Rescuing classic cars requires a lot of heart and patience, especially if they’ve been sitting for over a decade. Chad of This N That Garage YouTube channel recently acquired some classic automotive gold. The 1950 International L150 truck had been sitting next to a fence with overgrown shrubs since he was a kid. He recently bought it and tried to breathe some life into the old-timer.
Yanking out a full sized truck that’s been sitting for three decades isn’t the same as pulling out an abandoned classic sedan or pick-up truck. It’s a job that requires more than a pair of hands and some heavy machinery.
According to Chad, this 1950 International L150 truck belonged to a retired air force officer. After retiring, he started civil service at a local airbase, where he acquired the truck.
These work trucks by International Harvester rolled out in 1949. The L-Series range of trucks took over from the KB line of trucks and came in several variations, including pick-up trucks, haulers, and full-blown trucks.
The chunkier versions (L-150 to L-180) had an extended exterior to match the beefier engine, chassis, and wheels.
“It was last on the road in 1989. So that means it’s been sitting right here for about 33 years. I can remember him riding this, hauling stuff when I was 14, 15, 16 years old, and that will coincide with the year on the license plate.” Chad revealed.
According to the retired airforce officer, the L-Series truck was initially a flatbed but was later converted into a dump truck.
Getting the classic truck out of its 33-year-old digs wasn’t a walk in the park. Things almost went south when Chad yanked it out with a tractor. It rolled off and missed hitting a bystander by a whisker, only stopping after crashing into a stalled tractor.
He inspected the engine and was happy it turned with a nudge from the fan, but also worried since it had a ton of electrical issues and zero compression after sitting for that long. After a lot of fiddling with the truck for a few days, it finally roared to life for the first time in 33 years.
We commend Chad for his level of patience and the number of hours he put into getting this old truck to fire, run, and drive. You can catch some of that action in the video below.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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