I’ve always had a soft spot for International Scouts. My parents had one when I was little, and it was replaced with another after my mother rolled it. I’d had an opportunity to get one, so I grabbed it.
Back at the start of my COAL series, I’d started out with a 1970 Chevy truck. It had started to rust again, and I felt that I had to sell it while I could get something for it. By happenstance, after I had sold it, my parents were visiting friends in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and they were taken to visit a fellow who imported old vehicles from the US for people in Newfoundland. In the back of the shop, they had spotted a medium green Scout in good condition. Was I interested? The gent sent some pictures, a price was agreed upon, and it was shipped to me here in Cape Breton.
A Sunday afternoon drive with Dad and Mom behind, in their ’38 Ford.
It was a few weeks before I got home to see it. I was pretty impressed. Very little rust was present as the Scout had come from Colorado by way of California. It was an 800B, which was the last of the old-style Scouts. Equipped with a 304 V8 and a Borg-Warner automatic, with a Dana 20 transfer case, it was a sturdily built vehicle. It needed a few patches on the floor, and on the bottoms of the fenders and rocker panels, but nothing near what the Chevy had needed. I was floored that all the brake lines came apart easily. After going over it, it needed very little to get it roadworthy. A new set of brake shoes, cylinders, and a master cylinder later, it was set. I used it once or twice in the fall of 2003, and then set about freshening it up.
The only pic I could find of the ’75.
Years ago, my father wanted to find a good winter car for my mom. An acquaintance of his had a pea-green Scout II with woodgrain stripes that he wanted to get rid of, and Dad ended up buying it. It ended up needing bodywork to fix it up, but after some work and a coat of Omaha Orange paint it was all set for Mom. It had a healthy 304, a Torqueflite automatic, and the single speed transfercase. She loved how it was good in snow, fairly decent on fuel, and the 304 in it would never fail to start, no matter how cold it was. They liked it enough that they ended up pulling the roof off of it for the summer, and using it on nice days. One winter not long after the above picture was taken, Mom hit a patch of black ice, and she, my brother, and the Scout landed in the ditch wrong-side up. They were OK, but the poor Scout was damaged beyond repair.
The only picture of the ’74 I could find.
Another one was found – this one being a ’74 with a worn-out AMC 6, a stick shift, and the two-speed transfercase. This wouldn’t do for Mom, so the engine, tranny, and transfercase were stuck in the new Scout. It ended up not being successful – this Scout was pretty rough as was typical for the area, and on top of that it it was hard on fuel. Dad said something about it having the 6-cylinder gearing made it hard. The heater was no great shakes, and the final straw was when the transmission control cable broke and another one couldn’t be sourced. Dad ended up replacing it with an ’85 Toyota 4-Runner. In my young opinion, it was inferior in every way. The orange Scout had delivered 5 years of happy motoring to us. The Scout was easier to get in and out of for us kids in the back, and we sat up high enough to see out the front window – a big improvement over the sedans Dad had, where all we could see was the back of the front seat. The Scout was solid on the road and had plenty of power, and was great in the snow. The 4Runner was not a high-powered vehicle – in other words, you had to carefully plan your pullouts and passes, and the seat being close to the floor made it uncomfortable for me. So you can see the large impression the Scout had made on me and my family. Mom wrecked the Scout around the time Dad had gotten his ’38 Ford, and had the Scout’s beefy engine fit the ’38, it may well have been the first fat-fendered Ford with a Binder engine.
Getting it ready for paint. Look how rust-free it is!
Anyway, getting back on topic – I hated the dull green paint on the Scout, so the colour had to be Omaha Orange as it was on the ’75 . I saw a picture on the internet of one with a black roof, so that was selected as well. I got a decent buy on a set of Ford F150 aluminum rims, so I had them machined to fit over the front hubs.
After paint.
