that if was a civil defense then they would overspray whatever was there, but curious on the process from the factory. Do you think it was a salmon color outside also but painted over at the dealer maybe? Seems odd, but how they built/sold back then is different than today.