1976 IH Scout II

[Patrolman]

SO, even though I didn't build this, and I don't have any current pics, I will post the "build" thread anyways! Will have some pics soon when I get it out from storage for the Summer.

Bought this from one of my best friends about 2 years ago. It was originally his grandmothers and she bought it brand new in 1976 to deliver rural mail. It is LHD so she just drove on the wrong side of the road. He bought it in 1995 from her after wrecking his Subaru. He made all the mods to date, but more will follow!

Has stock Dana 44's front and rear with disc fronts drum rears.

Started with replacing the 304 with a rebuilt 345. MSD ignition installed. Also had the Torqueflight 727 rebuilt and a rebuilt Dana 20 was put in. Dual exhaust run in factory location. Rear driveshaft is custom built long spline by Avalanche Engineering.

Suspension is a 2" Rancho with 2" longer shackles. 2" custom body lift. 31" BFG AT's. Back Country Binders front frame bracing.

D&C rear bumper with tire/gas/hi-lift rack.

Custom front bumper with offroad light mounts and 2 hitch receiver points. Recovery shackle in each receiver.

Converted to bucket seats with factory style rollbar. Bikini top. Original rear bench.

Confer roofrack with 2 offroad lights (temporarily removed) and 2 Thule bike mounts.

Tuffy center console

Rhino-lined the inside

To-Do List:
Spreadbore intake with carb waiting for install
Buy/install a dual drain oil pain
Change all fluids
Swap out bucket seats for nicer/newer set with more options
Prep 1/2 cab top/bulkhead that has been waiting for it
Fix the minor rust and possibly paint entire vehicle

[BLK 1]

It looks like a diamond in the ruff ! I wish you a very successful build - you have a wonderful foundation and it looks so stock that back hitch bumper is very nice.
Do you think i am asking to much for my truck? im sorta in a bind - my mom is really making my truck out of her garage dinner convo too often.

[Patrolman]

I never saw a price on your vehicle. I can tell you about what is in mine:

$700 rear bumper/carrier
$600 suspension
$200ish body lift/mounts
$500 or so rims/tires
$200 roofrack
$100 front bumper
$100 Tuffy console
$100 Herculiner inside
$ ? BCB frame brace
About $2000 for 345 engine rebuild
About $1000 for 727 rebuild
About $300 for Dana 20 rebuild
It obviously still needs work, but I bought it with all that stuff basically done plus some other odds/ends.

[mattscout]

Looks like it is getting there for you. Looks good.

[BLK 1]

I think it also looks great ! rebuild cost 2k? you think 4500 rock bottom is a fair price to ask for mine?

[Patrolman]

Those #'s are all estimates on what it cost my buddy to have the work done. I bought it from him with all the work already done. Keep in mind, it has been off the road for 7 years now. Most of the work was 10 years ago.

I think $4,500 is a fair price. Depends on how much mom yells and screams though I suppose.

[BLK 1]

Alot invested and much to come i suppose - i am willing to give a small cut to someone who finds a buyer - its not the yelling its the nagging and the guilt trips.

[Patrolman]

So I got the Scout out from "storage" about 6 weeks ago. Started right up. Had to replace the radiator as it was leaking pretty badly. Luckily I had a spare. No biggie. Also did an oil change. Then took it over to get an emissions for the first time EVER. Passed with flying colors! I think it did better than my Toyota's ever did!

Now comes the bad news...

On the way to the emissions, the gas pedal hits the floor. I figure the cable has snapped. Safe assumption. I am 1 block from the emissions and I let it idle in drive the last block. Luckily it is about 6 blocks from my house, so it is the longest 6 blocks to get home that I have ever driven.

Now for the root of the problem. I had smelled something funny when I was idling along. The Scout had sat in a field under a tree for about 5 years before I brought it home. Some mice had gotten into it and they had chewed through a wire. The wire is for a push button start that my buddy had installed. Of course, he didn't fuse the wire, so it was HOT. With no insulation on the wire, it was touching the gas pedal. The pedal must not be grounded because the plastic housing around the throttle cable melted as the power went through the pedal up to the carb. I guess I can consider myself lucky that it didn't heat up the carb enough to make a big fire!

