School me on Scouts

dmoore714

Active Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Location
Americus, GA
I'm not officially shopping right now... but I stumbled across a set of Scouts (one runner and two parts trucks) for cheap. Im thinking about picking them up, playing with the good one and parting out the others. Only problem is, I dont know anything about them. Im going down to have a look this weekend. Got a few questions.

What common strengths and weaknesses do Scouts have? What problems should I look for, or expect to run into later? I know some of them have D44 axles, but what does the rest of the stock driveline look like? Could I wheel it stock, or would I need to replace anything first? And how easy (or difficult) are they to work on?

In short... would it be worth the trouble?
 
they are good trucks. i had a 76 that was bone stock, that had 32/11.50/15s on it. it did what i needed it to. i just picked up on thats got a soa thats setting on 36s. im trying to get it running right now. the motors are not powerhouses, but they run forever. if its got an auto tranny its a chysler 727. the worst part of the truck is the rust thats in every single one of them. if you decide to pick them up and start parting the other 2 out let me know. i need a few things for the scout i have.
 
they will have a dana 44 rear, and either a dana 30 or d44 front. The main problems with the front is, it has 0* caster, and an odd knuckle/hub combo... this can be fixed though...

The engines could range from a 4cly, 258 I6, 304/345 v8, or the rare sd33/t diesel... the 258 is the same as a Jeep motor, and the 4cyl is basically a v8 cut in half...

the trannys could be a tf727 if its an auto, or manual 3/4spd... it did come with a t-19 which is fairly sought after...

the tcase will more than likey be a dana 20... in 1980 they had a dana 300, which is stronger, has a lower gear set, and very sought after...

the scout 2s have ~100" wb, and the traveler has 114". some people dont know the difference...

the biggest issue with them, is rust... all of them rusted out, some worse then others; 1980 being the best year... the springs are only 2" wide, but thick... the scout 2s used a boxed frame, and was fullwidth hangers, so axle swaps are supper easy... the engines arent power houses, but tend to have a good bit of torque, esp off idle... even the 4cyl...


with that being said, in stock form they go great, and can be easy to work on... I have a friend that would probly sell his, it's really nice, but not super cheap...
 
well you basically haveto swap the whole drivetrain out to change anything... chevy is popular, i have seen a dodge drivetrain... it's a pretty easy vehicle to swap into, so anything is possible...
 
I assume we're talkin Scout IIs '71-'80.

The IH versions of the 727 and T-19 don't directly swap with mopar or ford respectively. In both cases you'd be looking at a minimum of an input shaft swap. The 727 tailhousing is a texas pattern, so no jeep D300s or other tcases without tailhousing/shaft swaps.

As was mentioned above, complete drivetrain replacement is usually the way to go.

All my IHs have IH 304 V8s with stock 2-barrel holleys and they have all the power I need, but they are very heavy (high nickel block, cast heads, cast intake). The IH SVs (small V8s) are all similar, i.e. there were no smallblock vs bigblock for IH. Larger V8s - MVs (medium V8s) and LVs (large V8s) were only in large truck applications.

Another thing to note: fitting 36"+ tires requires a lot of lift (IMO making the truck too narrow and top heavy on stock width) or some fairly extensive sheetmetal cutting/mods.

Stock wiring sucks, particularly the large blue wire in the bulkhead connector (fire hazard with significant additional loads)

Fuel gauges seldom read correctly or at all.

They're just as easy to work on as any other truck of that era, but some parts are more expensive or scarce.
 
I figure I mine as well throw my 2 cents at this. Let us know exactly how big you wanna go with this build and we could help alot more.
I have had quite a few scout 2's and have loved them from day one and what you'll find is Scout owners are a breed in their own. Parts are easy to find even the rare ones. If you are gonna go bigger than 35'' tires you will surely have to spring it over or 4 link it. The front axle is a big pain in the butt because of the 0 degrees caster from the factory so the taller you go the worse of a pinion angle you have. Best thing to do is stick 33'' tires on it and wheel it as is. If you wanna go bigger plan on cutting and turning your front knuckles or throw some one tons under it. Axle swaps are easy on these. I had Chevy on my last one and had dana 60 front and rear sprung over. Next change will be to throw a chevy small block in it to give it a higher rpm range. You also need to sit in it and look out over that 5' by 5' hood to make sure you like it or not.
I am not steering you away by any means but its not a jeep or a yota its definately its own vehicle but a hoss of a full bodied rig it is. Cool factors are the tops come off to the windshield as well and most of the time the heat works good and if it has air conditioning on it it's probably a york and you can do on board air. Good luck and please ask any more questions you like.

And BTW Rust is only a Scout 2 going on a diet and trying to shed a few pounds LOL
 
My brother has a diesel Scout II and a diesel Traveler.
If you can actually come across one, they are awesome vehicles.
I believe '80 may have been the only year they were run.
 
mudonthetires10 said:
My brother has a diesel Scout II and a diesel Traveler.
If you can actually come across one, they are awesome vehicles.
I believe '80 may have been the only year they were run.
Click to expand...

Diesels (with the Nissan SD33) were offered from '76-'79. '80 was the only year of the SD33T (turbo).
 
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