1953 International r-110

Last weekend i picked up a 1953 International r-110. The body is already off of the frame so i want to start from the ground up and do it right. No motor or ******, but it did come with a Mustang 2 front clip. I have a couple of questions i wanted to leave to the experts.

1. Should i go with the Mustang 2 or find myself a Nova clip for this truck? I plan on using a Chevy 350 with a 700 r-4.

2. Any suggestions on the rear end? Ford 9" or also from a Nova?

Bottom line is i want to have a great running truck, IFS, Power Stearing, good highway speed, etc. Pictures to follow...

 

1. A Mustang II will be fine, not ideal, but fine. Please do something more exciting than a 350 / 700r-4. A IH 304 or 345 would look great, and they came with 727's in later years.

2. 9" will work fine, again not the most exciting, but fine. If you want to keep it all IH, find a late 60's early 70's Scout or Travelall. They used limited slip Dana 44's that are pretty stout.

Good Luck.

 

Let the fun begin....
I just finished my 1954 this spring and I have just shy of 3,000 miles on it.

The old binders are cool, but nothing is normal about building one... LOL!

Everything is different from Chevy's and Fords!

But I will say the old binders draw a lot of attention, and it's cool to be different.

The mustang frontend works fine, BUT... watch out on the spring towers/mounts that they are high enough so they wont put your upper a-arms in a bind. I didn't notice/pay attention until it was to late. So I had to raise my A-arm mounts about an inch. I done that by bending up a c- channel, then slotting them so you will have full adjustment for your arms then welding them to the tops. you will also have to notch the crossmember to clear the steering knuckle/shaft.... it all worked out fine, and the truck drives like a dream.

I made some really cool and CHEAP motor mounts out of tubing... my truck has a 350/700R you will need rear dump manifolds off of a late70's early 80's truck in order to clear all of the steering... EVERYTHING IS TIGHT! IH frames are narrow.

I drive mine almost everyday to work, down to the HAMB Drags (5hours one way) and just got back from the pileup (3hours one way) with it.

The 'ol truck is sitting on air and blasts down the road like a caddy... 70mph and straight as an arrow.

if you have any questions PM me for my phone # and feel free to call me... It's easier tell you what I done than to type out a long answer....

Or Hell! Save yourself a lot of time, trouble and headaches and just buy mine!! LOL!

Good Luck, Give me a call... ModelAMack

 

Good luck on your project.
Great to hear another one is being saved from the crusher.

 

well... If you want a reliable cheap cruiser a 350 / 700r4 is a good combo.. if your not going to be pushing 500+ a 9" is overkill and will eat alot of power.. a gm 10 bolt will be fine if your not going to have a lot of power and or wide tires. i know alot of people will knock the gm combo but if you want cheap and reliable thats the way to go.. an international powertrain would be better if you can find a cheap setup that runs. but hey its up to you.. as for the suspension.. no suestions.. if it comes with a mustang II run it.

 

Thank you for all of the advice. I will keep my eyes open for a GM 10 Bolt. Pics of the project.

 

If you desire to be even more off the wall with your suspension and rear end combo, here is a suggestion that may also save you a few pennies, and give you free disc breaks as well. The diff in a Volvo 240 or 740 are Dana 44 units(many found in wagons have limited slip as a bonus), have solid disc breaks and are a dime a dozen(plus with the 740 the suspension is easy to fab into a ladder frame). Then if you want to complete the set up(and keep the same bolt circle) the front suspension(one peice sub-frame) froma 120 or 140 will do fine, plus they are a little narower than the chev or ford parts, so that will allow for wider wheels without going outside the fender lines.