IH scout 800

[big dan]

big dan submitted a new Build:

IH scout 800

Been wheeling and working on a truggy for the past few years and my wheeling style has progressed from easy driving to full throttle assaults on rocky hill climbs. Not the best for a 10 bolt front that's welded with 36's. So Im to the point of buying a 60. Now Im kind of a cheap @$$ and since 60s are expensive Ive put it off. The truggy is also in need of new tires and wheels and Im not really in the mood to throw $2k plus at a pile of junk that Ive only been able to wheel a couple times a year. I also realized the other day that I had way more fun wheeling a stock rig with 33s so Im parting ways with the truggy project and building a cheap, mostly stock scout to run the trails on.



And hello to this fantastic pile of crap:

View attachment 230335

This is the first of 4 that Ill be getting. Traded my brother in law, he pretty much gave them to me. This is the gonna be the wheeling scout. Of the others, one was suppose to be my wife's first vehicle that was never actually given to her (long story). The body has completely rotted off but there is another one that has a perfect body but no drivetrain. Gonna put those together and make one nice one for her. And the last one will be used for parts.

Ive always loved scouts but this is the first time Ive owned any. This one is a 69 scout 800 with a 304 and 3 speed tranny. Got it home on Friday and got it to run yesterday. Plans are pretty simple. Spring over on scout II dana 44s, heavy duty shackles, 33s or 35s whichever I can find a good deal on and wheel the crap out of it. Several parts from my truggy will be used to try and keep this build as cheap as possible. And I have a line on some scoutII axles with factory rear posi for $100.

Eventually I plan on upgrading springs and possibly swapping in a 350 and a rear locker and front posi. Might even add power steering. Who knows, in a few years I may end up with a scout truggy but for now I want a simple cheap trail rig that I can take out regularly. Progress will be kinda slow at first but Ill try and keep it updated for those of you that like scouts.

Read more about this build here...

 

[Deuling]

Awe man I liked the truggy

 

[ktmoutfront]

First 4x4 I wheeled was a scout. I was 11. Doing yard work for a neighbor. He let me drive his scout on the back 40.

Always wanted one.

 

[max 02]

Thats cool! I`ll watch!

 

[82355]

My dad always calls my Blazer a Scout.

I find it much less offensive than the people who call it a Bronco.....

Martin

 

[big dan]

Told my wife I wanted a bumper sticker that says "its not a bronco". She replied with "how could anybody mistake a scout for a bronco? scouts are cool looking"

Having a hard time deciding on axles. ScoutII axles seem to be somewhat hard to find. The ones I thought I found turned out to be not such a good deal.

I have several half ton axles that I could narrow for the price of having the shafts resplined which would be $160 for all 4. That would give me axles that I have more spare parts for and better brakes and hubs than a scout.

But scout axles would be easier to swap in and all the chevy outer parts will bolt on.

 

[82355]

How much wider are full size axles?

Martin

 

[big dan]

8 or 9 inches total. It would make the tire stick all the way out of the fender. Scouts are about 4 inches wider than a jeep for reference.

I really don't want it to be that wide so I would want to narrow full size axles if I use them. A lot of the trails we go down were meant for a 4-wheeler.

 

[big dan]

After much debating and searching I decided to use the 3/4 ton axles I had. Already had 4.10s in good shape, and flat top knuckles with crossover steering. Plus the brakes and wheel bearings have been changed recently so everything should be in good order. Both have welded spider gears but Ill swap out the front for an open carrier, maybe a posi if I find one cheap enough.

Got ambitious after work so I pulled the 3/4 tons out of the parts truck, pulled the scout axles and installed the 3/4 tons.

Heres the front installed, not as wide as I thought. Don't think it will be too bad.

The frames on these scouts are almost identical width to a chevy frame so I got excited about the axles bolting straight in, until I remembered that the chevy uses wider brackets on the rear had to cut off perches and shock mounts to relocate.

Im terrible at progress pics so I didn't get any of the perches welded back on. I did however take the time to weld the tubes up to the center section while I had it out.

And heres some crappy pics in the dark with the new axles/tires installed. Started this at 5:30 and finished about 9 right as it was getting dark.

It has 6" shackles front and rear that are pretty flimsy but I have some 3/8" thick 6" long ruff stuff shackles that Im going to cut down to 4" so the height will change a little.

