Transtar 4270

[ranma]

Why is the 4270 have the 4200 tags? I have wondered this for years anyone ever do correct tags(aftermarket wise) my Dad worked at harvester in Ft.Wayne. and bought the kit in 74.

[7000in5th]

Hi Rick,

I worked for the International Harvester Truck Engineering department in Fort Wayne from 1963 until my retirement in 2001. During part of that era, the trucks were identified by wheel arrangement first, eg F=6x4, series second (eg 42 = short conventional highway tractor - engine in front of the cab) and engine size third (eg 70 = big bore diesel). Since some models had several engine sizes and axle arrangements available, it was decided during that time to reduce complexity by using '4200' instead of '4270' type emblems. Over the years, the emblems varied, sometimes with application included - eg 2674 = Set-back axle, big bore diesel, off road straight truck. And, of course, there were always exceptions, like the F-8500-M mixer built in San Leandro, California, which was available with small bore diesels, big bore diesels and very big bore diesels - eg Detroit 12V-71.

Since I have been retired for over 11 years, anyone with corrections is encouraged to comment. If you want an excellent book on International truck history, 'International Trucks' by Fred Crismon is outstanding, if a bit pricey. Amazon has them HERE. By way of full disclosure (and a little bragging), I did help Fred get much of his information from International (see page 11).