It isn't exotic or fast, but this 1972 International Travelall is a somewhat rare and very cool reminder of how dangerous compulsively searching the internet for cars can be.
Scouring the internet for cars is often an unfortunate but entertaining side effect of true automotive obsession. You likely don't need another vehicle or particularly want the responsibility of maintaining and finding a place to keep another strange old car or truck, but you do it anyways.
Although it's usually a harmless way to pass the time, reading endless for sale ads and auctions becomes immediately dangerous when you actually find a vehicle you just can't live without. While searching Ebay this past week I came across this cool 1210 Travelall and it hasn't been far from my waking thoughts ever since.
When finding an old International Harvester the question is never "Does it have any rust?" but "How much rust does it have?". In the case of this Travelall, the surprising answer is not much thanks to some previous body work and what the seller calls a "so-so" paintjob. The 345 V8 runs well except for a little smoke at start up and the automatic transmission that surprisingly doesn't bother in this application is tight.
This 3/4 ton Travelall was purchased new by the Denver Police Department—which is perhaps why this truck has the rare rear "barndoor" configuration—and has traveled a mere 52,000 miles since then. The seller believes the truck's time served in the city are to thank for the truck's rattles and slightly wandering steering, but we would suggest you'll have a fairly hard time finding any old International you couldn't make similar complaints about.
With all of this in mind, a rational person might ask exactly why this particular far from perfect IH is so appealing. Certainly a fair question, but I couldn't begin to answer it—it just is. Finding a place to store three cars every winter is enough of a pain, I already have an old Scout and I can't imagine there is anything simple about buying a massive old truck in Bismark, North Dakota sight unseen and getting it back to Cape Cod. Even so, I badly want to own this Travelall.
Therein lies the danger of searching the internet for cars all the time—you just might find something you hardly need but really want. Bidding on this IH is currently at a very reasonable $5100 with no reserve and a little over a day until the auction ends—far too much time for someone desperately but rather half-heartedly trying to avoid purchasing this awesome 3/4 ton Travelall.
[Ebay]