Indiana Motor Truck

This is my 1925 Model 11 Indiana as it looks today after 32 years of searching for parts and work to restore it to factory new condition. Below is the story and part of the last 10 years worth of work and pictures from 1980 to present. Hope you enjoy the "ride"

This is my Indiana Motor Truck sitting in the loft of the barn where I found it back in 1980.
The wheels you see in the picture are not part of this truck but I sat them in the picture thinking maybe the truck had wood wheels. I later got the original rear wheels from the owner along with the rear half of the frame and rear axle.

This is what the doors looked like when I found them.

This is the rear half of the frame sitting in the woods where it was when the last owner got done with it.

This was my truck as of May 2003.
The body is all original including the all of the oak you see in the cab but it is sitting on a ford truck frame till I find a good original frame and 4 cyl. Hercules model OX to put in it. If you know where I can find parts PLEASE let me know.

Inside cab.
I had to replace a few ribs in the roof since something (or someone) fell on top of the cab before I found it. I made the new ones out of oak and made them just like the ones I took out. All other wood in this truck came from the Indiana Truck plant in Marion Indiana. The paint on the inside is factory.


Some shots of the dash. (A little dirty)

Emblem on side of the hood

I will be restoring this truck over the next several months and I plan to upload pictures as I go. Now that I have an engine and a frame that I think I can use, I can put it together like it was over 80 years ago!

March 25 2003,
I have pushed the Indiana frame into the shop and have started the project! I will upload pictures as I get a chance.

This is the front part I found in the summer of 2002. My fenders will bolt right on to this part!


I got this rear section in 1980/81 when I got the truck but never knew what the front part looked like till now.

Front and rear parts are now together but I still need to add a little more to the center of this frame.

I have moved the engine to the shop where I will rebuild it and get it running. It looks good sitting next to the truck.

June 2003 update

Check out what has developed in the last month or so. I had the last 3 foot section of frame made for the truck and now have the right size frame welded together and the body is on it for a test fit and I even put the engine in it to see how it looks. Check out the pictures below.

This is inside showing the original floor in its place.

This is what it looks like before I found a radiator

This is the first time it has been out of the barn in 65 years on its own frame.

The next two pictures were taken in Auburn Indiana at the ATHS International Truck Show on June 2 2005

This is a factory picture of the model OX Hercules engine and Brown Lipe 3 Speed transmission that goes in this truck.

This is the engine I finally found for my truck!


Here is the rebuilt and painted Hercules model OX engine for the 1925 Indiana as of today.

April 6, 2006,
Well it has been almost 26 years since the start of this 1925 project but today I made a big step forward. I have the engine back together and after hand cranking on it for the last couple of days it started today and ran like a new one! Things are getting interesting now and it is time to get started on the restoration work and final painting of some parts. Now I will have some pictures to post that show some real progress in the next few months/years.

1925 Indiana Update 12-29-2006
Well its the end of another year and the truck is still not done BUT, it is under way! I now have 99% of the parts I need to finish this project and have finished one set of front springs and almost ready to paint the other set. I have started working on the correct front axle for this truck as the one I had under it was from a different model Indiana. I should have the final paint on the springs and front axle in the next few days and will then take out the engine and remove the body so I can work on the final welding and sandblast the frame. When I put this truck together this time it will be finished. Will 2007 be the year I take this truck for its first drive in almost 70 years? Check back and see!

Progress as of today April 25, 2007,
Now after building a truck to restore it is back down to a bare frame and all welds are done and every bolt has been removed and replaced with solid steel rivets where it had rivets from the factory. I picked up another parts frame last fall from a bigger Indiana and took the last missing cross member out and used it in my frame so now I have 100% of the frame to work with. Next will be sandblasting and painting then the small parts can go back in place for the last time.

The next picture shows my two new rivets on the right and two originals on the left in the top of the frame rail holding the new cross member in place. They were put in place and then heated with a torch and set with an air hammer and a home made tool and bucking bar since no body sold tools that big.

PROGRESS AS OF NOV. 10, 2007
After several months of no tech support from angelfire I have found out why I could not update my web page since April. Turns out they changed my user name and didn't tell anyone and will not respond to begging for help!
Now I got back in so I have a lot of progress to report over the past summer. Yes the frame IS painted its original color and the engine is now in place. I have also done most of the sheet metal work which was just to sandblast everything clean and get out the old hammer and dolly block and work out any dents or dings. I am happy to report that the cowl, both doors, and all of the cab metal is now painted back to the computer color matched original Indiana brown it came from the factory with in 1925. One more note on the body work, I did not use one speck of bondo in any of this and it looks GREAT!!!! Tonight I put some sealer on the under sides of the fenders and hood and radiator shell and plan to paint the backs of these in the morning. Another note, no bondo in any of these parts either. It is slowing me down a little but this is going to be a bondo free 1925 Indiana truck with all original sheet metal and wood and all the numbers match. I will update this page more often now that I got back in so check back in a few weeks for updates.

PROGRESS AS OF NOV. 14, 2007
More pictures to show from a couple days ago. Most of the big stuff is now painted and waiting to be buffed out and put back on the frame. Now that its getting colder outside I will work on the small parts and the wood needs to be sanded and finished. Things will start going back on the frame as they get polished so by spring it should look like a truck again.

Dec. 26 2007
Another year is ending but this truck is getting close so again I say maybe next year! 2007 was not the year so lets see if 2008 will be the year I drive this truck.

April 15, 2008
Not much got done over the winter but I did manage to locate another part we will call the "missing link"
This drive shaft came from another Model 11 Indiana that had been turned into a wagon but a few parts were saved in a barn. It will now be put back to good use and make the truck move again.

May 2008 Update, Progress is still slow but its starting to go back together.