Still need to hook up brakes (needs a master cylinder), run new fuel line and install a tank. Possibly a fuel pump. The guy I got it from says the fuel pump is good but the fuel line bypasses the pump and there is a switch and wiring for an electric pump Also need to do some wiring. May just rip out the wiring and start over. Its 44 years old and has lots of add ons.

Also just noticed I need to renew my subscription.

 

[Deuling]

That stance looks really good IMO

 

[y5mgisi]

Subd.

 

[big dan]

Once again I failed to get many pics but I decided to tackle the wiring today. The wiring in this thing was original with many years of po add ons that I was almost certain would one day cause a fire, almost did yesterday just sitting there with a battery hooked up and started smoking

Heres the dash coming out, you can see the power wire for the coil wrapped around the emergency brake handle with a toggle switch.

Dash fully removed and old wiring cut out. Lots of dirt dobbers in here. Look closely for the vacuum wiper switches Gonna hook these back up once I fix them.

Took out heater parts too. Don't know if Im going to try and use the factory parts or buy an aftermarket heater. The factory heater is as big as the underdash part on a chevy and its all made of metal

Heres my half way sorted out wiring mess from an 86 chevy

And here it is installed on the firewall behind the dash. My wiring is kind of a mess but at least its sorted out a little better and everything runs through a fuse unlike what was in there.

Wired in the factory scout ignition switch and used the chevy headlight switch in the scouts factory position. The extra wiring you see is all for the turn signals. Got to find some switch parts for the scouts switch or find some kind of aftermarket switch. Left turn on the scout switch is all that works anymore.

Also used chevy brake light switch in the scouts factory position

Had two sets of ruff stuff specialties 3/8 shackle plates that were 6 inches long. Only need about 4 so I cut them down.

Shackles installed on front, have to cut down the other set tomorrow for the rear.

Also got it running a little better today. Carb leaks pretty bad out the throttle shaft and the fuel pump is bad so I plan on addressing those issues in the next couple days. There are some of the rock bouncers coming to my local offroad park in about 3 weeks. Would really like to have this thing going by then so I can take it for a little light wheelin and watch them break parts.

 

[y5mgisi]

You have about 1000x more ambition than i do.

 

[1BEATK5]

That last pic proves my theory.

U bolts are for sissys.


Subd

 

[magik235]

That stance looks really good IMO

.....My first 4X4 was a Scout and my second was a Scout II.

 

[big dan]

That last pic proves my theory.

U bolts are for sissys.


Subd

Yeah, I just weld the springs straight to axle. Saves weight by not having to use the bolts or plates























































































J/K, no pics but I got the rear shackles finished up and all the u-bolts put on. Spent most of Sunday tearing apart my old rig to sell some parts and use others that I need.

Also ordered my first round of new parts for this thing. Carb kit, new fuel pump, fuel line, tie rod ends, and an oil filter, yes I had to order an oil filter. It takes a cartridge style filter and nobody in town carries one.

Most scout parts are hard to get new which is one of the main reasons Ive swapped in chevy axles. I would like the keep the engine/tranny/t-case all IH stuff though

 

[big dan]

Some update photos

Here's some parts from my old truggy that will be re-used: ford shock towers, brake lines, shackles, bolts and a ord steering brace that will be put on my dd

And here's a couple shots of what it looks like in the daytime after changing the shackles. Look closely for u-bolts

Now time for factory pitman arm modification. A replacement (not new, used) costs $185 and is specific to the scout as far as my research has told me and looks like this

First I cut off the ball part so I could remove it from the tie rod it was rusted to

This is the back side that needs to be ground off

after lots of grinding

welding to my home built u-joint removal thing (don't know what else to call it) so I could hold it still, lots of heat and lots of bfh swingage I have this:

A nice tapered hole ready to fit a regular chevy tie rod end

And just for fun here is a pic from my front porch when Im feeling lazy

Some changes in the build plan have occurred as of today as well. Was planning on picking up a carb rebuild and fuel pump this weekend to get this thing running but things have changed. I owe a huge thanks to member Ashman for going above and beyond to pull a complete propane setup from his local jy and ship it to me on the cheap. Looks like the scout is gonna run on bbq grill fuel

Since propane is $1.65 a gallon here that should make wheelin trips more frequent plus relieve the issues I had with my old truggy trying to bounce its way up a hill with a carb spitting and sputtering.

 

[TheBeast_88K5]

That's awesome

 

[y5mgisi]

Beautiful view!

 

[y5mgisi]

Hmm. You people and the ideas you give me! Im thinking a propane conversion on my 78 would be a great idea!