1952 International Harvester Metro Van

Description

1952 International Harvester Metro
Here we go again!Due to non-payment / no communication with the previous buyer, my Metro is back on eBay.Ladies and gentlemen, we are dealing with cool, old cars; we are all formed from a similar mold. Lets go forward with integrity and keep this hobby enjoyable, not becoming each other’s horror stories of how we got screwed over.Now then, reviewing the bid history, there were multiple interested parties going for the snipe in the final moments of the previous auction and time ran out at the $2500 mark. Ironic that the winner scored an AMAZING deal at that price and still didn’t pay. I’m going to start this auction where the last auction left off and let capitalism and supply and demand play their parts. If you’re seriously wanting a sweet Metro to build - I’m your huckleberry, come to the table with your bid. I’m sure there’s an elementary school near you if you’d rather play games.
My original description:
A cool find that I’m sad to let go, but this Metro is about sixth in line for car projects for me. Metros are definitely too cool to pass up though! I’m hanging onto my other one!
This history of the Metro goes like this: I found this Metro through a friend of a friend who was a location scout for the Yellowstone TV series with Kevin Costner. They film up near Park City in Utah and this Metro was waaaay back off the road behind some farm equipment. They filmed some scenes on an old guy’s property and that’s when the friend found this Metro. He never got an address, just a screenshot from Google maps - so I made the hour and a half drive up and did my own scouting around to track it down (my son actually spotted it - I totally would’ve missed it!). Tracking the owner down was another feat on it’s own. Ends up its literally a 90 year old man who lived a few miles down the road. It took a few repeat trips and phone calls over a month and a half before I could talk him out of it. (The neighbors actually congratulated me, “How did you get him to sell? He never sells anything!)
Like most old Metros it was being used to store a bunch of stuff and the owner didn’t know what year it was. From what the old man told me and comparing pictures online, my best guess estimate is a 1952. I asked him when he got it, “oh wow, now you’re making me think!… it was sometime in the 60s. I think I got it in some trade with an old business partner. It never did run; it’s been sitting right there ever since I got it.” I asked him if he had a title for it and he just laughed at me. I can only give you what I got - and that is a bill of sale.Anyway, that’s most of the backstory on this Metro.
As to the actual condition of the truck, it’s mostly complete. It’s missing the radiator, but all the other running gear is there. I couldn’t get the engine to turn over. The rear tires hold air (amazingly), the front tires were missing along with all the wheel studs. I made this little stud discovery when I went to put roller rims from my other Metro on it to get it out of the field. We ended up using a tractor and the winch from the tow truck to literally drag it out. It looks as though the studs would press through the drums from the inside and into the external hub (so why someone would take it all apart, press out the studs, and then reassemble it remains a mystery). As it stands now, the front drums are frozen up, but the hubs rotate freely - so I welded some old Chevy rims directly to the hubs to make the Metro a roller. I’m assuming whoever gets the Metro will be replacing all the drivetrain regardless.
Both side doors were left halfway open for the last 50+ years - you can see the paint stripe is faded on the doors where it sat exposed. Multiple generations of woodland creatures made their homes in the door pockets, after much digging and vacuuming and lubricating, the doors went from immovable to rolling quite easily. You can now open and close them as intended and they even latch shut! The rear doors were a bit of a mess. The driver door was fine but the passenger door was hanging off horizontally by one hinge. I took that door off, straightened out the bent bits, rewelded the hinges, and freed up the linkage. It’s now dead on and opens and closes easily and the handle and latch are functional.
No one wants to buy a Metro without the front grill, they just look sad and incomplete. I decided to include an extra grill that I had. I don’t think it’s correct for the year, but you’d never know - it actually matches pretty well! Its definitely an improvement over the way I found it!I also put on some headlight rings that I had, so the front light assemblies are complete aside from the actual bulbs.
The rust is about typical, it’s got some along it’s lower edge and in the doorway steps. A few spots here and there, it’s not out of control by any means. The frame looks totally solid.You can see that all of the glass is gone except for the busted glass in the back doors.
Dimensions:The front track width (center to center on the front tires) is 63”Center to center between front and rear axles is 122”The height of the truck is almost dead on at 8’Total bumper to bumper length is 18’The interiorheightin the center of the truck is 69.5”The rear door opening is right at 55 1/2” tall in the center, and exactly 5’ wideThe outside of the doors themselves are 57 1/2” tall, and 62 3/4” wide
It’s in Salt Lake City now and, to state the obvious, it’ll need to be trailered.I’m not sure how much more I could say about it. It’s not perfect but, for a 67 year old Metro, it’s about as good of a starting point as you’re likely to find!
NO RESERVEIf you want it, be the high bidder (and actually pay) and it’s yours!