Can someone explain how IH trucks were marketed in the 60s and 70s? Were they sold exclusively at IH dealers? Did dealers keep many pickups in stock? Seems a tractor dealer would have a hard time competing with Ford and GM pickup dealers. Obviously, IH sold fewer pickups than the big 3 but was the experience similar? If they were only sold at IH implement dealers how did they compete in more urban areas? Probably not many tractor dealers in large cities. Anyway, I've just always been curious about these things. Can anyone elaborate? Thanks.
- Thread starter sodly
- Start date
Janicholson
Well-known Member
Dealerships for the most part. Different divisions of a comglomerate company. Was it wise?? I do not know. My opinion is that the low numbers can be attributed to random choice of OEM suppliers, making assorted differences within any model year. Without a linesetting ticket, the axles, clutch, ignition, and other components were difficult to identify and order parts for. This ticket was casually places in the glove box, and was a single (often) 8.5X11 printout of what the vehicle was composed of.
That, mediocre styling, and poor rust prevention drainage strategies in the body work, and a few management issues (including pricing) destroyed the light IH truck division. And a recall of every school bus chassis made from 19 75 to 19 79 (not good 4.2 flatrate to replace all bolts in the rear chassis to spring hangers. from grade 5 to 8) An engineer on the production floor made a running change to cheaper bolts. Then some came apart on the RR tracks. OOPs. JimN Former IH light and medium duty Mechanic and service manager, Bowling Green OH.
That, mediocre styling, and poor rust prevention drainage strategies in the body work, and a few management issues (including pricing) destroyed the light IH truck division. And a recall of every school bus chassis made from 19 75 to 19 79 (not good 4.2 flatrate to replace all bolts in the rear chassis to spring hangers. from grade 5 to 8) An engineer on the production floor made a running change to cheaper bolts. Then some came apart on the RR tracks. OOPs. JimN Former IH light and medium duty Mechanic and service manager, Bowling Green OH.
teddy52food
Well-known Member
The local dealer here sold pickups but not tractors.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
The pickups were terrible compared to a Chevrolet.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
In the 1950's, International was just as modern as its competitors. In 1950 they had a wide cab just like Chevy did--and still 3 model years ahead of Ford. 1950 also saw the end of flathead sixes in the trucks. Like Chevy, they stayed with essentially the same cab for a number of years--1950 to 1957, in IH's case--and by 1958 they also had their own V-8 option...and unlike the Fords and Chevys, it was adesigned as a truck engine, with lots of low-end torque.
Did you also know that IH was the #3 selling truck in 1958? Considering they outsold Dodge, GMC, and Studebaker, that was a pretty heady accomplishment for what was basically a farm equipment company.
Dad and Grand-dad sold IH trucks in the 1940's and '50's, so I can't tell you what selling them was like in the '60's. But Dad said you had to sell the truck on the features, and not on the price. IH had crew-cab trucks from about '58 on, and a FACTORY 4WD option--not something that was sent out to another vendor--from the mid-1950's on.
The best chance to sell IH pickups on a fleet basis was to companies who'd owned IH medium-duty trucks....and as I said, price was NOT a positive selling factor.
When I was a kid, Dad owned a '62 Travelall station wagon. At 256,000 miles the 304 V8 had still never had a head or pan off [2000-mile oil change intervals will do that], and the Borg-Warner automatic wasn't slipping appreciably after a ton of miles pulling a horse trailer...but rust in the quarter panels [they'd already been replaced once for rust]and the worn-out torsion bar front suspension were the main reason not to continue with repairs. So don't buy that BS that the IH light trucks weren't as well-built as a Chevy, 'cause it's simply not true.
Did you also know that IH was the #3 selling truck in 1958? Considering they outsold Dodge, GMC, and Studebaker, that was a pretty heady accomplishment for what was basically a farm equipment company.
