Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

well this is the rebirth of my dads old 1957 International A120 4x4...dad has owned this truck since 1960 or so...that's when he bought his farm and saw the need for a truck..he went to a farm auction that had 3 of these trucks up for auction...dad bid up to his limit on all 3 and didn't win any..on his way to the parking lot a guy chased him down and wanted to know if he still wanted one of the trucks...he said well yeah that's why he was bidding...turns out the guy bought 2 of them and only wanted one so he let dad have one for his bid price..when he got it home my mom laughed and said the truck looked like it came over on the boat with Columbus. ..hence the knickname that's stuck ever since..
I'm trying to pull a fast one on him and mom and get his truck up and running without them knowing anything..
I've bought a donor truck for parts ..that and his truck will make one...I hope. .so here we go..

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

right now I'm disassembling the donor truck at a friends shop...I can't do it in mine for fear that I may be found out before I'm ready...when the time comes I'm going to "steal" his truck for this build..this is the donor truck..

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

ready for disassembly

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

how's this for the back side of the grill support and grill and inside the fender wells...this truck is unbelievably solid and practically rust free...not bad for 60yrs old...original paint still under the fenderwells

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

check out the nearly rust free fender bolts...hard to believe they've been in place for 60yrs

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

couple of shots of the old 6 cyl...even its not all that dirty after 60yrs

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

Wow, that truck is amazingly solid. It is always cool to see one so nice. Great plan and I'll be tagging along for the rest.

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

thanks Doug...the more I take apart the more amazed I am that a truck could exist for that long and have so little rust...its defiantly not what I'm used to working with

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

don't know why people hook log chains on bumpers but it is what it is...time to bust out the anvil and big hammer. ..both ends seem ok..if I can't "fix" the center I may cut it out and make a winch mount while keeping the ends..

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

mongocanfly

GOOD ON YOU!!!!! What a way to honor your dad....

This is going to be great, I'm in


Keep on keepin on

Nut Case

:c2::c2::c2::c2:

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

thanks...dads 83 yrs young and mom is 79...I'm trying to get this on the road so they can get some enjoyment out of it...they still go wide open. ..they do a lot of volunteer work with the Alabama Baptist disaster relief not to mention all the other stuff they donate time and money to...and they raised us kids while both worked fulltime jobs....I figure its the least I can do...and save a classic old truck in the meantime...

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

Cool truck! :metal:

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

Holy moly! Where is the rust? What did they know then that we don't know now?

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

That's THE DONOR truck???

Wow, that's a clean truck. I'd have a hard time not putting that one back together and giving them that one! Keep "Columbus" as is and restore the drivetrain.

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

haha....yeah I bought this for the donor but the more I look at it it may become the primary...if there ever was a poor boy "barn find" then this has to be it..dads original truck went thru a lot of changes over the years....he wrecked it when I was a kid...the steering knuckle broke and we went offroad into a huge oak tree..I was standing in the seat and dad reached over and bearhugged me to keep me from going thru the windshield...he caught the steering wheel in the ribs and broke nearly all his left side ribs...that resulted in a 1960 front clip being put in the truck..later on he stripped the ring gear in the rear and replaced the original 3/4ton axle with a 1/2ton....even later on he stripped the front axle and replaced it with a 1/2ton as well....evidently IH had very poor quality axles...the po of my donor just replaced a broke 31 spline rear axle before i bought it...on dads ,the original 6cyl gave out and he swapped in a 304....when I got old enogh to drive we replaced the unsynchronized transmission with a synchronized one...lots of unoriginal parts on his truck..I am trying to make it like it was when he first got it...his is a swb and my donor is a lwb so I'm going to keep it swb..
lots of memories coming up as I work on this...

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

not much done today..worked on the bumper dents ,bends ,and twists...started out by knocking all the big stuff out on my steel welding table with a 2lb hammer...a little shop press work ,some c clamps and twisting and its getting close...I guess it pays sometime to be a packrat..one of the wheels off a old junk floor jack fit the edge radius pretty close for hammering..I would find the high and low spots by rubbing a piece of flat soapstone over it to mark it so I'd know where to beat the living daylights outta it..need to test fit to see what else needs done and then some finish work...

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

a few before and after..

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

You're freakin' kidding me.... I've NEVER seen anyone save a bumper like that. My hat is off to you, sir!

Are they a thinner gauge or something? I tried to get one little dent out of a 67-72 painted bumper before and it wasn't happening!

