CK5
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what are you thoughts on scout's?
- Thread starter stoney126
- Start date
JIMs70K25
1/2 ton status
I had a 76, w/ a 196 4 cyl engine, dana44s front and rear, t-19 4spd and dana20 tc. had 4" springs and 33s. kick myself everytime I think about when i sold it. the 196 was half of a 392 v-8. in 76 they had power disc and electronic ignition.
fabjunkie
1/2 ton status
I don't know anything about them, but I've always liked the Scout II's.
3 on the tree
1/2 ton status
They are built much heavier than a Jeep. Other than the 258 6 cylinder, the engines are rock solid, but the V8s are not known for gas mileage. I too, have had one of the 4 bangers. It was an excellent motor, and got 20mpg on the hiway with 4.10 gears. I think their electtronic ignitions were Prestolite, so parts can be a problem. The engines run forever, but they don't like to rev, cause they are medium duty truck engines, not pass car engines The later models used a 727 Torqueflight tranny, so they are almost bulletproof. Every Scout II I have looked at had a limited slip in the rear, from the factory. The bodies seem to be more prone to rust problems than Blazers. Personally, I think they are a good alternative to a Blazer, but parts can be an issue.
fabjunkie
1/2 ton status
I've always liked the fullsize Wagoneers too if you want to venture to the other side. I almost bought an '83 that was sitting on a K5 frame and drivetrain a few months before I got the Blazer.
Thunder
3/4 ton status
scouts Rock. I have owned both a 4 banger and V8.My old 67 800 had a dtroit in the back and Ls in the front. Awesome 4x4. Frst time i did the Con was in that Scout. Drove that thinmg all over the Sierra nevada
SCOOBYDANNN
1/2 ton status
My roomate is addicted to them. Parts are harder to find but they last forever. Motors are heavy sumsabitches. 304 and 345's weigh as much as a big block chevy. almost everything comes with 44's at least the bigger ones. (II's, travelers, travelalls) 727's for most trans, the most sought after TC 300's only came in 1980 travelers and II's. and from what i have seen---they leak from everything.
WARP1
Registered Member
They are smaller but with fully boxed frames and heavy motors the weight is close to a blazer. The factory weight specs were 38xxlbs. According to the factory my '73 blazer was 39xxlbs. I've seen real Scouts with 1 ton gear come in at 5600lbs. I'd guess my Scouts weight is 4400lbs.
The motors have almost no mods available so its hard to build horsepower. An aluminum intake just became available this year for the Scout 345 and the jury is still out on whether they add any horsepower. You can't even get a 4 barrel intake for the 304. The good headers are $400-600 depending on what you want (only two companies make headers for the Scout). Cam shafts are available, but you'll have to port you heads to make it worth installing a cam. Building horsepower feels like you've move back into the stone ages of hotroding, but they do come from he factory with great torque.
Chevy axles ('73-'91) have the spring pads in the right place to bolt on to the Scout, so 3/4 ton swaps are possible. You can even run Hummer H1 wheels and the wheels won't stick out past the body (you will need to modify the front steering knuckles to clear the H1 wheels).
Gas mileage wise I got 10mpg in my Blazer(33" and 350cu), 12mpg in my Scout (33" and 345cu), and 20mph(???) in my parts Scout (stock lift 304cu). I can't verify that any of these vehicles were fully tuned although the Blazer did have all new ignition components.
The tops come off on all Scouts, so I wasn't stuck looking for '73-'75 models like the blazer. 1974 and up Scout IIs have D44s on the front and rear. 1973 and down have D30s up front. I got a good deal on my Scout so that's why I got it over a '73-'75 Blazer. In some ways its better than a Blazer in others it’s not as good. I still don't know if my idea truck is a Blazer, a Scout II or a Scout II with the 118" wheelbase.
The motors have almost no mods available so its hard to build horsepower. An aluminum intake just became available this year for the Scout 345 and the jury is still out on whether they add any horsepower. You can't even get a 4 barrel intake for the 304. The good headers are $400-600 depending on what you want (only two companies make headers for the Scout). Cam shafts are available, but you'll have to port you heads to make it worth installing a cam. Building horsepower feels like you've move back into the stone ages of hotroding, but they do come from he factory with great torque.
Chevy axles ('73-'91) have the spring pads in the right place to bolt on to the Scout, so 3/4 ton swaps are possible. You can even run Hummer H1 wheels and the wheels won't stick out past the body (you will need to modify the front steering knuckles to clear the H1 wheels).
Gas mileage wise I got 10mpg in my Blazer(33" and 350cu), 12mpg in my Scout (33" and 345cu), and 20mph(???) in my parts Scout (stock lift 304cu). I can't verify that any of these vehicles were fully tuned although the Blazer did have all new ignition components.
The tops come off on all Scouts, so I wasn't stuck looking for '73-'75 models like the blazer. 1974 and up Scout IIs have D44s on the front and rear. 1973 and down have D30s up front. I got a good deal on my Scout so that's why I got it over a '73-'75 Blazer. In some ways its better than a Blazer in others it’s not as good. I still don't know if my idea truck is a Blazer, a Scout II or a Scout II with the 118" wheelbase.
