Australian International K5

[Ron King]

The K series were sold off much earlier than the trucks used later in the war and the fact they were 2x4 with a civie friendly type body fitted ment they were snapped up by a truck starved post war Australia.
They were worked hard post war and by the 1960s most were worn out and disappeared.
They were much more useful carting goods around a big city than something like a Bliz.
Off road for a 4x2 truck they are good with the duals on the rear and a good low first gear.
Nice to drive and if I remember correctly they Max out at just over 50 mph.
The green diamond engine is OK but never earnt the name of other truck motors of the time and didn't seem to last as long as a Hercules GMC or Dodge or ford 8 etc
K4 and K6 were also used with the K5 seems to be the most numerous surviving to day.
Ron.

[Ron King]

If you go to the correct spider front hubs and 20 inch wheels new tyres are still advailible in 7.50 x 20 and 8.25 x20.
The 8.25 x 20 is a grader tyre advailible in a semi lug design well suited to a K5.
You will find the tyre crowds will not fit the tyres and you have to do it your self............just be very careful as it takes a while for most people to get their heads around the way the split wheel on the K5 works and you must wrap a long chain around the wheel loosely all the way around and hook it back on its self when inflating in case the old rims do not sit in the wheel correctly during inflation.
Take note the locking rim is not perfectly to round ????? and is flexed off the wheel by a bar at the cut away in the locking rim provided.
The out of round shape holds it in place and the split in the wheel on a deflated tyre also moves together to give room to remove the rims.

[Matt Austin]

Thank you very much, Ron, that info is gold!

I was aware that the 18x10.50 was a trailer type, having seen it on a field kitchen trailer (I think) once before. I thought at least one variety of smallish Chev truck or ute also used them? I'll take your suggestions, and appreciate your having taken the time to reply.

You've described my truck perfectly, as shown in the attached pic;

"The roof and rear part of the cabin is all local stuff done in a hurry and cheaply. The cabin rear is usually wooden frame with sheet metal nailed and bent over the top. Some had canvass roofs and some had sheet metal."

I wonder if I'll be able to register it with new wood, rebuilt as it was originally done? Lots to think about.

I also attached a pic to show what a wash does, to remove sixty-something years of grime. There's no evidence of the ARN, but the paint is mostly good.

Cheers,
Matt

[Matt Austin]

Cliff, thanks for your observation about GS bodies. That leads me to some other thoughts.

I wonder if the GMH Special Body Division at Fisherman's Bend, was where bodies were built for many types of vehicle. It'd seem to make sense if this was the case. I've attached a pic of a brass plate, removed from my vehicle, which shows this lineage. It's painted grey, but I imagine it was green back in the day.

The second image is from the AWM site, and clearly marked as such. It apparently shows International trucks approaching completion. The four planks and steel uprights are visible. These match the two remaining steel uprights and four planks on my truck, as shown in the third pic. So now I know the layout to replicate.

I'm looking at pics of Chev and Dodge GS trucks, which do seem to have very similar bodies, so there may be bits out there. Looks like the metal may be just mild steel channel, bent to shape.

Cheers,
Matt

[Ron King]

This pic shows assembly of K4 ??? Inters........note canvass roof and locally made doors.
I guess if at that time of the war the doors were not supplied with the imported knocked down truck we made them or did a cut away door less cabin.
( I guess it was done that way to save time of manufacture at the parent plant and tooling and metal press wear and the fact we often fitted locally produced bodies to imported grills and bonnets etc before the war at most large car dealer ships in Australia.)
Some inters appeared to be imported with full cabins and doors too.
We worked with what we got in the time frame advailible.( the japs were coming )
I believe the pic was taken in Sydney.

[Ron King]

Also note the International brand name was fitted to the bonnet on either side.

[Matt Austin]

Thanks Ron, that photo gives great detail. The vehicles pictured are quite like mine, in roof profile, door shape, and general layout. It appears that mine has a different contour to the bottom edge of the wheel arches, and a rolled edge.

This pic is also interesting, given the wheels. I wonder what size they are?

I'm also fortunate in that all of my badges are still in place.

I visited the truck this afternoon, and took a few more detail shots of the remaining metal fittings, to get a better idea of what I'm working with. Loops down the side seem to suggest that it had drop sides, while the fittings on the forward bulkhead are largely intact.

The first pic shows one of the remaining uprights. It appears to be fabricated from channel, chopped and welded at the bottom. Those square nuts are interesting!

The second shot gives front wheel detail. Are these wheels like anything else out there?

The third shot has another quandry. The four rubber blocks between the glovebox and the instrument cluster, around the ignition lock mechanism, have me puzzled. Two are gone, but I can't see what they might've been used for. Someone mentioned rifle brackets, but I can't work out how that'd work. If these trucks did indeed have somewhere to rest a rifle, then I'm in luck, as I've collected Lee-Enfields for years!

Thanks again, and cheers!
Matt