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

thanks...I was determined to at least try and save it...it has a unique design and replacements are as plentiful as unicorns....I went out and mic'd and it measures .110 thick so its not real heavy gauge...I'm still going to have to do a little bondo work on it but it'll be painted anyway...

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

I was thinking the same thing! Those came out really nice. Did you use any heat?

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

thanks...no heat involved...but I would have if needed...just a 2lb hammer, my grandads ol anvil, a steel table, some oak 2x4s, a wheel off a floor jack ,a hyd press, and a lot of hammering

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

pulled windshield and back glass out today...hard to believe there's no rust here either..

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

Very impressive, sir!

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

thanks mack....

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

Good to see the work that you are doing and the purpose for it. The donor does look good enough to restore for you father and then do your father's also for memories sake.
Keep the pictures and posts coming.

Dwight

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

thanks
yeah I've decided to use this truck to replicate his..I went and had a long look at his original and there's very little that can be saved from it. ..to much neglect and abuse over the years..
so the donor becomes the build.
I will use every piece from his truck that I can on this within reason..

with thanksgiving and deer season starting at about the same time all I've got accomplished this week is to get the seat and visor to the upholstery shop..

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

I think that's a great idea, it's just such a nice truck. Just cut 'er down to a shortie :)

I think it would be cool to get the "original" mechanically sound and leave it as is and have both.

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

thanks 67....the "orignal" wouldn't make much more than a yard ornament...I'm still gonna grab the rear fenders and rear bumper of his to use on this one...gonna do away with the side mount spare and of course half the drivers side fender is cutout for that..so I need a non cutout fender...

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

today was just more disassembly. .I did go ahead a get me a cardboard frieght sand blaster...tried it out today on the grill..worked great..i think itll be perfect for the smaller blasting jobs i need to do....but the larger items I need blasted are going to a commercial blaster....

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

not much to update for now...got the hood, tailgate, front inner and outer fenders and grill and grill support all mediablasted this morn...got it all primed this afternoon...ready to start doing some minor body work on a few dings...

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

just a pic of my Christmas decorations....sorta ...just sandblasted parts in primer...

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

Good progress...gotta be nice working with such clean panels.

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

you got that right...
no rust repair on anything so far...just blast and prime...defiantly not what I'm used to working with....to me progress seems slow...my buddies shop has no heat so I'm having to pick my days to work on things...cold doesn't bother me but filler and primer don't care for the cold...

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

got started on some sheetmetal bodywork today...here's all I could find on the frontend...one tiny dent in the hood...not bad for 60yrs old...both front fenders needed a little work where the front bumper got shoved into them...luckily nothing serious...and a couple in the grill and support...got it all filled and calling it a day...

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

Mongo

I have never seen saw horse brackets used in that manner.

Brilliant

Nut Case

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

haha...hang around me long and you'll see all sorts of stuff used in the manner it wasn't designed for....I was having to work quick when the blasters got done so I could get it all in primer...they were giving rain and freezing weather...so I just threw that together...its kinda rickety without the angle braces but it got the job done...my intentions were to use my regular sawhorses,,, prime one side,,, let dry ,,,flip em over and prime the other side..but due to a time crunch I had to get it where I could spray both sides at once...

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

I thought I had added this picture but somehow forgot to...this is the inspiration for the truck..I'm going with a similar color combo but want a darker red...mom likes dark red and loves the color of my c30...just not sure how a darker red will go with white...may go with a off white or creamy white....not sure just yet..the white will be on cab roof, grill, and bumper along with tailgate lettering...any thoughts are appreciated...

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

the red color I'm thinking is...what else... case/international red
it looks better in person than the paint card does..

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

Mongo

You think outside of the box, I do sometimes as well.
I just saw on youtub a 60 Chevy Bubble that was at 2017 SEMA kind of a cherry red. Check it out.... just might be a red that works.

Keep on keepin on


NC

Re: Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..
 

haha...the box i live in is little warped up...

got a lttle more done today..worked on the tailgate....only 2 dents that needed any attention. ..got those hammered out and got some filler on them...all the other beauty marks on the tailgate ill leave as is...also found a couple spot welds on tailgate that were broke loose..welded those back up..in good shape now..

also got a buddy to help me get the bed off..not in to bad a shape underneath. ..did find a couple spots on cab end of bed that'll need cut out and patched but otherwise in dang good shape..