Words & Photos: Tommy Parry
The rat rod’s engine bay is home to a variety of intriguing motors which might break with convention but always express the builder’s interests and sense of style. A blend of old and new, this amazing mash-up of vintage style shows how well modern running gear meshes with the original, unmistakable lines of an International Harvester truck. But finding the right ingredients, especially in 2016 and in the rainy Pacific Northwest, was not easy.
The beauty of living in the internet era is that it makes finding relics easier, even if they’ve been rusting away for a few decades. Thankfully, this ‘48 IHC KB-2 had only a little patina; somehow, it had weathered the Oregonian rain well and there was only a little rust on the surface. As for the running gear, a donor ‘92 Dodge truck provided a 12V Cummings 6BT engine, a dually 3.54 rear end, and a rear-wheel drive layout. Considering that part of the country has to deal with nine months of rain a year, finding a local, 2WD truck wasn’t the easiest.
Borrowing an axle from a 1973 Dodge motorhome, Aaron had the basic ingredients. Of course, Z-ing the frame, building sturdy crossmembers for the hefty diesel, and bolting on a set of airbags would prove challenging, but Aaron - with a clear head, plenty of wrenching ability, and a vision for his machine - wouldn’t have to struggle much.
After sectioning the cab, Aaron went to work on the frame. First the rails were done, then the temporary crossmember was fishplated and squared, and then the cab mounts were tacked. Next, the bed floor and the inside of the rear fenders were chopped to accommodate the frame rails, which measure 2x5x.188” to handle the extra torque from the Cummins.
Aaron then bolted a transmission mount from a one-ton Chevy truck to the A158 transmission, and then put the cab back on the frame with the floor cut to allow for the transmission to peek in a little. With that behemoth of a motor sitting in place, the build was really beginning to take form. Aaron next turned his attention to the rear four-link and the airbags on the rear axle.
Making all his own brackets, Aaron had to really sweat to put together the four-link. Since he prefers to over-engineer, the brackets had to be sturdy enough to support a 3.5” rear axle, and naturally, he brought in the big guns. The bags were bolted on, and then the rear panhard bar, fuel cell and shocks installed.
The front end was addressed next - and a modern, three-core eBay radiator mounted on top since the original piece was out of commission - and beneath that a set of airbags. Aaron made a few tweaks to the original IHC grille (which was not a very pretty piece by his standards), chucked it on and stuck on a coupe of headlights. On went the radius arms, as well as the shocks, and now Aaron had a gorgeous roller.
Back in the bed, the floor had been assembled with four-eye bolts for straps or a cargo net, and a couple of cutaways for the rear smokestacks.
Next, a steering box with a new, straight Pitman arm was added, and the bomber seats were mounted to the floor. With the transmission tunnel patched up and the interior coming together, the end of the build was in sight, and goodness did it look amazing.
The York 210 onboard air compressor, which is driven by the diesel engine, works wonders. With the gauges in place, some new gear oil in the rear end, a handful of new gaskets, a perforated sun visor and some rear view mirrors, the Cummins-IHC project was completed. Not only does this jaw-dropping beast have enough torque to smoke those massive rear tires, but Aaron can manage 25 mpg. How many classic rat rods have that combination of unique looks, gobs of power, and fuel economy?