Lessons learned. Fuse all your wires. Keep wires away from moving parts. Keep mice out of the vehicles. :(

[Pathrat]

oooohhh, not cool. Glad you didn't become a rolling fireball.

[Patrolman]

The good news is that it was 6 blocks from home and 1 mph. Just glad it didn't happen on the 330 mile trip driving it here 2 years ago. Luckily, fire extinguisher is mounted to the driver seat.

[Patrolman]

SO, since the Scout has been sitting for a couple years, I figure it is time to get it pulled out and take care of some basics. The rag joint in the steering was near the end of its life, and I yanked it to help a fellow board member a year or more ago. Been intending to put in a Borgeson joint to replace it. MUCH stronger, safer, and supposed to give better steering with less wandering. Will be placing the order this weekend for this:

http://www.shopih.com/BORG-STRJNT-p-SJ.html

Also need to get the fluids changed, tires aired, etc and take it out for a spin once it has steering again. Been too long just sitting. Time to get some things done!

[scout man]

and I yanked it to help a fellow board member a year or more ago.
And I greatly appreciate that!!! The Borgesson is definitely a huge improvement. I ended up making my own out of a cherokee steering shaft. Took some cutting and welding, but got the job done.

Glad to see you are getting the scout back out again! It would be great to see that thing cruising down the road!!!

[Patrolman]

Yeah, I figure I will get it out just in time for gas prices to go sky high. I figure it needs to get out and have some miles put on it again. Bad for it to sit for so long. I also wanted to get some of the projects done on it. Started some things, and need to get it wrapped up.

[Patrolman]

Got the joint in today! Exactly what I needed. :) I had ordered it here:
http://www.shopih.com/BORG-STRJNT-p-SJ.html

But you can get it right from the manufacturer for about $5 cheaper here:
http://www.borgeson.com/xcart/search.php?mode=search&page=1
Didn't know what part # would fit (they didn't have Scout listed on the site, so you need the right #). Part # for my 76 ended up being 013440, but again, it could differ. Spending the $5 was worth the right part!

[Patrolman]

So the Scout got a serious delay in anything happening to it. In the last few years our daughter was born, we moved, and the Scout was sitting behind the garage at our old place. The steering shaft still isn't all back together, the front seat swap I started isn't done so the seats are just laying on their sides, and the Scout is a eyesore. I am sure my neighbors are happy that I drug it over to the new house yesterday with my Toyota truck and tow dolly. Sitting at the end of the driveway in plain view. :)

Before moving it, I brought the bumper over and made a winch mount that fits into the 2 receivers. The parts have been sitting around for a few years just waiting to be built. It was handy in getting it loaded and winched up the driveway when it got home. The bumper isn't too heavy, but the 8274 along with the mount setup weighs a ton. Most of the weight is the winch. It isn't something I want to move on/off frequently as it is a beast for 1 person to move. It also hangs quite a ways out. I don't do any serious crawling, but even for my needs, this is too far out. Might make a mount to fit it in the back for when it isn't in use.

Now that it is somewhere that I have regular access to, I plan to go through a bunch of things and get it on the road. It has been almost 5 years since it was last driven. Time to put a few miles on it again!

[scout man]

definitely sits out there a ways! If you want to maintain the receiver hitch part of it though, it wouldn't be too much work to make the hoop a little taller so the winch fits inside, and let the winch slide over the top of the bumper so it sits on top, but is still hitch mounted. Just a thought. Glad to see it getting some attention again!

[Patrolman]

Yeah, I hadn't thought about moving the hoop a bit. That is the only thing keeping it so far out. Good news is to move the winch backwards just requires drilling a new receiver hole and lopping some of the end off.

The other idea I had was to rotate the motor a bit. The only thing really interfering is the 3 wires on the top of the motor. The actual case should clear the hoop. I just needed to get the Scout out of the parking area, onto the dolly, and into the driveway. The current setup did that just fine. Now for some improvements!

[Funrover]

Good to see the Ol girl getting some love!

[Patrolman]

Actually, I did some measuring and it looks like the hoop will have to be moved if I want to move the 8274 back further. It doesn't seem right to use any other winch on the Scout, even though I have a newer Warn 8,000 in the garage that could easily fit.

[scout man]

I agree, the 8274 was the only thing that made sense on my scout. Put a newer style on the truck, but not the scout.