The International Loadstar

The International Loadstar, the truck that lead International Harvester to dominance of the medium duty truck market in the mid 60’s to the late 70’s. The Loadstar would eventually give way to the S-Series which proved to be just as, if not more, successful than its predecessor. Today we have the good fortune to view trucks that are Still Working and one that is close the Lost and Found category.

I’ve passed this truck nearly every Sunday for years on the way to church….and never bothered to take a photo until last week! It moves around the field from time to time but currently has been resting in the spot you see below for nearly a year. It definitely seems solid enough to be saved or used daily. For many years it had a partner, another Loadstar, that at one time was a fire truck. It had a fancy chrome grill and all the lights. Sadly the fenders were smashed and the frame looked tweaked. One weekend it was gone, never to return.

Andy sends in this cool crew cab variant he spotted hauling horses. You’ll notice that the Loadstar script is different on this truck while the fenders have lost the parking lights. I believe this indicates this truck is the youngest of the group.

In the gallery below you can’t help but notice that lime green flatbed. It must have been a firetruck in a previous life but now finds work on a local farm. Ignore my pink bicycle, I forgot to take of the frame before grabbing a shot. Geographically speaking it resides only minutes away from the red dump truck. A true International hotspot if there was one!

Thanks go out to Andy for sharing his great catch.

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3 Responses to The International Loadstar

  1. Andy says:

    The lime green truck, at Wilcox Farm, is from the Sylvan Beach FD. I will send some close ups to you.

  2. Joe says:

    Are these Loadstar’s located on Fyler Rd. by chance? I used to live on Fyler Rd. about a mile from them if they are.

    Andy is spot on about the lime green one. I remember it had a water tank on it when it was employed by Sylvan Beach FD. It was a loud little sucker! That V-8 gas engine really roared.

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