The interior was carpeted over to try and deaden some noise, and I had to fabricate some elbows to fit the filler holes to the gas tanks. The gas tanks were located just ahead of the rear tires, and the fillers were slightly above the top level of the tank, requiring a quick 90 into the top. Once it was all together, it was down to the business of actually driving it. The first year of driving turned out to be quite interesting. Having sat for a while, the fuel tanks were rusty inside, and had a habit of plugging the fuel filters quite often. Two coatings later, the two tanks were no longer shedding rust particles. The engine had issues as well – some knocking noises, a prodigious appetite for oil, and not a lot of oil pressure at hot idle. After some reading, I suspected that it may have pushed some camshaft bearings out. Another engine that had been rebuilt was presented, another 304.
The IH SV V8 is an impressive chunk of iron.
I cleaned up, resealed, and painted the new engine, and dropped it in. One thing about the Scout V8’s – the engine sat so far ahead in the engine bay, you could sit on the engine and unbolt all the bellhousing bolts easily. I think it was out and in in a day. Once completed, the engine was fired up, and the 304 I remembered in my youth was back. Easily starting, and idling butter-smoothly and quietly, I was happy.
My favourite valve cover design of all time. I love these.
It turned out to be a great engine, not burning a drop of oil. After the first highway run, it had developed an awful lifter noise however. A read on the Binder Bulletin mentioned high-speed operation could starve the top end of oil. The Scout, being an automatic with smallish tires and 3.73 gearing, turned over around 3200 RPM to make 60 MPH, with a top speed of about 75. The thread suggested adding another 2 quarts of oil, bringing it up to a total of 8 quarts.That did the trick. Over the next 11 years, I got a ton of use out the old Binder. I took it to the Atlantic Nationals in Moncton in 2004. I didn’t win a prize, but the fun was with hanging out with our friends from Newfoundland.
Taking a break before going to the show.
So, what was it like to drive? Like a step back in time. With slow manual steering, and small drum brakes, you had to keep lots of room in front of you as it wasn’t a good stopper. The 304 delivered a good amount of power, and sounded nice to boot. The B-W automatic needed about a minute of idling when cold before it would go into gear, but never gave any real trouble. It did shift from first to second at about 10 MPH, and into Drive at 15 or so. The engine had loads of torque, so it was never really a problem. Fuel mileage wasn’t great at about 12 MPG, but was to be expected from this heavy-duty powertrain combo. It had a carb from a 351 Cleveland on it according to the tag, and a carburetor was tried from a 302 on it with no change in mileage.
The only time it left me stranded was when the rocker arm on the fuel pump broke. Being a combination vacuum/fuel pump to drive the vacuum wires I figured it’d be hard to get, but a call to the parts store I had worked at at one time had one within a week for a cool $100. I was grateful to get it.
The indignity of it all!
In the meantime, I had gotten married. The Scout proved adept at towing our little Trillium trailer to the various local campgrounds with friends for weekends away. It was always a conversation piece wherever we went.
It looks bigger than the Scout here.
With the birth of my daughter in 2008 the writing was on the wall for the Scout. There wasn’t enough room for the three of us in it, and I couldn’t figure out a safe way to allow my daughter to ride in it. I used it myself for the next few years, but after mostly sitting for 2013, I decided to part with it. There was an older gent interested in it who wanted an old four-wheel drive truck as his Power Wagon had gotten too difficult to drive. It was sent on its way, and I was on the hunt for something fun in the meantime. I really hope that you all have been enjoying the stories – if there is anything I can do better I’m up for suggestions! Thanks for reading!
The obligatory dash view. This must have been the old engine as the oil pressure was really low here.
I love that instrument cluster. Everything you need, nothing more or less, in a perfectly legible font. It’s an elegant factory set-up in its pure simplicity and functionality with metal-on-metal, chrome bezels, simple, round green (turn signal) and red (brake?) warning lights, and a color-keyed plate holding it all together.
This is so cool!! But wasn’t there a toggle switch underneath the fuel gauge so you could check the fuel level in each tank? I vaguely remember 1 in my uncle’s Scout 800A.
And down on the floor to the left of the driver’s seat was a valve to switch tanks.
