Dust to dust. The heritage of the International Harvester Light Line trucks can be traced back to the 1832 McCormick reaper. The first IH vehicle to toil the fields was the Auto-Wagon built in 1907, and the first 4x4 pickup was introduced in 1953. Scouts didn't sprout from the family tree until 1961, when many generations of International Light Line trucks were already working alongside their McCormick Farmall tractor brethren. It was 19 years later when the Light Line of IH trucks bought the farm.
Scouts and IH trucks were dead, but certainly not laid to rest. Nope, 17 years after the last Light Line truck was built, Internationals are still pounding the muddy and rocky ground in the hands of their zealous fans. There are many International-only clubs, numerous trail rides, and several big shows each year. The event shown here is the first-ever IH Western Regionals, held April 18-20 in Tulare, California, in conjunction with the California Antique Farm Equipment Show. What could be more perfect than carousing through a field of about 100 Internationals seen alongside Farmalls, TracTracTors, and vintage farm implements banging, popping, and steaming away? For info on next year's show, which will be cosponsored by Scouts West and Sierra Scouts, contact Linda Papero, Dept. 4WOR, 1204 E. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, CA 92831, 714/992-5345, fax 714/997-2371.
By far our favorite truck at the show was Mike and Debra Ismail's B-120 three-door, which Mike's dad bought in 1974 for $800. Mike then collected it as a high school graduation present in 1984, and added a Dodge Dana 60 front and Dana 70 rear, a homemade lift, and 40-inch Hawgs. The B-series trucks were the first with four headlights, and they were available as '59 and '60 models. | 
This is the single cleanest International engine we've ever seen. A fact that contributed more than a little to Gaylen Moyer of Templeton, California, winning the Best of Show award for his mint '68 pickup. |
International 4x4s were introduced in 1953 as R-series pickups. They were restyled for 1956 and called S-series trucks. Nelson Nazario's '58 A-120 4x4 represents the A-series body style that was released in mid-1957. The horns weren't available from the factory, but they should have been. | 
Mike Ismail of International Harvester Only in Lancaster, California, is known equally well for making repop Scout motor mounts and for racing this '77 Traveller in local desert competition. The purely homebuilt IH runs an AMC 258 inline-six and was '95 class champion in the now defunct La Rana series. |
The "Anything less" motto is from a mid-'70s International ad campaign. We also spotted several bumper stickers that read, "Please! This is not a Jeep." | 
International had several special-edition models for Scout 80s and 800s, including the Red Carpet, the Champagne Series, the Aristocrat, the Comanche, and the SR-2. This is Scott and Lily Rance's '70 SR-2, which won the Peoples' Choice award despite the swapped-in AMC 401 engine. |