I just bought a 1953 International pickup, It’s in decent yet rough shape. The original engine and trans are still in it, and both are still good. Got it to fire earlier, it’s rough, but not terrible. I’m trying to decide a few things, one is that someone replaced the seat with something a little “softer.” Should I do something to clean up the interior and make it look right? Or find the original type seat and reinstall it. Also, I am trying to decide what color to paint it. I’ll probably have it mostly ready for paint within 3 months. I’m thinking Charcoal Grey with Flat Black accents, or a plain Midnight Blue with Metallic clear coat. Any advice?
The guy you can see holding the hood is a friend, I took the pictures with my cell phone.
If it were my truck, I would try to match the original color as closely a possible. As far as the seat is concerned, if you can find the original equipment seat, that would make the truck more authentic. IH pickup trucks weren’t all that popular, however, so an original seat might be hard to find. Obviously, the seat presently in the truck will give a more comfortable ride, but I don’t thnk you are going to use the truck for coast to coast runs. Even though it won’t be original, be sure to install seat belts for at least a little bit of safety.
I would replace the parking light sockets with sockets that will accept a dual filament
bulb, or get turning signals that mount atop the front fenders. This will give the truck the look of its period. In the rear, wire the turning signals so that they flash through
the original equipment tail and stop lights. The outside sun visor is obviously an add-on, but is definitely from the 1950s. You can decide whether or not to leave it in place.
The IH pickup trucks were rugged vehicles, but didn’t sell in great numbers. If you can’t make it completely original, you’ll still have a great ride.
Count me among those who appreciate the real thing and that truck is very definitely the REAL THING in spades. I let a Diamond T pickup and a Model A roadster pickup get away from me. And as much as I like the exotic roadsters if I had one it would mostly sit , but I would use an old pickup as a daily driver.
I only paid 800 for it, and plan to restore it as close to original as possible. But I hate the color. So that will change. Also, it turns out the frame and springs from the original seat are in the bed. New foam and upholstry will take care of that… Although I may end up needing to fix the springs. I’d like to have the comfortable seat though, since I would love to take this thing on long drives. I think it has some serious potential.
How about looking at all the different kinds of paint schemes they had back then, I bet one would look good. If you’re keeping the engine stock a ‘modern’ paint scheme wouldn’t go with it, to me.
Are you willing to strip everything out and repaint the whole body? If not, you might reconsider the original paint color. From what I recall of cars and trucks of that era, there was a lot of paint inside the car. Of course, the engine bay will probably need to be painted, too. If that’s what you want, great.
That’s actually exactly what I am considering. Removing each piece of the body and painting them individually. I know that I have a ton of dents to bang out. That’s going to take some time. Plus finding parts for it. But in the long run, with how nice these old trucks look, I think it would be more than worth it.
The kinds of questions you’re asking are largely about personal preferences and personal goals.
If it was me, I would be looking at putting it back to as close to original as possible. That means finding an original seat, and if I didn’t like the color at least picking another color that this truck would have come in.
You’re talking about gloss black w/ orange accent paint so I assume you’re looking for something more like flash rather than original. If so, then go with seat comfort & whatever colors you want.
I would also be planning to actually use the truck as a truck rather than for its show or market value. You might have other goals for it.
So I think that in the end you will just have to decide what you want for it.