1963 International Harvester Metro mighty mite van
1963 International Harvester Metro mighty mite van, originally from right here in central oregon, was an ice cream neighborhood van in Bend Oregon all its life, see decals. This would make a great company van for weddings, beer truck, pizza delivery, possibilities are endless. It is all original and complete. Does not currently run but we can do that for additional fees. It has a buick v6 engine and c6 auto transmission. Very simple, basic and reliable. These are getting very hard to find, especially the shorter wheelbase ones.
International Harvester Metro Van
The International Harvester Metro Van was produced in the United States from 1938 until 1975 and sold internationally. The drive train was originally based on the 1937-40 D-Series trucks. One of the first models built was sold to the Czechoslovakian Army and destroyed by the German army during World War II.
Unlike their trucks and other vehicles, the Metro bodies were built by the Metropolitan Body Company on Grand Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut, a company that International Harvester would later purchase in 1948. Final assembly was then done in one of the IH manufacturing plants. The original design was by Raymond Loewy of Studebaker and Coke bottle fame. The Metro design was one of several with which Loewy was involved or created during his association with International Harvester.
The overall design of the Metro vans remained somewhat unchanged from 1938 until 1964 when it was redesigned by the in-house design team in the Chicago Metro plant to be competitive with the Boyertown and Hackney vans. The corners were squared and an opening hood was added for easier access to coolant and oil dipstick. An eight-cylinder engine was also made available.
In the 1950s, International Harvester began producing variations such as the "Metro-Lite," and "Metro-Multi-Stop" vans. In 1959, the "Metro Mite" was introduced. It was based on the Scout drive train. In 1960 the "Bookmobile" was built by the Metropolitan Body Company on an IHC chassis. By 1972, all IHC Metro Vans were stripped-chassis that other manufacturers could build on. After 1975 they were discontinued along with all other light-duty trucks except for the Scout, which was last made in 1980.
The Metro Van was re-issued by Navistar in 2000, as a medium-sized delivery truck. Other than by model name, it is unrelated to the original Metro line.