1959 International Harvester Metro Van, Rare Model 122

Description

This Metro van spent its life in Christmas Valley, Oregon (high desert) and was used as a mobile electrician's service truck until the mid 1970s. It remained parked in a shop in Christmas Valley until a few years ago when it was sold and moved west. The truck was repainted a metallic blue-gray very similar to the original paint sometime in the late '60s. The body shows very little rust (shown in the pictures) which is consistent with being stored indoors in the desert for most of its life. In addition to being about as close to rust-free as these Metros come, the body is also incredibly straight. The only apparent body damage that I have been able to find is an old dent in the passenger front fender that was mostly pulled out and then filled with about 1/8" of Bondo before it was repainted years ago. This shallow dent is shown in the pictures and covers roughly the area of a 7" diameter circle. As far as the drive train goes, it has the bullet proof Black Diamond 240 straight 6 that fired right up after sitting for decades and sounds good with good oil pressure. Although the Metro van runs and drives, the brakes need to be gone through after sitting for so long. The tires have good tread but are weather checked from age. All of the hard-to-find emblems and even the original hub caps are present and in good shape. Model 122 Metro vans are very hard to find these days and are much less common than their nearly identical twin model 120 (the 122 has a larger rear barn door). This particular Metro would make an excellent restoration candidate as it is a rock solid, arrow straight piece of history.
Local pickup is preferred, but the buyer can make arrange their own shipping. Please contact me to let me know. Deposit of $500 is required within 24 hours and the complete payment is required within 72 hours of auction close. Payment can be made in person (cash only, no checks) if you prefer.