International Transtar: from CO-4000 to the 8000 series

The International Transtar is the name International has used for two different families of Class 8 trucks: the cab-over and conventional highway tractors of the 1960s to 1980s, and the 8000 series introduced in 2002, which took the TranStar name in 2007.

International Transtar at a glance

Based on one source (English Wikipedia). The article covers both the historical Transtar and the modern TranStar.

History of the International Transtar

The cab-over Transtars

During the 1960s the DCOF-405, known as the Emeryville, was the best-selling American truck for four years. In 1965 International Harvester introduced the CO-4000 to replace the DCO-400, with a larger and wider cab and a big trapezoidal grille that stayed a feature of International cab-overs into the late 1990s. For 1968 the CO-4000 was updated with the turbocharged DVT573 diesel V8 as standard and Cummins and Detroit Diesel engines as options, and was marketed as the Transtar under the internal designations CO/COF-4070A and COF-4090A. In 1970 came the Super Transtar with a Detroit Diesel 12V71 V12 and loads of up to 144,000 lb, and the Unistar, an all-wheel-drive truck with a freewheeling front axle that was powered when the rear wheels lost traction; it was sold until 1972. The cab-over was upgraded again in 1974 as the Transtar II, recognisable by windshield wipers mounted at the top of the cab, with International’s V800 diesel and a choice of Detroit Diesel 8V92, Caterpillar 3406 and Cummins engines including the 1,150 cubic inch KT-450. The Transtar II CO 4070 was discontinued in 1981 and replaced by the CO-9670, the first Newport Series cab-over, which shared its doors with the Transtar 4300 conventional; the last Newport cab-over was built in 1998.

The conventional Transtars

In 1969 International introduced the Transtar 400 conventional, an update of the 1961 D-400 with a long hood and the cab of the Emeryville cab-over. In 1971 it was replaced by the Transtar 4270 and 4370, a completely new design with a much larger cab that was later shared with the Paystar. In 1985 the 4370 was updated and renamed the International 9370, the first model of the 9000 series, and in 2000 the cab was redesigned for the first time since 1971.

The 8000 series and TranStar

In 2002 Navistar introduced a new 8000 series for regional haulage and local delivery, a range of Class 8 tractors that replaced an earlier line of the same name derived from the S series. It shared its cab with the DuraStar, ProStar, WorkStar, LoneStar, TerraStar and XT, and used a larger version of the DuraStar grille; because it was a regional truck it did not get the fuel-saving features of the long-haul ProStar. In 2007 Navistar rebranded the 8000 series as the International TranStar, reviving a name used for International Harvester highway tractors from the 1960s to the 1980s. The 8500 used the International HT 570 engine of 295 to 310 horsepower on wheelbases from 128 to 201 inches, while the heavier 8600 could be ordered with Caterpillar or Cummins engines, including the Cummins ISM of 320 to 425 horsepower, on wheelbases up to 315 inches. Both were sold mainly as semitractors for beverage, bulk and regional work, with manual, automated and automatic transmissions. The TranStar was replaced for 2017 by the International RH.

Design and features

• Trapezoidal grille: the CO-4000 front that identified International cab-overs for three decades.
• Super Transtar: a 12V71 V12 version rated for loads of up to 144,000 lb.
• Transtar II: top-mounted wipers and the biggest diesels of the 1970s.
• Regional focus: the 2002 8000 series was built for delivery and regional shipping, not long haul.
• Shared cab: the modern TranStar used the same cab as the DuraStar and ProStar.

International Transtar versions

• CO-4000 (1965): the cab-over that became the Transtar.
• Transtar CO/COF-4070A (1968): the first truck sold as a Transtar.
• Super Transtar and Unistar (1970): V12 and all-wheel-drive versions.
• Transtar II (1974): the updated cab-over with top-mounted wipers.
• Transtar 4270 and 4370 (1971): the conventional models that became the 9000 series.
• TranStar 8500 and 8600 (2002–2016): the regional-haul tractors renamed in 2007.

The Transtar’s conventional line became the International 9000; the modern TranStar shared its cab with the DuraStar and was replaced by the RH, whose long-haul relative is the ProStar. More trucks are in the International collection.

Sources

• International Transtar, English Wikipedia: cab-over history, conventional models, 8000 series