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What happened in Africa need not stay in Africa. In April at the Cherry Blossom Rally, a true, diehard IH collector asked how did the IH's perform in Africa? I was blunt, hopefully not insulting, but my first word was spelled out. I don't believe it was the answer that was sought. I spelled "J U N K!" I'm sorry, but it is true the IH's were nothing but trouble. What about the Chevrolets, Fords, Dodges and the one Land Rover? No memorable problems. In good faith Wally Byam purchased an International Harvester. And so did most of the African Caravanner’s. So what's wrong with that? Nothing on paved roads. Nothing on toll roads. And maybe nothing when not towing an Airstream. There were severe engineering discrepancies in the drive train. I am not engineer, but will detail the problems. Broken axles, spider gears shattering their teeth, drive shafts cracking...yes monumental, and universal. To my knowledge most, if not all, of the International Harvesters had trouble. And many had problems more than once. Snap, crack-led, and plop! The first line of defense was the Union of South Africa, then Africa, then Europe...when we depleted the parts on two continents we had to have them flown in from the United States. So a presumed commonality to protect breakdowns and down time, turned into a physical disaster. "J-U-N-K" |
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