1947 International KB-1 - The Cornbinder

In the spring of 1997, after a few years of not owning a street rod or custom, Steve Ford, along with his wife Megan and friends, hit the Portland swap meet with a pocket full of money in search of his next project car. Steve was thinking that a mid-'50s Ford or Chevy would make a nice mild custom. Soon he decided on a '57 Chevy hardtop but needed to make a run back to the hotel to borrow the last $1,000 from Megan. On the way back to the '57, Steve's friend spotted a chopped orange '47 International that appeared to be an older restoration, and they stopped for a second look.

Needless to say, Megan thought that the International made a lousy '57 Chevy. Nonetheless, the couple spent the next three years enjoying the truck and taking it to shows. By 2000, a rather large paint crack was developing on one of the front fenders. Megan used to cover it with a big straw hat at the shows. An auto-collision instructor by trade, Steve decided that the only way to fix it right was to start over.

In the fall of 2000, the truck was disassembled and media-blasted, and Steve got quite a surprise. Even with being in the trade, he had never seen body filler applied so thick in his life. The "chop" had been performed mostly by beating the roof down and applying 2-3 inches of filler. The rest of the bodywork was performed in a similar manner. When Steve began to inquire about replacement parts, he quickly learned that almost nothing was available for the truck except for parts in nearly the same condition as his. Steve decided that he had to put his many years of experience to the test to get the truck back into shape.

A clean roof was located, and a 3.5-inch chop was properly performed; this was just the first of an extremely long list of complicated modifications that followed. Steve estimated that around 2,000 hours were invested into the truck by the time he laid on the House of Kolor Ultra Orange Pearl. (They couldn't picture the truck in any other color.) The frame was also modified extensively with the front being fit with a Nova clip, and the rear was cut off at the back of the cab and replaced with a complete four-bar setup from Jim Meyer Racing. The rest of the frame was boxed in, and then everything was sent to the powdercoater. A Buick 350/350 combo was rebuilt and dressed up with a lot of chrome, paint matching, and additional powdercoating. The truck rides on QA1 coilovers at all four corners and rolls on 16-inch Centerlines and Toyo Proxes rubber. Nearly 2 1/2 years after disassembly, the trucks cab was fit with Fiero seats and panels wrapped in gray velour and vinyl. The triple-point International logo was even stitched into the seat backs.

Since putting the truck back on the road this past March, Steve and Megan have cruised thousands of miles and picked up more than a few trophies along the way, including a Top Ten at Goodguys Puyallup. The Fords are quick to thank the Smock and Pratt families for their help and encouragement. And speaking of families, the little orange truck has become such a part of theirs that they are planning their retirement around taking the truck to Americruise in a few years. We'll see you there!