We love International Harvester at Jalopnik. In fact, our own Andrew Collins has written fairly extensively about his own experiences with an International Harvester Scout. Here’s another International Harvester I saw recently around town, but it’s no Scout. It’s one of the first-ever SUVs: a Travelall.
Everyone is familiar with the IH Scout. Next to the Ford Bronco and Dodge Ramcharger, it’s often the prime candidate for crazy off-road builds that air on Velocity at 12 a.m.
Perhaps lesser known is the IH Travelall, which paved the way for big off-road vehicles. The Travelall was known for its cargo capacity and ability to go just about anywhere, while carrying the entire family, a picnic, bicycles, and probably a few small countries.
*$13 for 48 AA, $12 for 48 AAA, $8 for 20 AAA, $8 for four 9V batteries
I saw this particular Travelall while driving around Baltimore County in Maryland. It’s obviously been parked for sometime and the license plate indicates that it hasn’t been registered since around when George W. Bush was president. It seems to be equipped with an “aftermarket” wooden roof rack. “Rugged” may not be the right word but it certainly adds to the look.
This early SUV is just begging for some ill-advised restoration and would be a prime candidate for anyone wanting a mostly complete oddball SUV to start with.
DISCUSSION
Not restoration, conservation. Seriously, some cars you see them rough and you know you have to restore them and bring them back to looking like new, and others -like this- you see rough and you know that the job is just to halt any further decline but keep all the alterations, battle scars, and patina. To restore this would be a sin, but conserving it so that you can see its life would be fantastic.