Oct. 2008 Update
As always progress is still slow but since its been a while since the last update it will look like a truck this time around. Still need to paint the wheels and some small parts but I see light at the end of the tunnel now. Everything is turning out great so far and it may be slow but its worth the extra time to see it look this good. I decided after a lot of hard thinking to paint the original wood cab back to the color it was when I first saw it in 1980 which is the factory color even though I love the look of natural wood. In 1925 they always painted the wood to protect it and some think to make it look more like metal so natural wood just was not right. After getting the cab back on the truck it looks good so now I am glad that I went back to the original finish.

Nov. 2008 Update

One step closer.....

Jan. 2009 Update

Well we are into another year already, time goes by pretty fast and the work goes slow as always. I do know this will be the year for the truck to see the sun again and it will go for its first short test drive as soon as I get the outer rims done and a few odds and ends finished. Maybe by the middle of summer it will go to its first show but just to see it move under its own power after a 70 year nap will be something to watch. I plan to have 2 or 3 video cameras on it when that day comes so if I learn how to post video to this page you will get to watch it. This year should be pretty interesting!

UPDATE AS OF MAY 14, 2009
The day has come, Today was a day I have waited a long time to see and while it still needs a lot of work to be called done, it was a BIG step forward. About two days ago I fired up the engine under the hood of my 1925 Indiana which had not run since a few years ago when I test fired it on the floor beside my truck. The clutch would not release so I could not put it in gear but today after working on it to no end I decided it may take a good jolt to un-stick that clutch disc so I fired it up and put it in gear and drove it out the door of the shop under its own power. The clutch never did let go but the ride was awesome and the power this has is unreal. I knew it wanted to go because yesterday it ran over the blocks I had in front of the wheels twice before I could kill it to keep it inside the shop. While it was not the ride I wanted for a first drive it did move and run like it was ready to go. Looks like it may be ready to drive to town this summer after all.

July 27, 2010 Update
Other things get in the way but I have been working on the truck from time to time. The bed is now built and just needs finished and I still need to work on the clutch problem before I can drive on the road. I tested it today again just to see if it might work but now I know it will need to come out to fix it. I will try to upload a new video of the test run in the front yard today along with an updated picture of the new bed.

Aug. 1, 2010 Update
I removed the transmission and clutch over the weekend and found the problems. One of the 3 clutch fingers had slipped out of place when I put it together and the clutch cover had been turned 180* by a past owner which would not let me adjust the clutch so it would work right. I now have it together and have tested it and the truck runs and drives fine. Next I need to hook everything else up and paint the doors and bed and lots of small items before we can call this job DONE! I will do a road test later this year after I check everything.

Nov. 27, 2010
Weather has now turned cold but the truck is getting real close to done. I noticed that the last pile of parts to be painted black and even the wood parts are getting few. When I run out of things to paint and build or put on it's done, right? Still need to do a lot of the little things before the road test but the truck is going to be out next spring and might even be in a few local car shows.
The bed and hardware I built are now done and painted but no pictures yet since its not where I can get a good shot of it. Now I need to get a few parts plated over the winter and build the seats and put a cover over the top. I think the next pictures I take will look finished but I may need to tuck a wire or two or paint a stray bolt head here and there.
New computer so when I find a way I will upload some more pictures.

Dec. 21, 2011
It has been a while since my last update and not much has been done other than setbacks over the past year. This spring I drove the truck out of the garage into the sun to put new top material on the cab and when I pulled it back inside the clutch problem showed up again. This time I could not stop and ran into the back wall pinning the table saw and bending the fender and headlights back into the radiator shell. I was able to bump all the bent sheet metal back into place with a few hours of work and repaint the parts with no bondo but the clutch finger problem is the big setback for me. I have since located another set of fingers and am now putting them in but had to remove the transmission again along with a lot of parts I had put on. I still have the fender and hood and radiator shell off but they are painted and ready to go. I ended up painting a car over the summer and that took up 4 months of warm weather so now work is slow again. I still hope to have this running by next summer so again I say, MAYBE NEXT YEAR!

June 2, 2012
Progress has been made again and the truck is almost back together and getting real close to a real road test if everything works this time.

Here is a little hint of things to come....

June 9,2012
Today was the day I had waited to see for 32 years. Today I finished up a few things and tested everything and then fired up the truck and backed it out in the sun. Then I put some more gas in it and water and got my cameras ready and took it down the road for the first time in 70+ years. The truck went 2.2 miles round trip and top speed for this trip was 32.9 MPH but after I work out all the bugs and rattles it should go faster if it needs to since I didn't want to push it to hard on its first run. I will post some pictures and a few videos of the run as soon as I get them uploaded. I had 2 cameras running, one in the yard run by my wife and one inside the cab run by me. Now sit back and hold on to your teeth cause this thing is loud and bumpy and loose parts fell on my head but we will get you back to point A with no problems.

Sept. 2012 update
Now that the truck is all but finished I have had it in 3 car shows and the local power show in Winamac. Winamac dosen't give awards but it was 4days of driving the truck aound in the park and I put about 10 miles on it and had a lot of fun. I have 5 awards from the other 3 shows and ended up on the cover of the ISRA newsletter/ magazine from my first show in June. They printed a short story about the truck and got most of info wrong but sort of close I guess but it was cool to see my 32 years of work in color for the first time in print.

1927 Indiana Model 115A Road Builder
Click on picture to see more of this truck

1916 Indiana Model R
Click on picture to see more of this truck

This is a 1917 model T Indiana 1 ton. I hope to make my truck look this good some day soon.

My Favorite Web sites

My 1927 Indiana
My 1916 Indiana
Other Indiana Trucks
The Barley & Harwood Company's Indiana Truck history