OldIHC

TRUCK OF THE MONTH – OTCOBER 2011 – 1917 INTERNATIONAL MODEL F

Our second featured vehicle is Mike Miller’s 1917 Model F. Mike sent us the story and photos below.

In 1915 International introduced the Model F One ton truck. In 1917.
My truck was built and found its way to Sterling Hardware & Implement Company, Sterling, Colorado. Sterling Hardware & Implement Co. sold the truck to Frank Blair on Dec. 18, 1933.  I was told Frank was the original owner, I can only surmise that if he was he owned Sterling Hardware & Implement and when he retired he sold the truck from the company to himself. My Father Jim Miller had started an automotive garage in Evergreen Colorado around 1961. By 1965 it had grown considerably and he sought a car dealership. International was obliging and by 1966 he had moved into a new building and was selling trucks and heavy equipment.

Frank Blair gave the truck to my father to restore and place in his showroom. I was a teenager at the time and attempted to start the truck with no luck. It was decided I should pull the truck apart and so removed fenders, hood, radiator, truck bed, and seat box. Time and money never came around and the Dealership was sold while I was in Vietnam. I moved the 1917 several times over the years and it went from a dilapidated old truck to a rotting away disassembled piece of garbage. About 1987 my father was moving to Oregon and was having a junkyard come pick up the old binder. I told him no way if it was going anywhere it was
to my house.

I picked it up and began a 20 year restoration of the old girl. I stripped it to the bare frame, sandblasted primed and painted it. I began the chore of rebuilding the engine. Over the years since my father received the truck the engine had froze up. The engine, being of a headless design only allowed for access to one side of the pistons. After months of soaking and applying heat to the pistons I used a block of wood against the rod journal and hit each rod with a sledge until they broke free and were moving. Unfortunately one piston was at the bottom of the stroke and the piston skirt below the cylinder which allowed for the rod to kick sideways and break that piston. I used a bar through the rod journal with jacks on each side to finish pulling the pistons out of the cylinders. Egge Machine Co. built new pistons and valves for the engine. The rest of the restoration was pretty much make what you need. I did have Hanson Wheel Wagon and Wagon Shop in Letcher South Dakota restore the wooden wheels. They actually reused the original spokes but replaced the felloe blocks. Slowly over the years one piece at a time I put the old binder back together. In 2007 I had it close enough to being done that I took it to the ATHS annual Truck Show in Colorado Springs. The following year I finished remaking the roof and covering it, did the upholstery and built a bed for the back. I still could not afford the oak to build the bed, so opted for reusing some trailer decking that I wire brushed then stained with a combination of golden oak stain and a little black paint. The black paint did the trick and gave the wood the antique look that I wanted. It came out so good that I don’t have any current thoughts of rebuilding it if I ever win the lotto.

Among interesting facts about the slope nose or shovel nose truck is the radiator being at the rear of the engine. The radiator at the firewall is not unique to International the most common being the Model AC Mack built into the early 1930′s. The rear end is sprung with a transverse spring holding the aft end of the rear springs. The rear axle is a solid forged rear axle with the differential bolted to the front of it. The axle shafts run in front of the load carrying axle and have a spur gear on the end to run a ring gear inside the wheel hubs. The engine having a 3 ½ inch bore and 5 ¼ inch stroke also has some advanced design items. It has a water pump. It has an oil pump which supplies oil to the main bearings and fills troughs under each rod bearing for constant level splash lubrication. The fuel tank under the seat has two fuel shutoffs, one being a reserve capacity
so you didn’t run out of fuel. Top speed on the truck was about 17 miles per hour. A fast clip if you consider there were only about 124 miles of paved road in the entire US when it was produced.

Specifications Model F
Capacity - 2,000 pounds.
Motor - Four cylinder, L head heavy duty, 3 1/2
bore, 5 1/4  stroke.
Wheelbase – 128 inch, regular; 146 inch special.
Lubrication - Forced lubrication by means of gear pump to main bearings.
Ignition – By means of high tension magneto.
Transmission – Sliding gear, Three speeds and reverse, direct on high.
Wheels – Artillery type. 36 inch diameter, hard pressed on solid tires.
Dimensions - Height of loading platform 34 1/2  inches. Length of truck 180 inches
Standard equipment – Model F is furnished with high tension magnet, two oil lamps. oil tail lamp, horn, and tools.
Special Equipment - On special order upholstered seat with folding lazy backs, T-200 cab top, T202 full length top. Electric lighting and starting system, windshield, skid chains  Pneumatic tires 36 inch.

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