(first posted 12/5/2011) Look (sort of) familiar? If you were a well heeled European in 1976, would you pay well more than a top-line Range Rover for it? Felber and Monteverdi were both struggling with their original and customized sports and passenger cars, and by 1976, the SUV boom had hit Europe. Solution? Buy Scouts, and tart them up, sometimes beyond recognition.
The Felber Oasis got a natty new slant-nosed front, and undoubtedly a bit of improvement in the interior over International’s stark fare. Power? A choice of Chevy small block or a Chrysler 440, if you had to stay well ahead of the Range Rover. Never mind the Cornbinder’s tough but primitive suspension; the Range Rover’s long-travel all-coil setup was vastly better riding. But Monteverdi took things much further yet.
It’s kind of sad to think that Monteverdi, which made some of the most beautiful GTs in the sixties as well as the ultra-hairy Hai (above) – their answer to the Lambo Miura, but with a hopped-up Chrysler 426 hemi in the back seat – ended up like this. No disrespect to the Scout, but this was an act of sheer desperation.
The Sahara, which appeared in 1976, was a pretty feeble attempt at disguising the Scout. Engine choices were the IH 345 V8, as well as Chrysler 318 and 440 V8s.
The Sahara was apparently just a warm-up act for the Safari, which had a whole new body designed by Fissore. Most definitely an improvement, but the Scout’s basic proportions are obvious. I wonder if International considered building this body in the US for a next gen Scout?
Monteverdi also offered these tarted-up , even more europeanized (or is it “Prescison Sized, heh heh) Volares.
Yes; I was thinking they’d make good fodder for a more in-depth look some time.
Good luck finding one parked anywhere.
It looks like a Volare mated with a Peugeot 604.
I didn’t know these existed. It’s always a good day when I learn something new! 🙂
It’s a long way down from this grand Monteverdi 375/4 to the pig’s-lipstick Volare.
Agreed.
Its unlikely the Scout was on the Swiss market so the feeble attempts at hiding it wouldnt have been noticed by the locals but its not a serious challenge to a RangeRover.
As a matter of fact, Scout IIs were sold in Switzerland in not insignificant numbers. I have been driven in one and have seen a couple more on the streets. Right now, there is one for sale on the Western Swiss equivalent of craigslist. Also for sale on a different website is Peter Monteverdi’s personal Safari he used when he was in Morocco.
More generally, Switzerland is a bit of a paradise for old American (or American-sourced) iron. We even had GM and Chrysler assembly plants in the country up to the 70s.
A day with posts right up my alley.
I’ve never seen anything that showed the Oasis being equipped with a SBC from the factory. Granted I’ve seen them say it was equipped with a 5.7l but the other specs IE compression ratio, bore and stroke match up with the SV345 that IH would have installed.
The Safari does actually use the basic Scout II body tub they just cut it off, apparently at the body line.
The Chrysler power plants easy installation was due to the fact that past sometime in 71 IH started using the Torqueflite 727 as their automatic. So it is just a matter of building one in the appropriate Mopar bellhousing case with the Scout II output shaft and transfer case adapter. Not sure if IH ordered them and installed them that way or if the trans was built up in Sweden.
For those looking for a little more reading here is a page with some info and links to brochures and period US magazine tests. http://www.collidingstar.com/scout/sahara.htm
No IH never considered using the Safari body for the Scout III but it did influence the choice of one of the directions the Scout Business Unit management wanted to take the Scout for the 80’s.
They had examined the S/U (sport/utility) market carefully in the days leading up to it’s demise and correctly predicted that vehicles in that segment would soon replace the B-body as the family car of choice. With their experience with the success of the Midas conversions selling at Cadillac prices. (Van conversion company meets SUV and fills it with thick shag carpeting, swivel front and fixed rear captains chairs and a 3rd row seat that folded down into a “bed” on the Traveler versions) and the Monteverdi and Sahara’s leathered up and sometimes TV equipped versions selling for much more than Cadillac prices when imported back into the US led them to think that an all out Luxury SUV would sell in profitable numbers thanks to the ability to have a huge profit margin. Unfortunately that, getting the go ahead to returning to developing the Scout III in general, or moving forward with the SSV (Scout Supplemental Vehicle) in any of it’s versions (including a “mini van”) was dismissed in favor of attempting to sell the unit as a going concern.
None the less their marketeers were correct that one day the decendent of the S/U would be the number 1 family truckster and it would be equipped with all the features of a “luxury” car, even the modern version of Monteverdi’s optional TV the DVD player.
It sure would have been interesting if IH had been the one to debut an Escalade/Navigator before the big two. I just wonder how much of the tin tank like driving experience carried over in the Monteverdi’s.
As mentioned they sort of did with the Midas up fitted versions they were pushing Caddy teritory so it wouldn’t have been too much of a stretch to kick those up a notch. One of the proposals would have had IH producing a stripped chassis that would have been bodied by a 3rd party. The deal for Coachman the RV manufacturer to produce the composite bodied SSV fell through at the last minute.
And if Mercedes-Benz had offered the pimped up luxury version of its G-Class SUV with V8 motors in the 1980s…which they did belatedly in the early 1990s (and finally early 2000s for US market).
I threw this together pretty quickly; probably too quickly, to do the subject justice. Thanks for the extra info.
makes you realize the truth in the maxim, “Timing is everything”… especially true in the automotive world!
IM wondering … Is There a Place On CURBSIDE CLASSICS where we can Ask a Question; say
“WHY WOULD I WANT to BUY a Minivan, If Cost is no more than ANOTHER small Sedan?
There Must Be a Place Where We could Pose Questions Like This? Or Start a new Topic? Or just to ask for advice opinions of our fellow car fanatics?
