1947 Inter help

Hi,
Im still a newbee around here but i want to restore an old 1947 Inter, its going good for its age but im thinking how to get it back cheaply. I dont want to get a tray truck cause its a 400+ round trip from my house.
What would be the best way of getting it back home?

Cheers, Will

I think you can get a permit from Vicroads, you would need to make sure the old girl is in reasonable nick before heading off on a trip like that. What model is it ?

My 1955 Inter was driven home on a wet day when we found the wipers didn't work!

If it is running and stopping o.k. and the tyres stay inflated then the vicroads (or whatever state you are in) permit should be fine. If you can then take a couple of friends with a falcon/ commodore sized car or 4wd with a bit of grunt, towbar and a chain. That way if you get stuck it can be towed off the road to somewhere it can be worked on safely out of the traffic or be left on a friendly farm paddock (ask first) while the problem is sorted out.

You may strike some problems but you will have a day to keep BBQ stories going for years

G'day Will

I can confirm that driving the truck back on a permit is the most fun plus some reality sets in when you get to see how she performs. Don't know how it works anywhere other than WA but you might need an engine or chassis number to provide to VicRoads in order to get the permit. Over here, they give you 48 hour "permits to move" for about $15 and you can nominate the time it starts so you can make the most of the time allotted.

I've moved (on a permit) a '56 Chev 1600 400+ km with the bottoms of the doors rusted out but the important thing was she ran well and she stopped as well as could be expected (wish I still had that truck). You learn all their rattles and squeaks and non-working handbrakes etc on a trip like that.

As Bruce says, take some mates who know what they're doing as well as a good support vehicle!

Similar requirements in Vic. Need to provide chassis number and engine number. Cost might be higher. As the permit is charged at the same amount as full rego but obvously the charge will only be for the period specified by the permit but also the class of vehicle.

Each time I have had my Thornycroft out it has been on a permit. There is basically in vic two types of permits. One for the purpose of getting work done or registered. The other is a single journey permit specifying from where, to where. So to get a vehicle home from a purchase the correct permit would be the single journey permit.

When I purchased the Thoryncroft it wasn't able to drive itself home as the clutch was frozen. But everything was sound and the hand brake worked great! So it was towed home very slow going but the distance was only about 100km or less and we took two days. Most of the towing was done on secondary roads to minimise disruption and all done using Toyota Landcrusers and a fixed bar.

My Inter I drove it from Bendigo to Melbourne on a permit. And had no issues. All comes down I think to preperation.

The main thing is that if you get a permit you are basically taking the responsibility that the vehicle is safe to go on the road.

The other option is to see if a truck company can move it as a back load. The final solution will all depend on where it is located, size and where you got to get it to.

Great advice, JB.

Its up the other side of robinvale need to get it back to bendigo!
It shouldnt weight that much if i take the tray off Could put it on a trailer then or something. Got a low geared Triton ute diesel one that might do the trick.
The diff leaks a bit to and been sitting for about 5 years so dunno.

Cheers, Will

What KB is it, Will? How big we talking?

I think we are talking about a K7 here Andy. R170 I6 engine?

Got all the info from a search engine on the net from a bit of digging around on the net it might of been an exarmy truck?
What would you do in my shoes?

Cheers, Will

Excellent stuff, Will. One of the best looking trucks ever, IMHO.

How much do you know about her? What was she doing before being parked up?

Have you checked the oil in the diff or the plug for any gunk/metal? Just wondering if towing on a bar would be an option if you can't get a trailer. Of course, if you're worried about the diff then the trailer is the way to go...and a guaranteed way of getting home without the K doing any work! Despite doing a Barry Kitto (GM Diesel) diff class, I'm not an expert so I would go the trailer route to protect what I don't know about the diff.

K7 should have a Blue Diamond motor? Should say "Blue Diamond" on the left side and the number is at the front of the block.

Would have been a direct import from the US as we didn't build IHs till, um, the ALs...not sure about cabs though as our cabs differ from the American ones.

Have you found these guys? www.oldihc.org