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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Batman isn't the only one with a cowl.

Trucks have them, too.

And, coupled with its size, the cowl-mounted headlights on the vehicle Ted Beach Sr. donated to the Clark County Historical Society seems to mark it as an International Harvester 33 or 43 truck.

Lee Grady, the McCormick-International Harvester Collection archivist at the Wisconsin Historical Society, offered the opinion last week after a stop at the Heritage Center of Clark County.

"Photos of the S-24 and S-26 (made in Springfield) look similar," he said in an e-mail, "but I think the grills and cab styles on your mystery truck are a better match for the Model 33 or 43."

The latter, larger trucks were made at the International works at Fort Wayne, Ind., from 1924-27.

One reason the identification of the truck isn't so straightforward is the lack of a serial number. Another involves what seems an odd practice of the times.

"It was common practice ... for dealers to set the manufacturing date based on when the vehicle was sold," Tom Brownell and Patrick W. Ertel write in their 1997 book "International Truck Color History."

The actual year of manufacture wasn't as important.

Brownell and Ertel's chapter on 1921-29 trucks says the placement of headlights on the cowl was a styling feature of the 33 and 43 trucks made at Fort Wayne. The placement was the same on some of the lighter duty and very popular S-series manufactured in Springfield.

"While the headlines on the lighter duty S models are positioned in the usual location between the radiator shell and the front fenders," Brown and Ertel write, "the SD, SL, SF models, as well as the S-24 and S-26, placed the headlights on the cowl."

"International's heavier duty Three series also had headlights on the cowl," they continue. "These larger trucks, designated mode 33, 43, 63 and 103, shared basic styling with the S models but carried load ratings of up to 5 tons."

The 33, 43 and 63 weren't quite the marketing hit that the often red S-series trucks were, the authors say, but they were nonetheless "the real news" of 1924 for International, according to Frederick W. Crimson's 1995 book, "International Trucks."

"The engines of these models were greatly improved," he writes. "International was so sure of the durability of its new engines that a warranty was printed into the literature stating the crankshaft and the ball bearings of any model 33, 43, 53, 63 or 103 would be replaced free if they failed during the life of the truck."

By 1924, the Model 33 could range from 15 to 25 mph, Crimson adds.

International records show it sold 1,509 Model 33s in 1924 and 1,056 the next year. The Model 43 did better, selling 1,945 in 1924 and 1,343 the next year.

But technology soon marched — or drove — on.

Carried over into 1926, "the old medium and heavy 33, 43, 63, 94 and 103 were phased out" in 1927, "yielding to an improved range known as the 54, 74 and 104," Crimson reports.

Over the years, the 33s and 43s made their ways into junk yards, fields and barns, biding their time with birds and sometimes a few bats until people brought them back to life.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0368 or tstafford@coxohio.com.

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