"Bandit" (2bandit)
10/10/2013 at 18:48 • Filed to: International
1
15|
"Bandit" (2bandit)
10/10/2013 at 18:48 • Filed to: International | 1
| 15 |
The truck was made in 1945 for WWII, it was never deployed. It was sold brand new as a farm truck to my grandmothers grandfather. It was later sold to my grandfather who used it for years, then in 1976 the car was put into storage in my grandfather's dirt floor barn (luckily he filled the cylinders with motor oil and drained the fuel tank). In 2011, after years of nagging I had finally convinced my grandfather that the truck should be dragged out of it's dusty tomb. We aired up the 40+ year old tires (which held air btw), chained the thing to the tractor, and dragged it out into the sunlight. I proceeded to take a hose and wash decades of grime off the exterior. The original paint from 1945 looked in relatively great shape with only a bit of surface rust (the thing was stored inside every day of its life, the bed is steel so no rot was present. After two years of on and off restoration, the car is running and driving. New tires and wheels, the entire drivetrain has been gone through, interior wiring harness replaced, brakes have been rebuilt, and the fuel system has been gone through. On the outside and in the engine bay the car looks like it has lived every single of it's 68 years. I convinced my grandfather not to paint the truck because the original paint was in decent shape and cars are only original once. All the parts (except tires, wheels, and tail lights) that were used in the restoration are NOS. The "new" fuel pump for example was shipped out of Vietnam (where some of these trucks were shipped to), it was the only place in the world with an original WWII built pump for sale. I will get to drive the truck this weekend. I never thought I would ever see this thing on the road. Sorry most of the pics were taken with a potato.
It is sporting a 1946 Illinois plate ('46 was the first year it was titled)
Oil change sticker dated Nov. 1966
Dismiss the nice air cleaner, it was last painted in the early 70s. Oh yeah, the horn totally works. That valve coming off the intake manifold (just below the carb) is so you can hook up a milker so you can milk cows if your power is out.
Oh god, old cloth wrapped wires.
Last inspection...
Anyone have any clue how much it would cost to get the thing clear coated? Right now the body is just covered in WD40 to prevent further rusting.
wkiernan
> Bandit
10/10/2013 at 18:51 |
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The International logo on the hubcaps is superb.
desertdog5051
> Bandit
10/10/2013 at 18:55 |
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Don't waste your time on that. You have other projects. How much?
YSI-what can brown do for you
> Bandit
10/10/2013 at 18:56 |
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I have rode in my grandfathers first car. A Hindustani Ambassador from the 60s! Pretty awesome experience.
Dinger loves his ranger.
> Bandit
10/10/2013 at 18:58 |
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This is awesome.
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Bandit
> desertdog5051
10/10/2013 at 18:59 |
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For the truck?! The thing will never be sold, it has been in the family so darn long it only makes sense to pass it along generation to generation. Got a welder today so I will be able to weld my motor mounts on this weekend.
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desertdog5051
> Bandit
10/10/2013 at 19:04 |
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What did you get?
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Bandit
> desertdog5051
10/10/2013 at 19:09 |
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I actually don't know, my car is parked in my grandfather's shop and he told me he bought an arc welder and an auto darkening mask today. I haven't been over to check it out. My bet is Harbor Freight, it should be good enough to make a couple welds. It's only an arc welder, so what could possibly go wrong?
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desertdog5051
> Bandit
10/10/2013 at 19:13 |
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Should work for what you need to do.
Slave2anMG
> Bandit
10/10/2013 at 19:48 |
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This is beautiful.
Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
> Slave2anMG
10/10/2013 at 22:28 |
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This pic seconded so hard. So hard it's like iced nipples.
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Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
> Bandit
10/10/2013 at 22:31 |
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K3, basically? I know the Ks proper were up until WWII and the KB picked up after, so I think it's basically a K3 (guessing at weight here). If you have more specifics on how the modeling works past the gaps in my knowledge, feel free to fill in: put me some knowledge on the military numbdurring.
I love the K/KBs, and any time I'm playing L. A. Noire, my slogan is Commandeer KB5s Erryday .
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Bandit
> Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
10/10/2013 at 22:42 |
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This is a K1, you are correct in the year thing (K = WWII). The numbers = the rating. K1= .5 ton, K2 = 1 ton, K3 = 1.5 ton, all the way up to K8.
Post war they changed the name to KB and kept the number system the same. The post war cars had a lot more chrome and were less utilitarian. Our truck came with optional factory fog lights but were stolen long ago.
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Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull
> Bandit
10/10/2013 at 22:46 |
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IIRC the additions in chrome and redesigns only hit the K1-K5. I believe except for bumper design and some other things in drivetrain and whatnot the KB6+ is identical to the K6.
Kugelblitz
> Bandit
10/10/2013 at 23:06 |
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What an incredible treasure.
Pearson Hurst
> Bandit
10/15/2013 at 09:21 |
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Absolutely fantastic! Looking at that truck makes me have feels.