Featured Truck of The Month

1921 International Harvester

• A Bit of History:
  • Chicago-based International Harvester Company (IHC) got its start in 1902 as a result of a merger between McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, Deering Harvester Company, Plano Manufacturing Co., and two smaller farm equipment manufacturers.
  • Though they solely manufactured tractors at their start, IHC eventually produced a wide range of products including trucks, cars, military vehicles, M1 rifles, home appliances, lawn mowers, and snow blowers, to name a few.
  • IHC was one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of trucks by the early 1930s; they had around 11,000 dealers nationwide.
  • This truck is a Model 101. Only 27 Model 101s were made during the three-year production of the model, which lasted from 1921-1923. This one, which has the serial number 704R, is believed to be the only one still in existence.
  • This truck weighs 6,800 pounds and can carry up to 10,000 pounds. The Model 101 was the first truck to haul more than its own weight. It was also one of the first trucks used for farming.

• Fun Facts:
  • On each side of the cab, there is a small cabinet with a door that lowers. The cabinets are accessed from outside of the truck, and they sit underneath the bench.
  • This International Harvester has wooden wheels with solid rubber tires. The rear tires are wider than the front. That’s because there is more load on the rear axle. Also, if the front axle had wide tires, you could not turn the front wheels as far to maneuver.
  • This truck is equipped with a hand-pump carbon tetrachloride Pyrene fire extinguisher. Carbon tetrachloride is now known to be highly toxic and can be lethal with prolonged exposure.
  • In addition to the drum-style carbide headlights equipped with two different brands of lens (Smith Lens and Patterson Lenz), there’s a pair of Dietz kerosene lamps mounted to the front.
  • There are two windows on the front that each have a split pane; the top one swings out to provide ventilation.
  • On the outside of the cab just in front of the driver’s side door is a hand operated Clero horn. It was advertised as the loudest, clearest, and finest toned horn made. Brand new, it would have cost $5.
  • This truck is 8-foot tall from the ground to the roof.
  • The maximum speed this truck will go is 14 miles per hour.