OldIHC

While talking with my grandfather an interesting topic came up that I thought i'd like to hear everyone's opinion on.

Post-war vs Pre-war Trucks, which one was better built to withstand work, constructed to be the superior workhorse and have overall higher quality and longevity?

Feel free to share your thoughts. I will also be posting an identical thread in the other correlated years (1930 ~ 1960 time era).

Although I would hope that our country would have provided our troops with the finest available equipment , I suspect that they built the best possible trucks with the available resources , which during the war were probably limited . I would also think that the post war trucks would have been made by a stronger workforce that included the veterans , with more resources .
I'm interested what your grandfather had to say about it . My interest in these trucks certainly extends to the people who were involved with them and the history they retain .

Mt thoughts is Pre-war had better styling, but most light duty truck were put on car frame/running gear, except notably Diamond T.

post war trucks in my opinion lost a lot of style, more boxy, but light duty trucks were put on more stout truck frame/running gear.

I was born in '57,and I'm just stating my honest opinion. After WW-2,America was building new homes,Inter-states,and the construction industry was booming. The demand called for more reliable trucks and equipment,to get the jobs done. All (truck) manufacturers were called upon,to build more durable and dependable equipment. Larger engines,transmissions with wider ranges,and 2-speed rear ends helped move loads more quickly,while reducing wear on the drivetrain. More trucks were equipped with Diesel engines,and air,or air-over-hydraulic brakes. Multi-ply bias tires were designed to last longer,with increased load capacity. More wear points (such as "U"-joints,were made with grease fittings,prolonging the "life" of the parts.

i just prefer the look of sweeping clamshell fenders, tall grills, crank out windshields, and stand alone headlamps myself,

but with that old look you get old technology,,,,,,so, I do own a 1956 Travelall too though,

reality during the war was that ALL military contracts got priority for labor and raw materials. The military provided specifications that had to be followed. The civilian market is what suffered during all of that. Additionally, military contracts were awarded to those companies that had the ability to deliver the requested product, to specifications, and within cost assignment.

As in all government sponsored efforts, the R&D that delivers it, usually finds it's way into the civilian market. Look at the things we got out of the space program. In any case, necessity is the mother of most invention. Good things came out of the war effort from an manufacturing perspective, but not sure there was any conscious decision to improve or reduce quality. IHC had a reputation for rock solid trucks before the war, and for what it's worth, it is the only part of IHC that is still in business today as a stand alone company. That in itself says something..................IMHO.

The IHC of of the good old days has little or nothing to do with a 2015 International. Google it.

Most of the trucks had all that stuff pre-war. 2 spd rears were common before 1940, as were grease points and multiple speed transmissions. Up until 1970 or close to it the heavyer trucks relied on main and aux transmissions that were separate from eachother. With leight laws governing the overall leinth some trucks opted for a 5 speed main and 3 speed rears as it was the shortest combo avaviable. Air brakes were available pre war.
As far as big engines, IHC offered the 10l Conti and before that, the Hall Scott OHC gassers, in there biggest trucks.
The biggest difference between pre and post war was the infrastructure, in the 20's thru the early 40's we didn't have the roads capable of handleing heavy loads, so the biggest trucks were "off road" types and very few survive today. Look at the trucks used to build the Hoover dam.
Diesels didn't become the "common engine" until the 60's, and I know one outfit that was still running gas tractors in the 90's (LaPort Transport).
It was the German Autobahn, and its military advantage, that moved us from the past, and bigger trucks with bigger payloads could be moved by road, after we copied it.

[quote="tom fleming"]reality during the war was that ALL military contracts got priority for labor and raw materials. The military provided specifications that had to be followed. The civilian market is what suffered during all of that.

Hadn't thought of it like that Tom , I'll bet the war did bring about dramatic improvements I was thinking that after the war when restrictions were lifted and the technoledgy learned was applied to the civilian side the result was the KB that is a pretty tough truck from what I can tell , but I don't have anything from before the war to compare it to . As far as style goes the D's are my vote , very cool trucks . and looks like they could haul a decent size load

That picture is from Snohomish WA. I have a colorized one like it ,

we had big wood here back in the day, now our wood is not so big,