A Place Where We might Have Links To Other Great Car Sites? Are There Any? THIS IS definitely my favorite. But I Need To read about old 50s -90s American Cars MOre!!!!1
Thanks for any insight or advice, here.
Hmm, good ideas, perhaps Paul would be into a forum. We can always ask.
Stay tuned……………..
We’re cooking up an advice column. But some of your questions might not fit that perfectly. If you want to start a discussion that might be of interest to the larger group, send me the issue/question (using the Contact form), and I can post it.
The idea of a user-generated forum has been a thought of mine too. Let’s see how out new advice column does, and we can think about it some more. It might take some major re-formatting of the site to have a forum too, but I’m willing to contemplate it.
As far as other sites, do you want to read in-depth histories? http://ateupwithmotor.com/ has many excellent ones. Or are you looking for more technical advice with them. If you let me know what more specifically you’re looking for, I can try to suggest some other possible sites.
That Safari is by far the best looking SUV I’ve ever seen. I want a pickup that looks like that!
I was worried when I read this that Scoutdude might firebomb the site for the comments about the Chev engine. Was very relieved when I saw his comments.
The International Scout was responsible for most of my good memories from a very good duty station. It took me all around the Panama Canal Zone. I really have no more use for one thats all tarted up than for the basic stock unit. Mine was a 64 with a rock crusher four cylinder. Thanks for the memories!
Personally I’ll take the IH SV for motivating my Internationals but I certainly wouldn’t kick a 440 powered Monteverdi out of my Garage. But being obsessed as I am I’d have one of EVERY different major variation of the Scout II platform, if I had the money to do so. But NEVER would I allow one powered by a SBC to be called mine.
The final plan for the SII to meet CAFE and EPA regulations did call for them to source Slant 6’s as the replacement for the 304 and a “un-named” and possibly undecided “automotive grade” V8 “around 300 cu in to take the 345’s place in the line up. So it was highly possible that if the Scout had made it to 81 the 318 would likely be the top engine choice.
Very interesting. Reminded me of something, and then you mentioned Fissore, which jogged my memory of the Rayton Fissore, another strange Euro-market SUV.
It makes one wonder why did a successful company like International Harvester pull out of the SUV market in 1980. Did the bean counters not see the future of SUV’s dominating the market in the late 90’s. was the cost of retooling as they had gone thought it twice before price prohibited. Was the oil crisis still fresh in their minds as to what types of small vehicles would be around in the 90’s? Did they think aftermarket car shops would be the future leaving no room for creativity. Were they running out of money to maintain such a big break even operation. So many un answered questions.
I think the Scout was a leader in styling in certain areas, and could have really jumped us into the 21 century with open mind designs. I remember people saying in the 90’s there is no room for another car manufacture to enter the SUV market. Then came along Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Cadillac, Lexus ( Toyota and Nissan had always been in the game, but not at the luxury level you see these days). The Montiverdi Safari, looking like a Range Rover, was a great alternative moving in the right direction when all other SUV were square in appearance in the 80’s. I personally have a Scout 800, and like the fact that it is different in many ways. I would like to have a Safari Montiverdi, because I see it as the missing link in the direction SUV came. But I do want to thank those designers for taking a chance to build something a bit different and letting s know there is always room for one more. Just my thoughts.
I did touch on some of the thoughts about the plans the Scout Business Unit had for the Scout line for 1981 and beyond above (as Scoutdude). Just the other day I came across this website in the “International” Harversters sub forum on our Favorite IH Forum http://scoutpointitalia.jimdo.com/scout-iii-ssv/ With a couple pictures of the concept drawings and clay mockups of the proposed SIII, not to be confused with the SSV, which caused the SIII development to be put on hold as money was diverted to that project.
Here is a clay of it with a very Chrysler Minivan look to the grille. Note that would have predated the release of said minivan by quite a few years as the article that accompanies one of the pictures was said to have been taken in Feb 1980. However the original intention was to bring it to market for the 1981 MY but as I noted above development of the SIII was put on hold to develop the SIII. There were also concept drawings of a minivan which used to be posted on the SSS website but are now on their Facebook page. Note many of the displaced engineers from the SBU did end up with Chrysler so porting over their grille design isn’t too surprising.
Another view, note go to the website I listed above to see the full size versions. By the way did you find your way here thanks to the links in my signature over there? I’ve always wondered how many people have came here from those.
Of course now I see you were involved in that thread.
I know this is old, but to follow up with the question of why they stopped, it was basically government intervention. Due to the economic woes of the time, the government sat down with Chrysler and IH. The short of it was that IH would stop making passenger vehicles and Chrysler would stop making commercial trucks.
Um, NO. IH was not told that they would stop making light duty trucks. In fact they had a deal to continue making a stripped chassis using the then current SII as the base and have a 3rd party, Fleetwood better know for their RVs, make the SSV (Scout Supplemental Vehicle) body using the composite body forming process that IH had developed and do final assembly. The company backed out at the last minute.
Nonsense. iH couldn’t sell enough light trucks to make it pay, esp in a suddenly hostile market for sport and pleasure vehicles.
hey guys, any of you ever see the sahara or scout with an original diesel power plant? i saw one over 30 years ago
Liked the looks of the (Euro) Granada-based 3/5-door hatchback Monteverdi Macho concept that unfortunately never entered production after appearing at the 1980 Turin Motor Show powered by a Turbocharged 2.8 Cologne V6, even if the front-end looked very plain.
Despite being developed by a Swiss company, the Monteverdi Macho was essentially a large hatchback that would have likely appealed to non-European markets such as the US and Australia.