Bob
It did have that and the valve in the floor, but one sender was bad. I’d try and keep both tanks topped off.
Only cars I’ve had with the instruments set directly in a flat sheet metal panel were Saab 96’s, and I know what you mean.
I once gave a lift to a friend who’d grown up on a farm in North Dakota. He said the 96 instrumental panel reminded him of the old trucks on the farm. He meant it as a compliment.
Hi Marc.. just saw your post. I now own that Scout 800B you’d repainted Omaha orange there in Nova Scotia all those years ago. Such an amazing story! Did you remove and possibly keep the glove box line card when you did the respray?
Cheers Brad
I’m old enough to remember when Pizza Hut restaurants still looked like the one in the picture where y’all are “taking a break before going to the show.” The one in my town looked like that, but now it’s been renovated & looks like all the others you see nowadays. Somehow the newer design just isn’t quite as distinctive even when a red roof is still on the building. I like the design of that instrument cluster too, but how did you ever figure out the engine RPM at 60 mph without a tachometer? In a way, my Ranger with the camper shell looks like a modern interpretation of these old-school 2-door SUVs, more precisely a late-model Bronco (the roof couldn’t be removed after 1991) but without 4WD or the tailgate-mounted spare tire. Another way to look at it is if the Bronco II had remained in production along with the Ranger & had never gotten replaced by the Explorer. You can’t achieve this look with an extended/crew cab pickup or a 4-door SUV b/c the wheelbase is too long & there are 2 doors too many. Sure, you could still get an Explorer with 2 doors up to 2003 but with split side windows it still didn’t quite look like the old Bronco. The only SUV left in the US that still comes standard with 2 doors is the Jeep Wrangler.
I did have a tach in it, mounted to the bottom of the dash out of the way.
Excellent story. You make all the work you did sound simple and straightforward, but I can only imagine the man hours and labor bestowed upon this Scout. Maybe one day your circumstances will change as your daughter gets older and you’ll find yourself with another one. Thanks for sharing its story!
Some day I will have another Scout – hopefully a Scout II. Something with better brakes and power steering, and a proper back seat!
Hi Marc. Just wanted to let you know that I am really enjoying your stories. Your series is one of the things I look forward to on Saturday mornings! Thank you for writing them!
Thanks, I’m glad you’re enjoying them!
MARC writes: “if there is anything I can do better I’m up for suggestions”.
Keep doing what you are doing. These are interesting and well illustrated COAL stories.
Thanks. I do have lots of pictures for future entries too.
+1
Agreed that your series is a Saturday morning treat, but since you asked, your Dad’s ‘38 Ford sounds like a good story.
I remember my Dad telling me about a ‘39 Ford coupe that he had when he was in the service in the late ‘40s but alas, there aren’t any pictures.
So cool! Thank you for posting this! It brings back so many memories. My Uncle Bob and 2 Scouts: a 1964 Scout 80, red with a white top, and a 1970 Scout 800A in like a pea green with matching top. His 2nd Scout also had a 304 V8, 3 speed manual on the floor and 4 wheel drive. Those V8 engines had a real cool sound when idling, a very deep truck like rumble. It sounded so powerful to my 11 year old ears. I remember the “new car smell” in his smelled like Cosmoline. Not long after it smelled like a wet Black Lab.
I remember the manual choke, the vacuum operated wipers, and no insulation inside. Combined with the low gearing these had the engine noise in them were so loud on the highway.
This was the vehicle I learned to drive a stick shift in. I remember when I had my learner’s permit, my uncle would ride along. Almost every time I came to a corner I would downshift to 2nd. My uncle would bark out “you don’t need to do that, this isn’t a sports car!” Lol! I always told him he should have gotten the optional 4 speed.
You mentioned the engine being so far forward in your Scout. I believe when IH went from the 80 to the 800 series Scout, they moved the engine mounts forward on all of them to accommodate the V8 engine.
Thank you again.
Bob
IH also changed the angle of mounting of the engine when the V8 became available from the factory. Early 4-cylinder engines were mounted more vertical than 45 degrees.
