1939 International Lonestar D Project - Heritage Rules

It's a well-known fact when the Autorama custom car show rolls into Detroit at the start of each year, designers from some of the Big Three automakers wander through the aisles and see what hot rodders have been up to for the past year.

Many designs and concepts pioneered by rodders-monochrome paintjobs, shaved handles, metallic paint, and so on-have been picked up by auto manufacturers over the years, reworked, then sold to the general public in showroom after showroom the following year.

But, even with that in mind, it is still pretty rare when a major manufacturer decides to embrace the hot rodding world when rolling out a brand-new vehicle. In 2008, International, known on the world market as a builder of heavy-duty trucks, thought it needed another way to introduce its new line of Class 8 tractor trucks, the Lonestar, to the public. This big truck is powered by Navistar's new MaxxForce 7L, twin-turbo diesel engine, and it is one impressive motor, in both size and performance.

What really makes this offering different is International chose to incorporate some of its own history into the new Lonestar truck design by mimicking some of the design characteristics of a '39 International D truck (especially in the design of the grille-you can see more at www.internationaltrucks.com).

Shaking up the tractor truck market is one thing, but having the right promotional tool is necessary, too. That's why International also decided to retrofit one of Navistar's 7L motors into a vintage '39 International truck. Possibly the largest motor we've ever seen stuffed between the framerails of a hot rod, this was one enormous undertaking, which is why American Speed Company in Plymouth, Michigan, got the call to build it.

American Speed Company, headed by Mark Trostle, was already busy in production of its Speed33 steel convertibles, but took the International project on with its usual expertise.

What the company soon found out was it is one thing to say "use this motor and build this truck" and quite another to engineer everything so it'll work correctly together, but that's what American Speed Company does so well. One of the first things the crew had to do was locate a reasonable point to start from, which came to light when an International dealer in Ohio was located who had the right truck: a solid, albeit ugly, '39 International D-series pickup.

Once back at their shop, the American Speed Company staff did some analysis to figure out how they were going to shoehorn the big engine and Allison transmission (with a combined weight of 1,500 pounds!) into the framerails without affecting the vintage look of the truck.

As it turned out, the team decided to shorten the original framerails by 5 inches to make things line up correctly. They then boxed the 'rails while they were at it and created new crossmembers for the motor and trans. Since there wouldn't be room for the Universal aluminum radiator to be mounted in its conventional spot, American Speed Company chose to move the radiator to the truck bed and run its water lines through the framerails.

The rearend is a 3.50:1 Ford TrueTrac Posi unit that works with a set of Air Ride Technologies 'bags. Up front, independent A-arms and spindles from R&C Motorsports and Steer Clear steering components from Wizard were employed, along with another pair of Air Ride 'bags.

Wilwood disc brakes were also installed on each corner, and an ididit "shorty" steering column was picked for the project. Special Projects, a company that does just as its name implies, did all of the necessary frame modifications before the engine-with its 17.5:1 compression ratio!-and trans were dropped into place. Once done, the 4-inch stainless exhaust system could be routed and Silverline mufflers installed.

The engine, rated at 350 hp at 3,000 rpm (on the small side by hot rod standards) cranks out an amazing 650 pounds of torque at 2,000 rpm! Getting the power to the ground is the job of the Allison five-speed transmission. The fuel cell, an aluminum unit from RCI, can be filled with 17 gallons of go-juice and is mounted at the rear of the chassis, as is a pair of Orbital batteries. The truck rolls on custom-fabricated Paulsen chrome wheels, 16x7 and 17x8, which are shod in 2156/70HR16 and 265/70HR17 Michelin Pilot LTX rubber, respectively.

Special Projects also got the job to do the chop on the original cab (after all, it is a street rod), and the crew removed 1 1/2 inches from just above the driprail. To make the rest of the truck look like an unmolested original, a custom bed and tailgate were fabricated, along with a new set of running boards. For a final body mod, the wheelwell openings were radiused to fit the new wheel combo. Some of the vehicle's other custom touches include a set of lowered headlights, as well as taillights that were made from a set of parking lights. The front and rear bumpers were also split, and a custom louvered panel was fab'd to cover the bed-mounted radiator.

Painted by Special Projects, a deep cranberry with metallic black fenders (colors that came right off of the '08 International production line), the pickup was now in need of an interior. With a good helping of street rod products-including a Juliano's Hot Rod Parts & Interior Products steering wheel, a Vintage Air A/C system, and a modified Ron Francis wiring kit, among other things-the truck began to look like it belonged at a street rod event. Special Projects also used some gray OE Navistar upholstery to cover the modified International bench seat and created new door panels with a simple horizontal pleat design-contemporary, but not over the top.

When you view the finished truck, you can't tell it's anything more than a well-cared-for International. The chop is subtle, so your eye just takes in the general cab shape, and nothing on the truck jumps out at you, saying "I've been modified!"

What International was looking for was a way to introduce its new line of tractor trucks and powerplants but be mindful of the distinguished history that goes along with the nameplate. And, only through the extraordinary efforts of American Speed Company and Special Projects could International be able to unveil its newest truck alongside its big brother at the Chicago Auto Show just six months after work began on the project.

Only time will tell if the new retro tractor truck design will be accepted by the public, but one thing is for sure: If International ever decides to go back into the 1/2-ton truck market, it already has a great model to work from!