Well, let me tell you about them International pickup trucks from 1960. Back in the day, things weren’t so fancy, you know? These trucks, they were workhorses, not like these shiny things you see today.
The company, they called it International Harvester. Heard tell they started with farm stuff, tractors and such. Then they got into making trucks, tough ones, meant to haul things and get work done. Not for showin’ off, that’s for sure.
Now, in 1960, you had different kinds of these trucks. Some were small, some were bigger. They had these names like A100, B100, and B120. A100 was probably one of the smaller ones, good for gettin’ around the farm. B100, maybe a bit bigger. And that B120, that was a ¾ ton, could carry a good load.
The engines, well, they weren’t no speed demons. You had these things called Black Diamond engines. Sounded tough, didn’t they? They also had V8 engines, but not like them big ones in cars today. These were smaller, like that 266 cubic inch V8. And they even had little four-cylinder ones, real small, like 152 cubic inches. But they were strong, you know, could pull a plow or haul hay without complaining too much.
- Small engines: Like the 152 four-cylinder for small jobs.
- Medium engines: The Black Diamond ones, good for most things.
- Bigger engines: The 266 V8 for when you needed more power.
- Big haulers: The B120 ¾ ton for heavy loads
Finding one of these old trucks now, that’s something special. They call them “survivors.” Means they’ve lasted all this time, ain’t rusted away completely. If you find one, it probably ain’t gonna be perfect. Might be dented up, might need some work, but that’s part of the charm. It shows it’s been used, worked hard, like the folks who drove ‘em.
People like to fix them up now, make ‘em look all pretty. They call it “restoring” them. Sometimes they paint them shiny colors, put on fancy wheels. Me, I like them better when they look like they’ve earned their keep. Scratches and all.
They say International Harvester had some troubles later on. Fights between the folks running the company, oil prices going up, things like that. They stopped making these trucks a long time ago. But you still see them around sometimes, sitting in a field, or maybe at a car show. They remind you of a different time, when things were simpler, and a truck was just a truck.
Now, if you’re looking to buy one of these 1960 International pickups, you gotta be careful. Some folks think they’re worth a lot of money, especially if they’re all fixed up. They have these books, they call them “value guides,” tell you what something’s worth. But to me, the real value is in what the truck has done, the work it’s seen. You can’t put a price on that.
You can tell the year it was made by looking at something called a VIN number. There’s a spot on there, the tenth one, that tells you the year. So, if it’s a 1960, it’ll have a certain number in that spot. It’s like a secret code, I guess.
These trucks weren’t just about work, though. They were part of life. Farmers used them, businesses used them, families used them. They were there for hauling groceries, taking the kids to school, everything. They weren’t fancy, but they were dependable.
So, that’s the story of them 1960 International pickups, as best as I can tell it. They were tough, they were reliable, and they were a part of life for a lot of folks. If you see one, take a good look. It’s a piece of history, a reminder of a time when things were built to last.
Tags: [International Harvester, 1960 pickup truck, A100, B100, B120, Black Diamond engine, 266 V8, classic truck, work truck, vintage truck]
