Old Inter Info?

Hi guys!

I am looking into the purchase of a 1972 International D 1310, but I am finding it hard to find specs or any info about it.
I search and find heaps on Yank Inters, but info on Aussie ones is hard to find...

The seller says it has a Gold Diamond 281?

It has a 5 speed overdrive box with a weird shift pattern...

What sort of top speed and cruising speed do these usually have?
How heavy are they on fuel?
How hard to get parts for?
The dash has some blanking plates in it, was a tacho available for these and how hard to find?
What is the rated tare and gross for this model?

If you can give me any other background on these it would be helpful too...I have always admired and liked the old C and D series Inters but knew comparatively little about them, whereas I know old Transits inside out...school me on these wonderful old trucks!

i had a 1510a (long nose) ..it had the 281 engine and a 4 speed but 20" wheels ..it would easily do 70mph+(which really was a bit to fast for a old truck) ..the 281 engines are a lot cheaper on fuel than the inter V8 petrols..but luck the "V8" grunt when climbing hills

carnut - The D1310 was built from 1972 to 1978, and the engine was called the 6-281. The Australian Gold Diamond, which came in 3 sizes (AGD-240, AGD-264 and AGD-282) was the earlier Australian-designed and built engine, that was fitted to the AS, AA and AB series. The AGD came in an early and late versions, the early ones had vertical valves, the late ones had tilt valves, which was a redesign to stop valve burning problems in the early ones.
The 6-281 is a later design motor than the AGD's. The 6-281 was fitted to the 1100, 1200, 1300, 1500, 1510 and 1600 (2WD & 4WD) in the "C" and "D" series .. whilst the 1640, 1820 and the military ACCO's came with the 6-282 engine, that produced 148BHP. The 1640 trucks had the option of a 5 speed tranny with the 6-282.

Standard transmission in the C1300/D1310 was a 4 speed, and the truck was available in 2WD and 4WD versions, along with a number of wheelbases.
The 2WD came in 129" & 153" WB, the 4WD came in 114" and 129" WB. There was also a panel van available, it came only in 114" WB.

The 6-281 produced 142BHP at 3800 RPM and churned out 241 ft lbs of torque at 1800 RPM.
Maximum GVW (now GVM) for the 2WD was 10,000 lbs (4537 kgs) and maximum GCM was 16,600 lbs (7531 kgs).
The maximum GVW for the 4WD was 8,700 lbs and maximum GCW was 14,500 lbs.
The C1300/D1310's were all fitted with 16" wheels from the factory.

My original (ex-PMG) SWB D1310 did about 8 mpg fully loaded and about 12 mpg empty. It was fast, it would sit on 100 kmh, no problem at all, and go faster if you weren't worried about fuel consumption.
Unfortunately, I no longer have my D1310, someone stole it, and it has never been recovered.

There never was a tacho available from the factory for the D1300, but a standard VDO tacho from that era could be fitted if you want to go to that trouble.

Parts for these old girls are getting scarce, but there are still some parts around. Wagga Tractors specialises in many parts for the older Inters, he sells on eBay.

THankyou for your extremely helpful information!
THis one has a plate onthe dash saying it has a 5 speed overdrive gearbox, and the shift pattern is extremely weird...
I will be going down in the morning to see the guy who has it and run the motor and have a good poke around it, and I will take some photos...
I have been told that replacing the carby with one off a Falcon 250, the Stromberg single choke, gives a lot better fuel consumption with only a small drop in performance.

Being just over 4500kg GVM it would be requiring a light rigid licence...no problem for me as I have medium rigid and drive a 57 seat coach as my day job. Also makes it easier to refuse someone who wants to borrow it...unless they have a truck licence too!

Anybody around running one of these on gas?
Might be a big difference in running costs...

carnut, I don't think you'll find too many 6-281's on LPG. The Inter V8's are the ones put on LPG, because they really chew the petrol.
The 6-281 would lose too much power with LPG, because it's a low compression engine, and to get any kind of efficiency out of LPG, you need high a compression ratio.
I've read that 12:1 is the ideal compression ratio for LPG, but a 6-281 only runs about 7.00:1 compression ratio, so you can see the power loss potential.
Of course, even with a "worked" 6-281, with high compression pistons and a shaved head, you probably couldn't get over 8.5:1 compression without shortening the engine life.
The cost of fitting LPG would be 1/3rd or 1/2 the value of the truck, so it's not really economic, unless you plan on doing a lot of kms.
Don't forget that LPG increases the fuel consumption by about a third, and it comes with a power loss of around 10-15% of HP.

I think the first "tilt valve" engine was the Australian Black Diamond but will have to hunt through my brochures to confirm this. Rare to find one in the original paint but the prefix to the engine number indicates the type.

Running around empty on dual fuel setup the LPG would be fine. Yes you use a third more, but fuel is half price.
10% power is nothing if not loaded.
Can always flick it into petrol for hills...

Hmmmm....I could always add a supercharger to lift compression when the LPG is running...
Electromagnetic clutch to switch off for petrol...
Oh well, I can always dream!


Spent half the day crawling around it today.
Only rust is in the floor.
Ex PMG. Aparently they put a 5 speed in them new and refitted the original 4 speed on resale.
Here is teh plate on the dash showing the 5 speed, even though it actually has a 4 speed...



Seems pretty straight. Bonnet hinges are bent so it shuts unevenly.

Here is the dash, I reckon the blanking plates could go and a tacho and vacuum gauge could go in...



ONe thing I noticed is that there are no shock absorbers on the rear at all!!!
And no provision to fit them either...
Is this normal???



Nice engine bay, and already has a Stromberg carby on it.



This is the worst rust in the whole vehicle...floorpan needs doing but that's about it.



According to the makers plate it has
Front axle FA 12
Rear axle RA 15
Steering S 3
Engine 6-281
Transmission T 17
L.S.T. No. 364
Rear axle ratio 4.30:1

Model D 1310 WB 153
Date of man 11/72
Colour 470
GVW 11,000 lbs
GCW 16,600 lbs

Can anyone shed any light on the axle and steering and transmission codes?
What is the L.S.T. number?
What was colour 470?


Here is a shot of the whole truck.

Looks like you're onto a good thing there, mate.

Just leaf springs on the rear is pretty standard for trucks such as this one. Makes you feel at one with the road...

Carnut, that 5-speed pattern isn't all that unusual, in fact it was a very common US one. The military GMC 6x4 and 6x6 trucks had it, some Federals and Macks had it and I'm sure other makes would have used it as well.

Cheers, Vic

You will probably find you rarely, if ever, use 1st unless starting uphill with a load. I know with my Inter if you are meant to start in low 2nd - 2 ratios up from the bottom of the box