Dad and Grand-dad sold IH trucks in the 1940's and '50's, so I can't tell you what selling them was like in the '60's. But Dad said you had to sell the truck on the features, and not on the price. IH had crew-cab trucks from about '58 on, and a FACTORY 4WD option--not something that was sent out to another vendor--from the mid-1950's on.
The best chance to sell IH pickups on a fleet basis was to companies who'd owned IH medium-duty trucks....and as I said, price was NOT a positive selling factor.
When I was a kid, Dad owned a '62 Travelall station wagon. At 256,000 miles the 304 V8 had still never had a head or pan off [2000-mile oil change intervals will do that], and the Borg-Warner automatic wasn't slipping appreciably after a ton of miles pulling a horse trailer...but rust in the quarter panels [they'd already been replaced once for rust]and the worn-out torsion bar front suspension were the main reason not to continue with repairs. So don't buy that BS that the IH light trucks weren't as well-built as a Chevy, 'cause it's simply not true.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
As usual, you have no idea what you're talking about.
Red Dave
Well-known Member
Around here they were sold at the IH heavy truck dealership, not at the agricultural dealer. That was against them in the marketing competition, because the upswing in pickup sales came from car and station wagon buyers moving up to a truck as a second vehicle and those people didn't hang out at a heavy truck dealership. Even so, there were a lot of IH pickups around in those days.
Mechanically, the drive trains were stout and held up well. But the bodies were not as styleish and didn't have the refinements (sound deadening is one example) that the other brands recieved as pickups became more popular. They rusted out, but no faster than the Fords, Chevy's and Dodges of the day. I recall Chevy's and Fords 2 or 3 years old with big rustout holes in them. Just about all car and truck bodies were lousy back then, if you lived in the snow belt.
Mechanically, the drive trains were stout and held up well. But the bodies were not as styleish and didn't have the refinements (sound deadening is one example) that the other brands recieved as pickups became more popular. They rusted out, but no faster than the Fords, Chevy's and Dodges of the day. I recall Chevy's and Fords 2 or 3 years old with big rustout holes in them. Just about all car and truck bodies were lousy back then, if you lived in the snow belt.
James Williams
Well-known Member
The company I worked for had 3 pickups and they had 300,000 miles on them and were still running good,Actually I dont remember any rust,and the gas milage was excellent compared to the weight of the truck.One of our larger trucks the carb would ice up.I drove a IH van wilh a large welder on it,we would stop and fill the welder up with gas and never worried about putting gas in the van.
jimmy
jimmy
Big IH truck dealers sold them in my area of New York. I drove several IH trucks as company service rigs. Two 3/4 ton 4WD trucks, and several 4WD Scouts - one with a 304 gas engine and two with Nissan diesels. With all the them, the mechanics were rugged but the bodies fell apart something awful.
I'll add that the Scout IIs were the worst handling SUVs I've ever driven in my life. Very rugged, but hard to keep going in a straight line.
I'll add that the Scout IIs were the worst handling SUVs I've ever driven in my life. Very rugged, but hard to keep going in a straight line.
Actually, my uncle Vic had one, I think about a '53 and it lasted him forever, or until he passed in the early '80s. I was in the USAF from Jan. '61 to '65 and the AF had either "Binders" or Dodge pickups every place I went. Both were TRUCKS in the true sense of the word. They were not comfortable riding or driving, but they "took a beating and kept on ticking". In Wyoming we had 2 or 3 crew cab 4WD IHs in the squadron motor pool.
I drove my brother's-in-law LWB pickup while I was in college in the early 70's and it was a very nice truck, as nice as the Fords we drove. Although it was a pickup, it was a truck. We used it to pull a loaded self unloading grain trailer. It never faltered even in the field. We would often fill the truck bed with grain to provide ballast for pulling. I do not believe our F-100 would have been up to the task.
Hugh MacKay
Well-known Member
Sodly: In Nova Scotia, Canada, IH light trucks were sold by the heavy dealers. I know even my IH farm dealer had to buy his pickups from the truck dealer.
