Executive Decision: 1981 International Transtar II Restoration

The story begins June 29, 2021, when Travis and Dennis Thompson purchased a 1981 International Transtar II from Facebook Marketplace and drove it home from Southwestern Iowa.

With the intention of using the truck to haul grain, Travis brought it into the Thompson shop for a DOT inspection to get it farm ready for the upcoming harvest.

Knowing Travis wanted to stretch the truck, and upon removing the fifth wheel plate, the team found the frame rails to be extremely rusted to the frame. Luckily, they had a donor chassis from the Thompson Lease fleet, a 2015 International Prostar with air ride suspension.

It was around this time that the Executive Decision was made to turn this old “farm truck” into a full blown show truck…

The Thompson Body Shop team got right to work, removing everything from the inside of the cab – piles of old, worn vinyl and carpet were peeled away. Then it was cleaned down to the bare walls to prepare for the next steps.

Next, the team sound-proofed and heat proofed the inside of the cab before buffing and prepping for the paint booth, where it was primed by Thompson painters.

One of the hardest parts was deciding what colors to paint the truck. There were choices ranging from greys and blacks, to bright blues and silver. In the end, the Executive Decision was made – slate grey and metallic black. Both colors were 100% custom, and were mixed and applied in the Thompson paint booth.

When painting a truck, especially a show truck, every detail matters. Thompson painters covered ALL the bases, including painting the screws with the custom slate color to ensure that everything matches. The end result is a perfect, shiny, custom painted truck.

While the cab was in the paint booth, the frame was sent out to be sandblasted – this is one of the ONLY parts of the whole project that was not completed in the Thompson shop. Upon return, the frame itself was painted jet black in the Thompson Body Shop paint booth.

Next, the team focused on putting the interior back together. This included repairing or replacing much of the wiring, gauges, and heat ducts, and repairing all vinyl pieces. For items that could not be repaired, the team began to search for replacements – a major challenge since these trucks have been out of production for years. A donor cab was found locally, and between the two trucks, the team was able to get all the parts needed.

Now it’s time to focus on the POWER. The Big Cam 400 Cummins engine was completely overhauled by the Thompson service department. Parts were replaced and repaired along the way, before the engine went to the paint booth to get that shiny fresh coat.

Once complete, the engine was installed and reassembled back on the chassis. Next, the cab was hooked up to the overhead crane and moved across the shop to be placed on top of the chassis. A new radiator was also installed.

Getting closer, but there’s still MUCH to do…

The exhaust brackets were built from scratch and installed by the Thompson team. Now to wait for the chrome…

The custom chrome fuel tanks were fitted and bolted to the truck, a big new bumper was fitted and installed, and custom fenders were mocked up, then removed and sent to the paint booth.

And now for the finishing touches…

The stainless steel bumper was originally flat but after review, the Executive Decision was made to have it go around the corner and align with the steer tires. A custom template was made out of cardboard and sent to the stainless steel vendor to build from scratch. Other details in this stage include installing the deck plates and light bars and custom built filler plates for behind the fuel tanks and rear of the chassis. The team started installing the lights, light bars, and headlights.

Back to the paint booth to get touched up, recut, and buffed before having the lettering and pinstriping completed. In a show truck like this, details make ALL the difference. All chrome pieces were sent off to be completely re-chromed by a local vendor.

Finally, time for the long-awaited test drive. Perfection

Nearly every step and detail of this restoration project was completed by the team at Thompson Truck & Trailer. Thank you to the local vendors that helped to make this possible:

AIH Chrome (Dubuque, IA)

Iowa Customs (Carol, IA)

Hugh’s Signs (Cedar Rapids, IA)

Krogmann Blasting (Manchester, IA)

Silver Customs (Marion, IA)