Susan and I caught up with an old friend last weekend... my first International pickup - "Corny" (1953 R-110 Series).  I haven't seen Corny since 1991 (it had been involved in an accident with a drunk driver who apparently didn't know what a red octagonal sign meant), so it's actually amazing that we were able to track the old truck down.

We found Corny in a farmer's field between Madison and Sauk City and I thought it would be exciting to see the first vehicle I ever owned and drove, but it actually put me in a bit of a melancholy mood after seeing the old truck.  Nonetheless, I'm glad we found it, because the purpose for hunting him down was to see if I could get a part or two from Corny to incorporate into the restoration of Cornelia.

We're going to do a bit of horse-trading with the farmer, and I'll see if I can get the rear-view mirror and trouble light, along with possibly a radiator from another truck (he has several R-Series!) - so in the end, this is an exciting discovery that could lead to some valuable parts.

With respect to Cornelia's engine, I'm still stuck, but I want to thank those of you who wrote in with your thoughts and suggestions - especially Jim.  I have some good news though - I have a lead on a rebuilt Silver Diamond 220 engine in Indiana for a very low price, so Susan and I are thinking of pulling this motor and saving it for a proper rebuild as opposed to potentially scoring the cylinder walls by getting it going with a rusty cylinder.  We'll plop in the rebuilt motor so that we can continue on our quest to drive the truck a bit before tearing it down for the actual restoration.  Anyway - that's the thinking for now.  In preparation, I am spraying the front end sheetmetal parts with PB Blaster so that we can remove the grille and fenders to afford enough room for engine removal.