Yes there were major changes made to the early Scout to fit the V8 in. The 4cyl was tilted 15 degrees to clear the heater system and fit back closer to the firewall. So the cylinders were at a 30 degree angle when mounted in the vehicle and if you look at the oil pan you’ll see the mounting rail is 15 degrees off from the pan bottom. The radiator support was also moved forward for clearance and if I remember correctly that was also done to accommodate the 6 cyl engine, however the 4cyl stayed in the same place with the same radiator support location so that putting an IH V8 in a truck that left the factory with a 4cyl requires major rework, while you can tuck a SBC in the 4cyl space.
Glad to hear from you Scoutdude!
Why do an SBC when you could do a 304 SV? SBC’s are good motors but way so generic. My uncle starting that 800A raised my eyebrows! All of awesome! Part of the personality.
I seem to recall my uncle’s friend had a 1968 Scout 800. I thought the radiator was more forward toward the grill. Not sure. Been a long time. My uncle told me his friend’s Scout had the “big four”(196 cu in). I thought that motor was more forward but you know better than me.
Because a SBC will drop into an unmodified 4cyl engine compartment and the SV requires major surgery, not to mention that a SBC is a dime a dozen.
I love me a good Scout story. I worked at a place with an earlier 4 cylinder Scout that they used for snow plow duty. Occasionally it would be pressed into service for other things and I got to spend a little wheel time in it.
I had never driven a Model A at the time, but it wasn’t far off. The A had faster steering but worse brakes. I cannot imagine one of these with a V8. The borderline between having a blast and sheer terror can be an interesting place, one that a V8 Scout must inhabit.
That’s a good way of describing it. The steering was manageable but slow. It was really, really front-heavy, especially once you took the roof off.
That guy in St. John’s who imported old American vehicles—I’m intrigued by his business model. How many vehicles did he import per year? Would he buy a given vehicle because it was from the States (and relatively rust-free), because it was old, or a bit of both?
Did the fact that he was in remote Newfoundland enter into it? Would something like this have worked in, say, Toronto?
As I understand it, there weren’t a lot of old, old vehicles over there generally as there wasn’t a road across the island until 1970 or so. So he kind of filled a niche bringing in old cars that weren’t really native to there outside the bigger towns.
IIRC the case of the Scout was that someone had ordered it, and backed out of the deal, and he was stuck with it.
One for sale here
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/bedford/1971-international-scout-4×4-800b/1373221700?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
That sure looks like the author’s truck, Ohmaha Orange, black top, roof rack, sliding windows, Ford aluminum wheels with the Ford center caps and Roadmaster Rampage G/T tires.
Oh my god, that’s it!!!
Jump on it!
Marc, I’ve just purchased it. It’s being shipped out to B.C. right now. I’ll take great care of it. My first ever vehicle was a 72 Scout. Then I bought a 78. Back in my twenties I promised myself I’d buy a nice Scout 800 before I turned 50. Yours is the one. It’ll enjoy some beautiful drives up the Sea to Sky highway to Whistler, and the occasional run into the mountains for fly fishing. Thanks so much for the story.
It’s funny – the details about it I’ve forgotten. The deer antler shifters, the Credit Union sticker in the windshield for my parking permit, the Caravan seats. Aside from a little fading on the roof and the carpet inside’s gone, it looks the same!
Nice truck and nice color choice, good to see another Binder ‘nut here.
This Scout looks eerily like one I see around town on occasion where I live!
Same colors and all.
Quite rare vehicles here they were sold here new but probably Australian models as IH AU did build them, rust put most of them out of actio0n years ago but I saw an ad on a classic car FB site for Scout parts recently and it was amazing how many answers the guy got. I like it but having learned driving in now ancient 4x4s I guess thats normal.
The dash reminds me of the one in Dad’s ’65 Checker Marathon.
A few years later, he’d get a ’60 International Travelall with a 304 3-speed. I don’t remember it now, but I’d bet it had a similar dash!