While my big truck obsession is often mocked, one common language us hot roddy types all speak is “old race car hauler”. Chris Cabe is a BangShifter who lives in the wilds of Minnesota where they fight bears with their hands and build all of their houses out of logs their wives cut down with a rusty ax. Cabe is a drag racer and photographer up there and he stumbled upon this truck and has been craving it. He managed to get it in front of our eyes and now we’re dying for a piece of this 1956 International, too.
As we just told you, this is a 1956 International S-1700. It is packing an inline six gasoline engine which could displace anywhere from 220ci to 502ci as International had a number of inliner gas engines available during that time. The truck has a four speed transmission and a two speed rear axle. Don’t be fooled by the two speed rear end. Those two speeds are slow and slower. This thing, like lots of old truck is probably all done at 60mph, no because it’ll over rev, because it is flat out, floating the valves, all done. As you’ll see in the photos, the truck is in great condition with very little exposed rust on the cab and the “box” which would contain a race car is minto as well.
Most likely this was used to haul some sort of stock car or something around not just recently, but for most of its life. Drag racers have always favored an angled “slant back” to their haul trucks for whatever reason, most likely because of the very low ride height most have. The stock car guys have used vehicles like this for a long, long time. One thing that seems to be missing is the set of ramps that would hook onto the rear and allow a car to be pulled on and backed off to race. We’re surprised to see that there is not a winch in the back somewhere, but perhaps there was and it has since been removed.
This truck is totally awesome and we want it bad…real bad. The asking price is $4,000 which seems reasonable, especially when you’d walk in there with like $3200 bucks and make the sale happen because that’s how we roll…short on cash at all times. Long story short…DO WANT!
Thanks to Chris Cabe for the tip!
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THE TRUCK AND THE CL LINK WITH EVEN MORE PICS!
I the 3rd picture it looks like the ramps slide out of the body just like a car hauler.
I am famous.. whoo hoo… Thanks Brain glad someone think this thing is as cool as I do…
Chris
Look in the background of the third photo…looks like a house car, a camper built on a car chassis.
This truck feels like former fire truck to me. The shape of the sides of the bed…anyone else see it? That would explain the good condition.
The box looks kind of like it was a fire truck converted to a race car hauler.
Sure looks like red paint in coming through the tops of the fenders. Ditto on the old fire truck idea.
Looks like a fire truck to me too Greg – well spotted. My son says it’s Mater… ha ha!