Even the most popular vehicles of the immediately post-war period tend to be much harder to find in the wild than the always-popular mid-60s favorites such as the first generation Ford Mustang. For example, cars such as this lovely stock Ford Sedan, potentially a 1948, is old enough to be a rare sight on the streets even as a weekend cruiser.
But one of the most difficult types of vehicles to spot in the open is the antique commercial vehicle. One of the most surreal moments of car spotting I have ever encountered was accidentally stepping back in time by discovering a public street prepped for a period film shoot. Here, we see Walton Street in downtown Atlanta transformed into a version of itself straight out of 1949. Most of the vehicle props that had not been removed by the time I wandered up and were of the especially elusive heavy-duty truck variety.
This 1947 International KB5 with a unique period cargo upfit is one of the most unlikely vehicles I’ve ever seen parked casually on the street; even if being part of a staging. After all, it takes a special kind of enthusiast to own a large, vintage commercial vehicle. The few that would endeavor to own something this niche are almost certainly not going to street park it downtown. Outside of certain specialized shows and museums, such long-vanished beasts of burden are rarely seen.
This truck is the first year for the International KB, a lightly updated International K series. The Ks were a very late pre-war design that was only built in significant numbers after the fighting stopped. As such, it’s a unique anachronism even in its updated form. However, due to this vehicle’s cab being integrated into the new bodywork from the upfit, the old school styling is less apparent. The original design featured a split windscreen and narrow, rounded cab with running boards.
The old school coach built upfit is nearly as much of an anachronism as the vehicle it is based on. The postwar period saw commercial vehicle bodies become much more standardized and even gained some OEM support compared to the small batch regional players of before. This step-through van design feels comparable to the modern step-van formula, though with significantly more challenging ingress and egress thanks to the high, flat load floor. International would be one of the first to popularize the formula with their ingenious Metro van first making its appearance in 1938.
However, a delivery van of this size with a step-through design and integrated cab would not be readily available by national players until quite a few years later.
You can readily spot the original International dash structure the flat sheet metal coachwork has been bolted to.
Bolted? I would have expected rivets for a design of this era. Perhaps the bolts were added in the restoration this vehicle has clearly undergone. Aside from a lightly demolished and clearly more modern driver’s seat, the vehicle is shockingly spotless, intact, and original.
What you cannot easily see in this photo is that there is a cargo fence only behind the driver. The passenger-side area is completely open all the way to the rear. You can view photos that show this arrangement on the website of the film prop company that rents out this interesting old truck. In fact, the company also rents out a 1948 and a 1949 of the heavier duty International KB6 with more conventional upfits. It’s the same film prop rental company that supplied the Checker Taxi I’d stumbled upon elsewhere in Atlanta.
The dual bifold rear door are quite baffling. The reflectors glued to the edges are on the movable portion since nearly every square inch of the rear opens up. However, I don’t see the advantages of this setup over more conventional double doors.
The rear load height is quite high for what appears to be intended as a short distance route truck. I pity the poor laborer hauling bulk cargo around in this vehicle in the days before pallets, forklifts, and widespread air conditioning. Though minimum wage back then was an inflation-adjusted $2.28 greater than it is today, you had less options if you threw your back out while unloading a crate of fresh bread. As someone who somewhat recently held a near-minimum wage job, I’d struggle to choose between the buying power and leaded gasoline-tinged air of 1947 and today’s worker’s comp and air conditioning.
It is indeed a rare treat to experience such a long-extinct class of coach-built delivery vehicle in its natural habitat. It is very different to see an old truck indoors at a museum versus parked on a street prepped to appear vintage, complete with old-style speed limit signs and dotted with phone booths. The only thing not period-correct on this International is its overall excellent condition; I, for one, am not complaining.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1958 International Metro – The Original And Greatest Step Van
Boy that ‘48 Ford looks absolutely ancient compared to the ‘49 that followed it just a year later. In all its storied history, the ‘49 Ford may just be the most important car of all. A smashing success for young HF II, who, with the help of Ernie Breech and the whiz kids, rescued the company from near bankruptcy under old man Henry. For all of his later foibles, HF II’s early years at the helm were nothing short of brilliant.
Both the Ford and International were clearly prewar designs. Yet the International wouldn’t change much for a decade as commercial vehicles were slower to adopt new styling trends and technology. They certainly are of a different era than the GMC flatbed lurking in the background.
Nice old hauler… did it have one of IH’s “Diamond” flat head 6 engines? The boatyard I worked in many years ago had what I think was a big “White Diamond” engine in the huge forklift that dated to the 40s. Love the ’46-48 Fords too.
What a great old truck! I can remember K and KB models still in service in the late ’60s/early 70s as farm and fire trucks. Rare to see these old beasts in the current work a day world but it does happen. About a year ago I stopped for gas and while the pump ran I heard a rumbling coming up the road and turned to see a B model Mack tandem axle dump truck tagged and working! FLASHBACKS! Trucks are my passion and today is my first time at this site. To be greeted with this K IH story made my day! Thanks, Jim
About 5 -8 years ago, someone in my hometown did scrap collection in a 50s Ford dump truck that looked and sounded like it was about to fall apart at any moment. Sadly I believe it has since been retired.
This international is definitely the oldest commercial vehicle I’ve ever seen outside of a museum. It certainly was a shock to see on a downtown street.
This website has many interesting reflections on old trucks. Scroll through the tabs at the top and you’ll find a reasonably well sorted collection of categories.
I love old commercial vehicles .
-Nate
To see a truck even half this old on a random street downtown is very unusual. Usually these only survive abandoned behind barns or in museums.
Growing up in China before its opening up in late 1970s, Jeifan CA-10, Chinese version of Zil-50, was the most common vehicle people saw on the street. And Zil-50 was originally from International Harvester K series truck getting into Soviet via Lends Lease during WW2. Since there were not many alternatives available, CA-10 was considered one of the best vehicles produced in China. Then China started importing Japanese trucks such as Hino, Isuzu and Nissan Diesel and Mitsubishi, they found out how advanced and reliable they were. BTW, Isuzu had the best reputation among them. Some Eastern European trucks were mixed bag, Skoda and Trata were good and outdated, IFE was OK, the Romania trucks were the worse, its reliability was worse than CA-10.
What a fantastic scene to come across. It does indeed take a special collector to keep up these old commercial vehicles. The sheer space they take up, the heaviness of the parts, hard to find parts and then the final insult of generally low values. Definitely a treat to see one outside a museum setting.
Great find! I’m glad you stopped and took pictures.
Those rear doors are interesting – never noticed doors like that before. It’s tough to find vintage pictures of the rear of commercial vehicles; ads and other material tend to show them from the front. If there are any unusual doors on this vintage of delivery truck, I’d expect it to be some sort of curb side cargo door, since city deliveries were much more common in the 1940s.