1948 International Harvester Other

Automatic

GRD214A18652

1948 International Harvester KB3 Metro Van Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 This no-reserve auction offers a 1948 International Harvester KB-3 “Metro Van”. We affectionately call it the “evil clown truck” or simply the “antique bread truck”. Although we don’t actually know the history of what businesses used this truck. Here’s a brief history of this truck which will, hopefully, tell you everything you need to know about it. This truck eventually found its way into a salvage yard in Tuscon, AZ. The old dude who owned it sold the salvage yard. This was the only vehicle he kept when he sold the yard. You can see why. This is a cool old ride. It then sat in a smaller yard. This truck went up for sale on E-Bay almost exactly four years ago. My client, the current owner, was interested because it was rust free, complete (it even has all four original IH hub caps), and clean, clean, clean! The big straight 6 was seized but he didn’t care, wanting to make it into a resto-mod truck to advertise his business. He won the auction for a little over $4000. He then sank another $1500 for transport since it’s considered “oversized”. The truck went directly to a rod shop in Minneapolis. They got a clear Minnesota title, which took almost one year and cost around $1000. They also got to work (kind of) putting in a recondition late 70’s big block, as well as the matching automatic transmission. They put in a custom exhaust. They restored the 1948 brakes and the steering and put some used rubber on the rims to make it driveable. This was another $4000. Here’s the punch line… This truck was at the restoration shop for over two years! It took them over two years to, basically, install the big block. One of the two owners actually died in the shop while this truck was in the shop (not working on this one). My client became extremely frustrated and angry about this project and it has been parked outside, at his shop, for going on two years. He was so angry, he refused to even walk into the shop again to pickup the air cleaner for the carb! It’s time to pass this torch on to someone else! This rig is in extremely nice original condition, with the exception of the modern big block and tranny. With the old suspension, steering, and brakes, it is currently a death trap if you decide to stomp on the gas! It hasn’t been started in over a year. What little surface rust is minimal, from sitting outside in Minnesota. My client has spent over $10,500 on this vehicle and he realizes that he might take a loss on the super cool truck…may the highest bidder win! I accept Paypal payments only. No deals outside of Ebay will be accepted so please don’t even ask. Please see my other listings for once-in-a-lifetime finds from my friend’s private collection. This item is one of possibly hundreds more that may be listed in the coming months. We will also be listing antique, deco, and mid-century radios, lamps, advertising items, telephones, and other cool stuff. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if you would like additional pictures. I will attempt to answer all questions as quickly and as accurately as possible. The truck is located outside a warehouse about 45 minutes north of Minneapolis, on a main road. We will work with the buyer on pickup, but he would like it gone within four weeks of the auction’s end. Due to the questionable condition of the tires and breaks, you should consider this unit a “roller” and plan to flatbed it. On May-08-12 at 18:16:55 PDT, seller added the following information: Clarification on payments: Paypal can be used to place a downpayment of up to $2,000.00. The balance must be paid in cash, personal check or business check. Check must clear the bank after 10 business days before the vehicle will be released. Paypal cannot be used to make payment in full unless the final value is $2,000.00 or less. On May-11-12 at 07:06:42 PDT, seller added the following information: 1) Dimensions of the truck are: 16.7 feet long (bumper to bumper), 7.1 feet wide (at the widest point, the side bumper rails), 8.2 feet tall. 2) We looked at the truck again yesterday and noticed something that we forgot to mention. There is a small area on the back passenger corner where a previous owner patched in some sheet metal. We not sure what's under here but it seems quite solid and you can't see it from the inside. Photos are available on request.On May-11-12 at 07:10:37 PDT, seller added the following information: Two additional photos have been added to show scale of the truck and the sheetmetal patch. On May-11-12 at 12:04:14 PDT, seller added the following information: As you can see in the last picture, and other pictures as well, there are what appears to be sheetmetal patches on both rear doors. We can only assume the patches are covering rust and or rusted through holes. We have done our best to post enough pictures to show each side or the vehicle and existing conditions. Keep in mind this vehicle is 64 years old.