International sparks flurry of guesses
Old fire truck has just 7,000 miles
Last week's mystery fire truck sparked an inferno of attempted guesses the first day the photograph ran.
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From about 7:30 a.m. until 2:15 p.m. Thursday, nine readers had already attempted to guess what year this truck was.
Teresa Morgan, a Brainerd Pipe Supply employee, had already made the correct guess. The 1940 International pickup belongs to Chuck Shaw. He bought the one-ton fire truck, which only has about 7,000 miles on it, from his uncle who lives in the small town of Orchard, Iowa.
He said this fire truck was sitting in one of his uncle's buildings. This truck also is rust-free, said Shaw.
He said he intends to drive this classic in the Brainerd and Nisswa Fourth of July parades.
Corinna Tomson, Crosby, submitted this photograph of her father's "pride and joy." Can you guess the year, make and model as well as any other information about this vehicle? You can respond by calling 855-5888 and leaving a message. You can also e-mail Clint at clint.wood@brainerddispatch.com
He added he can't decide if he wants to repaint this truck or not.
Gilman Tinnes and Larry Olson also guessed the pickup to be either a '39 or '40 International. Fred Peterson guessed the pickup to be a late '30s or very early '40s International.
Other guesses included a 1946 International pickup, a 1955 fire truck, a '49 or '50 Studebaker, a '39 International Diamond Rio and a 1937 International D30.
Harry Austin, who guessed the pickup to be a '39 D Series Truck, wrote that he thought the small parking light on the fender denotes this pickup as a '39 or later.
He also wrote that this pickup probably has a 174 cubic inch engine.
Richard Kelly, Nisswa, who guessed the fire truck to be a '37 International, said most of the '37 trucks were painted bright red or a shade of green.
Chuck Shaw is the proud owner of this 1940 International one-ton fire truck, which was last week's mystery vehicle.
Ted Toensing wrote that on the advice of his farmer friend Swede, he guessed the truck to be a '38 International. One reason was the '39s had headlights in the fenders, Toensing wrote.
Who made 'Rat' engines?
This week's trivia question is "What company made the 'Rat' engines?"
Last week's trivia question, "Who made the Monterey?" was easy for readers.
Olson, Austin, Tom Erickson, Mark Kargel, Rosemary Petrich, Toensing, Gene Carlson, Frank Vargo of Pequot Lakes, and Jacob Smith of Fort Wayne, Ind., all guessed that Mercury made the Monterey.
Olson said that the Monterey was made from 1952 until 1974 and again as a Minivan in 2004.
Erickson said he thought the Monterey was made from '51 until '74.
Kargel wrote that he thought the Monterey, which had a wheelbase of 118 inches, was first built in 1950.
Toensing wrote that the Monterey was first introduced in 1950. Chevy came out with a two-door hardtop in '50, so Ford took a Ford and a Mercury and dressed them up with vinyl tops and fancy paint jobs to compete, he wrote.
The Ford was called Crestliner and the Mercury was called Monterey, he continued.
He wrote that the Monterey was dropped in '73.
Who is right?
Last week's column brought about disagreements.
Toensing wrote that the 1949 Cadillac was not a new body style. The engine was the only thing new in '49, added Toensing.
Actually, the body style was new in '48 with the addition of the famous tail fins, wrote Toensing.
He also added that the '46 and '47 body styles were the first after World War II, not the '49.
Carlson had several corrections about the mystery vehicle, a '77 Lincoln Continental Towncar.
He wrote that it wasn't a designer series (only Mark Vs had this), Lincoln did not use the body style through the '89 model year (1980 saw a major change in body size and engine size -- both smaller), the Towncar had an overall length of 233 inches instead of 213 and the Continental was not dropped in '79 but carried over to the early '80s models.
Just a note: Mark IVs introduced in 1976 also could be ordered with a designer series.
clint wood, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at clint.wood@brainerddispatch.com or at 855-5869.