My first two trucks were IH pickups, 58 and then a 65. Rugged trucks in my opinion, they certainly weren't trying to compete with sport trucks. I especially like the straight front axle on leaf springs. The one down fall was rust.
After IH stopped building pickups I went to Chevy, and I'll bet it was ten years and two Chevy pickups before I warmed up to them. So lifetime I had two IH, four Chevy's and one Ford. I'll still give top marks to my 65 IH and 78 Chevy as far as handling farm loads.
My first two trucks were IH pickups, 58 and then a 65. Rugged trucks in my opinion, they certainly weren't trying to compete with sport trucks. I especially like the straight front axle on leaf springs. The one down fall was rust.
After IH stopped building pickups I went to Chevy, and I'll bet it was ten years and two Chevy pickups before I warmed up to them. So lifetime I had two IH, four Chevy's and one Ford. I'll still give top marks to my 65 IH and 78 Chevy as far as handling farm loads.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
My dad had a 53 PU for almost 30 years, used it on the farm for 20. Never touched the engine/drive train as far as I knew, never saw rust even in South Dakota. It was the first vehicle to start below zero. Big 90hp but could haul and pull way beyond that. It got up to 20mpg on highway. Used it almost daily on the farm. They were built well. I believe it was bought from an implement dealer. My uncle had a Travelall that went through hell and it kept on ticking. All I can say they were built like trucks.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
In the late '50's, in my hometown the Chrysler-Plymouth dealer had an IH light-line only franchise, for a few years. By 1960, he'd dropped it.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
In the mid 1920's IH sold their trucks through farm machinery dealerships, mostly to farmers, but farmers needed only a couple of trucks during their career, not enough to run a factory on. So IH established truck only dealers in urban settings. Good sales to the military due to management / political ties launched a successful medium and heavy duty respectability and acceptance by industry for IH trucks from the 1930's onward. Workhorse pickups were also respected, but as the move to acceptance of an urban second vehicle in the 1960's was a pickup, customers went to their familiar dealer, Chevy, Ford and IH pickup market share dropped to the point that management eventually quit production of pickups altogether. The book, "A Corporate Tragedy" by Barbra Marsh sheds some interesting views on the truck division of Harvester.
Don in Texas
Member
I worked for IH in Houston. They had three factory branches in Houston. Sold and serviced trucks only. The dealers, not factory branches, could sell trucks and farm equipment. In early 60's we were shipped the first Cub Cadet mowers.That lasted about a year and the mowers went to dealers.
Janicholson
Well-known Member
Not drive train, Spring shackle to Frame. JimN
Wheat Farmer
Well-known Member
I still have a 1949 KB2, and a 1973 1210 The KB2 was bought at a IHC dealer, but I bought the 1210 pickup new in Lakewood CO, and I think the dealership was Lakewood Ford, and they sold the IHC pickups and the Scout. Can't find any of the old papers.
As I'm new to IH pickups, can anyone give me a brief rundown of their model nomenclature (hopefully with photos) in the 60s? As I look at the trucks online I can't seem to figure out a pattern to their names/model numbers. Is it like Chevy where the first letter (C/K) represent 2wd vs 4wd? What does the letter and number mean in IH speak? I presume the number corresponds to weight rating. Like a 1965 D-1100, for example. Thanks.
Rumplestiltskin
Member
IH Fan:
Were you involved with Atlas ICBM operations at Warren AFB? I was there later ('78 - '83) with the Minuteman III.
Mark W. in MI
Were you involved with Atlas ICBM operations at Warren AFB? I was there later ('78 - '83) with the Minuteman III.
Mark W. in MI
Dave from Texas
Member
http://www.oldihc.org/
This a great site for trucks. The members are as good as this site in answering questions. Lots of Pictures as well.
This a great site for trucks. The members are as good as this site in answering questions. Lots of Pictures as well.
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