International C series

The International C series and its succeeding models is a series of pickup trucks that were built by International Harvester from 1961 to 1968.[1] They succeeded the earlier B-series range.

History
1961-1962 IHC C-120 Travelette
1962 IHC C-120 utility fire truck

In 1961, the C-series trucks appeared as well as the four-door (crew-cab) Travelette. At first this would seem to have been another facelift, featuring a modernized front end, but it also meant a whole new chassis with all new independent front torsion bar suspension.[2] The new chassis and suspension allowed for the cab to be mounted four inches lower,[3] meaning an even bigger transmission tunnel hump but also a more car-like ride. The standard pickup bed was joined by a straight-sided “Bonus-Load” bed. There was also a utility "workshop" version.

1963-1964 IH C-900

The most obvious visual differences were that the twin headlights were now mounted side-by-side, and a new grille of a concave egg-crate design. This front end was produced from 1961 to 1962 before going to one headlight on each side of a re-designed grill starting in 1963. The wheelbase was longer, as the front wheels were mounted further forward. This increased the front clearance angle in spite of the lower body.[4] The range was C-100 to C-130, the heavier duty versions were not replaced as the C-series gross vehicle weight rating now only went from 4,200 to 8,800 lb (1,900 to 4,000 kg).[5] The 1961 International Harvester C-series Travelette was the first American-made four-door, four-wheel-drive production pickup truck.

The Travelall range underwent the same changes as did the light trucks, in April 1961. The C-100/C-110 Travelall now rode on a 119 inch chassis.[6] Similar to the Travelall was a four-door panel van, with glazing for the front doors only.

1965 IH D1100 pickup
1966 International Travelette (crew cab) 1100/1200/1300A

The pickups continued to undergo a continuous stream of minor modifications to the grilles and headlight fitment. For model years 1963 and 1964, the renamed range (C-900 to C-1500) received single headlights and a new, convex version of the eggcrate grille. For 1965 the name became the D series, followed by the 900A-1500A in 1966, 900B-1500B for the next year, and the last year (1968) which was unsurprisingly called 900C-1500C, depending on weight rating. New for 1968 was the option of AMC’s 232 cubic inch inline-six engine, rather than International’s own BG-series six.[7] The Travelall was considered a version of the light-duty pickup range, rather than a separate model, until major changes to the bodywork took place in 1969 for the 1970 model year. While completely different in appearance, now looking very similar to the Scout, the resulting D series continued this naming convention until the 1971 Light Line pickups were introduced.

See also

References
  1. "History of the 1961–1968 International Harvester Pickups". Hagerty. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  2. Sales Engineering Bulletin: C-line Travelall (PDF), International Harvester Company, April 1961, p. 10, CT-477, archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-22
  3. "Smithson International Truck Museum: Truck Collection". Rimbey, Alberta, Canada: Pas-ka-poo Historical Park. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
  4. Sales Engineering Bulletin: C-line Travelall, p. 8
  5. "International Harvester History: Trucks". International Harvester. 1961.
  6. Sales Engineering Bulletin: C-line Travelall, p. 3
  7. Pletcher, Howard (2009-12-18). "AMC/Nash engines in IH trucks". Old IHC. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2015-07-18.

Further reading
  • Crismon, Fred W. (2001). International Trucks: 100 Years 1907-2007. Crestline. ISBN 978-0970056726.
  • Foster, Patrick (2015). International Harvester Trucks, The Complete History. Motorbooks. ISBN 978-0-7603-4860-4.
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