Hi. Thanks for letting me join the group! I’ve done some reading on the forum it sure looks like my kind of place! I’ve bought the book.
A friend has a 1949 International KB2 gasoline pickup we keep talking about making it run on wood gas. I know it’s a small motor so the power will be lacking. Do you think this will be a good candidate? It is totally original.
I’m also looking for a Dodge Dakota to. I’m not looking to reinvent the wheel on my first build.
I’m 63 years old I lived on a farm my first 42 years. I love to weld. I’m just a farmer welder nothing fancy. I do carpentry work and general maintenance work now. Thanks Chris
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Welcome to the forum Chris.
Farmer, farm welder, carpentry and general maintenance, you will most likely do fine here 
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Thanks Johan! I’ve always wanted to go to Sweden my great grandparents were from there. I have no idea where.
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Welcome Chris, I don’t know the specs of the '49, but my gut says it would be difficult to maintain highway speeds on woodgas, but if you just want it for backroads/around town, then it could do quite well. A first or second generation V8 Dakota can cruise at 65 on WG without a problem. Also, the MPFI makes for a simpler install.
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82 Horsepower when the engine was brand new, not sure how well it’ll go down the road. You might be able to go 45mph on the flats but that’s just a guess. I’d maybe test it out with a charcoal gasifier just so you don’t have a whole lot of time involved, and if it performs well you could go for a raw wood system.
Is your friend totally averse to an engine swap?
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Hello Chris and welcome to the DOW
I agree with Cody and Hans that you may be short on power but you can always switch to gasoline if in faster traffic 
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You should see the steering and suspension on those old Internationals, you probably wouldn’t want to go over 50 in any case.
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But the outside looks so good.
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Perhaps if you or any other relative have some trinkets or ’weird’ decorations that was theirs, that might be a way to pinpoint a general area where they could have been from. In those days there wasn’t much travelling and getting souvenieres so things probably are where they were from.
We are a few swedes here that could help a bit with that.
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I have a KB3, waiting for a lot of attention. They are in my estimation one of the most esthetically pleasing trucks made. Very small cab, people have gotten bigger, and our expectations have expanded too. Those trucks have a tiny little fuel tank, they were meant for short hauls on rough roads. International invented the tubular drive shaft, the drive shaft looks fully modern. Other things are hardly recognizable, cast solid front axle, front leaf springs, very weird hydraulic shock absorbers. To make one into a good modern driver, I would take a pre 2001 / 02 Dodge 1500, use the body on the modern drive train. That way you could have 4wd, apparently a 360 / 5.9L will fit in the engine bay, and you then have access to all the standard parts and parts vehicles, power steering , air conditioning. The wheel stance is about right, any difference could be made up with offset rims. People are using S10 frames and rear axles, but they are only making a vehicle for show and shines and city driving. There’s also complicated stuff using front A arms etc from Ford Grand Marquis IIRC, all sounds complicated and unrewarding. If using the old Dodges, they are wood gassable, they have a distributor, and plenty of power and displacement. Many around that the body is shot… I’d sell the International frame and drive train to a dedicated restorer, there are some enthusiasts out there, and there’s unavailable parts they will want.
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Thanks for the suggestion! I think I had a cousin that tried to locate where they were from. I think the town is gone. The story goes my great grandmother’s family died she was the only one to survive. Somehow ended up in America married to my great grandfather. I really should find out before everyone is dead.
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Everyone has given me so much to think about. The truck is original really no rust everything is there all the grills and body parts. It really is a beautiful truck. I think 38,000 miles. I could be wrong on that. It would be a shame to chop it up. One thing were I live it’s flat and country roads. I’m not into show trucks to much work to keep up. I like the idea of finding a body and putting a chassie under it. But to be realistic a Dodge Dakota will be just fine. No sense reinventing the wheel. Thanks again for all the advice it is much appreciated!
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Here’s another option to think about. International made pickups roughly through the 70s if I have that right. Apparently like many north american manufacturers they stuck with the design dimensions, so a 40s KB body will bolt onto a fairly modern truck.
I’d be tempted to leave it vintage if it’s low miles and good shape.
The last thing I can add, in the 40s International made inline 6’s, and probably bigger displacement engines for the commercial trucks, there may be a bolt on engine that would have extra power, but I don’t think those trucks are safe at modern highway speeds without major upgrades. So if it’s only going to do 40 or so, it should be a candidate for wood gas as is.
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I mostly align with Gary on this. If i wanted to drive on the roads regularly with a truck i wouldn’t use the older drivelines. The biggest issue i see is simply that modern vehicles and drivers accelerate and stop much faster than anything pre 1980 will be able to handle making them dangerous in traffic.
That said i have to ask how do you plan on using this truck? That is the real question if you live in a remote area where it won’t be in heavy traffic and it won’t be going over 45mph than it is safe. If you want something to use on your own property it would be ideal.
The other question i have is are you ok with modifying a truck some would consider a classic? Personal i figure we should make our stuff work for us. But that said there is some chance you could sell the classic truck and more than fund the entire project on a more modern truck. Those are questions you would have to answer for yourself. As to the gasification of the classic i think i would look up some of the older tractor conversations that are listed here. There is an International tractor i remember seeing in the past which probably has a very similar displacement motor snd carb setup as your truck. That is probably closer to what you would need than the dodge trucks.
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A short way to see this look over the new topic MikeR. set up “Celebrating the Classic Woodgas Vehicle.”
Any vehicle system will result in chopping up a lot on the base vehicle.
Old, old, true classics can be made to look like back in the 1930’s, 40’s classic wood gassed vehicles. To look like factory converted.
Or, be a Frankenstein stitched together monster. And monsters are just fine so long as they do serve you.
Regards
Steve Unruh
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There was a Canadian fellow who posted on here years ago who did a slide in gasifier. At least there was no hole in the floor of the box. And then there’s Kristijan Leintinger’s Arosa, IIRC, made a charcoal gasifier disguised as a hitch mounted cargo carrier. Especially charcoal should be suitable for basic plumbing additions. The old International could be the steam punk / road warriors vehicle for a new age.
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Al Frick made a slide in unit. You might want to check out his build
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Well I have been looking for 92-95 Dodge Dakotas. My problem is I’m finding mostly 4x4s. Not in to bad a shape. Reading the book Wayne doesn’t like the 4x4s because add weight and drag. Which makes sense. Has anyone gasified a 4x4? I’ve searched and found people have done it but very little information. Thanks
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Hi Chris, when I was looking for a truck 4x4 was something I wanted in the truck. Mostly because it will help drive in winter on icy roads and lots of snow. I’m still learning things to improve efficiency, but I’ve done 118km per hour on the highway going one hundred percent wood and I have not yet put on an exhaust heat exchanger. I think it may improve if I would add that unit. I would still like to run my truck over a scale just to see what the weight is after putting on the gasifier.
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