International Harvester was founded in Chicago,
at first concerned with the manufacture of
agricultural machinery and construction equipment.
It came about as the result of a 1902 merger
between the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company
and Deering Harvester Company, along with three
smaller agricultural equipment firms: Milwaukee;
Plano; and Warder, Bushnell, and Glessner (manufacturers
of Champion brand).
The first major product
from International Harvester was the Titan
10-20 and 15-30 tractor; then in 1924 came
the “Farmall” tractor, a smaller
general-purpose iteration designed to fend
off competition from the Ford Motor Company's “Fordson” tractors. In automotive terms, International Harvester
is best remembered as a maker of relatively
successful and innovative “light” line
of vehicles, competing directly against the
Big 3. The most common were pickup trucks,
the “Scout” models being the most
known to Australians.
The Scout started out
as a small “Jeep” style 2 door
SUV, then in 1972 came the Scout II, and from
1974 onward “Dana 44” axles, power
steering and power disk brakes became standard. The Scout Traveler and Terra were released
in 1975, they being longer than a standard
Scout II. International Harvester would abandon sales of passenger
vehicles in 1980 to concentrate on commercial
trucks and school buses. Today the pickups
and Scouts are minor cult orphaned vehicles,
although they are rarely seen on Australian
roads today
1975 - 1980
The International Scout Traveler filled its role well,
that of a large multi-purpose 4WD. There was plenty of
room in the back, in fact enough for two to sleep comfortably,
and enough to transport a serious amount of gear for
that extended trip off the tarmac. It stood in stark
contrast to the svelte shape of the Range Rover, making
no pretence at being small, nimble or, for that matter,
fuel efficient. More>>
1975 - 1980
During the 1970’s the American adage that “Big
is Beautiful” usually held true, but there were
a few notable exceptions. Ford had proved this with
their top selling Bronco, small by US standards it
was able to go places the bigger 4x4’s simply
were unable to go, mainly because of their sheer size!
International followed suit with the Scout Terra, but
in the process stole a march on the opposition by producing
it as a pick-up which was smaller than other 4WD pick-ups
on the market. More>>
1975 - 1980
The Scout Traveltop from International Harvester was
aimed at buyers of four-wheel-drive vehicles who wanted
the power and comfort of the enormous Scout Traveler
but without the size and weight of the top-of-the-line
vehicle in the Scout range. The short wheelbase iteration
carried over almost identical mechanicals, although purists
thought the styling of the SWB iteration was less than
beautiful when compared to the LWB versions. More>>
