Saving a 1955 International Harvester R-120 'Survivor'
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- Опубліковано 19 сер 2024
- There's few things I enjoy more than getting an old International fired up that's been sitting for years, driving it out of its resting place under its own power and then making the trip home- the further the better. I found this '55 R-120 through the #internationalharvester hashtag on Instagram, the truck's craigslist posting had been picked up by a website/IG acct called "Classified Finds". Classified Finds combs nation wide Craiglist postings, FB Marketplace, etc. and curates a directory of used vehicles of interest. You should check them out at www.classifiedfinds.com.
Anyway, my good friend Bill has been interested in finding an old International and the stars really aligned on this one and I was really excited to help make this happen for him. The truck was sitting outside of the small town of Stamps, AR, about a 900 mile round trip, so we packed up the tools and headed to Arkansas! The work required to get the truck to fire off wasn't detailed very well in the video due to time constraints, so here's what the truck needed:
1. Electrical. The alternator was shot. The wiring was burnt up and some of the charging system wiring was incorrect - I'm not sure if that's what killed the alternator in the first place or it just failed from sitting dormant too long. Either way, a replacement alternator, cleaned grounds & connections and correct wiring got that remedied.
2. Pull starts. The starter was shot and, despite a quick teardown and cleaning in the field, I couldn't get it resurrected. So every time we needed to start the truck on this adventure, we had to pull start it with the chase vehicle. This made tracking down the motor's problems more difficult and slowed the diagnostic process considerably.
3. Spark. Often times I've found old plug wires to corrode and build up massive amounts of resistance- and these were some of the worst I've seen! I like for plug wires to have less than .5 ohm of resistance and several of these had over 150k ohms! No new replacement metal core wires were to be found anywhere within 50 miles of where we were- so I ended up painstakingly dissembling each wire, testing its resistance with a multimeter, cutting & stripping to get down to fresh wire, then cleaning all the connectors with a cordless dremel wire brush and re-crimping them. That did the trick and after filing the points lightly, the truck fired right off and ran like a nose for the rest of the trip.
All said, I've done very little to the truck since we got it back to Central Texas and it's still running beautifully on those salvaged plug wires. Stay tuned for more videos about going through the gauges and all the little things the truck needs.
Keep on Binderin'!
Eric
LOVE these old trucks and this one's no exception. Really fun to see this one running and driving again. Keep up the good work.
Yes sir my dad had one of these 1955 International R-120 vehicles> I do not know if he purchased it new or not but I do remember him picking it up at the International dealer over on Peachtree St in Atlanta Ga as a cab and chassis unit and either he built the stake bed on it or had it built (I was only about three or four years old when he got it). this truck was the same color blue when dad got it. It was the first time i got to look under the hood of a vehicle and I was hooked by golly. My dad used it for his cabinet shop (I went on many a trip to the lumber yard with him) he used it for transporting animals, and of course he used it for anything that required a truck. After we moved from Atlanta Ga to Jacksonville Fl in 1960 dad sold that truck to my grandfather and he used it for another fifteen years until he passed in 1976. What a good truck it was.
That's my dreamcar, you lucky man with that awesome patina!
Love those bed extensions!
She runnin like a top. Awesome
I thoroughly enjoyed this... My father and brothers owned a small business and we had a 1957 international a160 Crane truck all wheel drive we drove it for about 14 years all I did was complain how slow it was we end up putting the crane on a an f700 and I could pull the backhoe on a trailer at 70 mph in that truck.... But I surely wish we had a a160 now 😔 we grow old too fast and smart too slow... But getting back to your video I enjoy the ride along keep up the good work young man
Thank you, Dennis! I have a ‘56 S-160 4x4 that is slow, but an incredible truck. Would love to see a pic of that A-160. More IH rescues coming this year!
Love what you’re doing. i’m 67 and my dad had one like this when I was a kid. did a lot of hauling was a good truck. brings back so many memories. thank you so much, sir. by the way, I live in Port Arthur, Texas😀🤙🏽
Looks like a pretty nice rig. Good job! I appreciate you and thank you for sharing this IH adventure.
Restored and ran a 1953 L110, was a great truck….when tuned didn’t know it was running unless you opened the hood to see the fan moving 13:57 or put your hand over the exhaust…had a 6 cyl Continental Engine which ran like a sewing machine…of course didn’t go much above 65 😎
I do miss my 1969 IH 4x4 pick up. 😢 4 speed, grannny 1st, limited slip rear axle, little ¿305? cubic inch 2 barrel carb. Towed a 21' travel trailer but slow over mountain passes. Nice story, thanks.
Great content my friend! Keep taking the adventures and we’ll all keep watching.
Very cool survivor
Beautiful! I would love to see that truck coming up my driveway...
Amazing condition! Nice trip!
Very rare truck with all original light brackets and extended bed sides. I have my dad's 51 L110 2x4 with a four speed on the floor long bed.
Hey there. I have same truck that I’m working to put it on the road again. I’m the second owner from my uncle.
Great Video!
Thats a good time!
What a beautiful truck. I had no idea being a young gun that International Harvester made pickups back in the day. Now I want one haha! That one even still has the NRA sticker on it, pretty much completes it right there. Would love to find one of those here in Virginia to fix up and keep in the family as an heirloom truck for my future kids.
Really cool to see you put this Ol IH back on the rad again! Would like to see more footage of you working on it...
Great find!
Nice adventure, very cool truck
Super cool!✊😁
Good stuff!
Thanks, man!
That is soooo cool
Good save! Takes big brass ball's to drive one that far without knowing anything about it!!!
Fresh gas and a leap of faith! 😂
Looks like a real truck should. Would be nice to repaint it and put in add on A/C. A truck is also a work shelter and break area. That will do the job.
Hard to find trucks of that type in ANY condition in Australia. The few that are around are being grabbed by chancers, to resell them as 'rat rods' or to the hot rodding cheque book mob.
I saved a1948 KB 5 INTERNATIONAL DUMP TRUCK AND Fageol Van 1954
Don't push those old Silver Diamond engines....blew my 1954 trying to run 60-65.
Sir you can find them gross tailights on ebay. Where I found mine
Will there ever be any more updates on the 1955 r120 interested because I had one until a few years ago it was a one ton version by the way I've got the gauges the gauges if you need them
I still got a title in a VIN number if you need one unfortunately mine did not survive a tornado I was able to save a few parts if you need them
I filmed another couple videos about the R-120 but I haven't had a chance to edit them. I'd definitely be interested in the gauges, shoot me an email at bareknucklebinder@gmail.com
Did you come through Broken Bow OK?
That will surely become one old ugly truck