Backward Glances

1976 International Scout Terra Suntanner

-  Jim Allen

The 1970s were not kind to International Harvester. In 1975, after nearly 70 years of building light trucks, production of the vaunted International Light Line ended. That included trucks from 1 ⁄2- to 1-ton and the Travelall SUV, but not the Scout. Sales of the 100-inch-wheelbase International Scout was doing pretty well overall so it survived the cut. It had become increasingly expensive for International to compete in the growing light truck market and with the agricultural side of the massive IH organization also in financial distress, one of the triage moves was to kill the light truck lines.

The Scout product planners had tried to keep abreast of the trends, and that included addressing customer requests for a long-wheelbase Scout. It had been in development since 1971 and when it was ready for prime time, it centered around two models, a pickup and an SUV, both built upon the same 118-inch-wheelbase platform. When they debuted as ’76 models, as the Terra pickup and the Traveler SUV, they were perfectly placed to replace the lower GVW Light Line short bed pickups and the Travelall. Both had a 6,200- pound GVW, leaving the Terra, with a 6-foot bed, in the lower end of the full-size 1 ⁄2-ton GVW realm.