[tantjjim]

I picked up a '73 Scout a couple weeks ago. It's pretty rough but it ran, the price was right, and I figure I can fix pretty much anything that's wrong with it anyway so I pulled the trigger on my next project. Here's a picture of it enroute back to my place:



It has a 258 with a T18 and a D20 and manual everything. With a little bit of work I got it through emissions so now it's time to start fixing everything else that's wrong with it and turn it into something I can enjoy offroad.

This might turn into a build thread, but I'm looking for some opinions as well. For the time being I'd like to put some 31's on it and just enjoy cruising some dirt roads but the end goal will be to have it SOA on 35's or 37's and run some hard trails with it. I have 2 options I'm looking at for doing this and wondering what you guys think might be the better bet.

Option 1: Do the SOA on D44's, the front will be a Waggy D44 so hopefuly I won't have to cut and turn the knuckles. Build the axles with chromo shafts, lockers, blah blah, twin stick the D20, maybe throw a Teralow in it and have fun.

Option 2: Do the SOA on a built Ford D60 and 14 bolt I already have, adapt the T18 to an NP231 so I'm driver drop, probably do a ton more fab than I need to to get the springs in the correct place, probably stretch the rear a bit while I'm there, you get the idea.

I gues the question is, do a relatively easy build with axles that were madeish for the rig and live with smaller axles and a t-case I probably won't love, or do a bunch of work for a bullet proof drivetrain that I'll never have to worry about. There's a possibility I'll just start with option 1 but hold onto my 1 tons and build option 2 in the future but was curious if you guys think it will be worth it to just jump to option 2 right off the bat, or if option 1 will serve me well enough on 35's.

 

[binderbound]

Sell it and buy a jeep that's already done. If you have the funds for either of the 'builds', you have the funds to buy a rig that's ready to go.

 

[tantjjim]

Sell it and buy a jeep that's already done. If you have the funds for either of the 'builds', you have the funds to buy a rig that's ready to go.

I did the Jeep thing already, it was retarded. Granted, this project might be more retarded, but at least it's a differnt kind of retarded. Think the difference between someone born with Downs and someone who is mentally deficient due to brain damage from an accident. Not sure what category I'm falling into now, but there it is.

And FWIW, my budget for this is jackshit. I have little into it and at the end will have little into it. I can fab (kinda), I can set gears, I can fix anything else that's wrong with it, so I'm really going to be into this for the cost of parts and that's it. Not sure if you caught it or not, but I already have the built 1 tons too, those will either go into the Scout, or fund building the D44's, just weighing what decision will be better for the build and my motivation to do stuff.

And I'm looking forward to doing a new project. Financially it's probably a dumb decision but I think pretty much everyone on here can empathize with that.

 

[472Scout]

Sell it and buy a built Bronco.

 

[ChiScouter]

I suggest you take it all apart and than decide

 

[Harvester of Sorrow]

1. Get it to the point that it starts, runs, steers, and stops all on its own with out needing assistance or catching on fire.

2. Drive it around town for a couple of weeks/months to see what else is wrong with it...IE grinding, gear issues, electrical gremlins, etc.

3. Assess from there.

Worst case is that you are into it for less than a $800 (right?) and you will be able to get your investment out of it.

Best case is that you have flushed out the negatives and can decide from there.

Personally the simple approach of SOA on 44's is my vote. Keeps shit simple and puts you on the trail much, much faster. Plus all of the information to do the work has been covered 1,000,000,000,000 times. Leave the truck top on it so that you don't have to put a cage in it right away. Plus with the truck box behind the cab you have a place for spares, that you will need.

Looks like you have a trailer or at least have access to one so that helps as well.

 

[tantjjim]

Sell it and buy a built Bronco.

THAT would be taking it to a level or retard that I'm not comfortable dealing with :flipoff2:

I suggest you take it all apart and than decide

Thank you for the input, however the plan here is to NOT end up like every other build on here

1. Get it to the point that it starts, runs, steers, and stops all on its own with out needing assistance or catching on fire. This part is done...ish

2. Drive it around town for a couple of weeks/months to see what else is wrong with it...IE grinding, gear issues, electrical gremlins, etc. Working on this part as we speak

3. Assess from there. This seems like a logical approach

Worst case is that you are into it for less than a $800 (right?) and you will be able to get your investment out of it.That's a pretty accurate figure right now.

Best case is that you have flushed out the negatives and can decide from there.

Personally the simple approach of SOA on 44's is my vote. Keeps shit simple and puts you on the trail much, much faster. Plus all of the information to do the work has been covered 1,000,000,000,000 times. Leave the truck top on it so that you don't have to put a cage in it right away. Plus with the truck box behind the cab you have a place for spares, that you will need.

Looks like you have a trailer or at least have access to one so that helps as well.

Thanks for the advice, this is right along my lines of thinking right now, some comments are in red.

 

[kevinadcoc]

I've had 2 scouts. Both soa on 35's, 4.56s. One was welded front and rear, the other had a spool rear and open front. Other than purchase price of the vehicles, only had cost of gears, spool, and used 35's. Wheeled the CRAP out of them both, and rolled one. Flipped it over and fixed the draglink, drive it 5 more years. These trucks were built to be beat and abused, then driven home. Other than 4" lift springs for the 37's, you should be very happy going the soa/44 route.

 

[R290]

X2. Get it running wheel it on 31's

Once you make it a good runner then start the suspension mods.

Fwiw the most fun is 2 wheel drive in the grass after a rain

 

[tantjjim]

It looks like SOA on 35's is the route I'm going to take. The front Waggy D44 I looked at looks like a good candidate, the guy already started a SOA swap when he was going to put it in his project and it has flat top knuckles and 5 on 5 1/2" hubs, should be a good start. So far I got it to run pretty well, I've driven it up to 50-55 mph and it handles pretty well on the road. Aside from a shitload of rust that I really don't care about anyway and quite a few little items to clean up it should be a good platform. Will update this thread as things progress.

 

[kevinadcoc]

If you're going to run stock springs, you're going to need longer shackles front and rear. Otherwise you'll be limited to 33's. If you run a dropped draglink, you'll have to watch for it hitting the spring on the driver's side front. You could get screwed if you're bound up on that side.

 

[kevinadcoc]

You'll need longer brake lines, and a rear drive shaft. Front will fit easily. Me and a friend used to do these all the time. Probably 15-20 total. Took is a weekend to do everything, including cutting and twisting the knuckles on the scout 44.

 

[Sully]

I suggest you take off that cab-top and bulkhead and ship them to me.

 

[tantjjim]

If you're going to run stock springs, you're going to need longer shackles front and rear. Otherwise you'll be limited to 33's. If you run a dropped draglink, you'll have to watch for it hitting the spring on the driver's side front. You could get screwed if you're bound up on that side.

Thanks for the info. The D44 I'm going to pick up has flat top knuckles so I'll probably do high steer and be done with it. Will see how it looks when the SOA is done, there's quite a bit of rust on it it so the sawzall might get me the clearance I need for 35's. Good to know I might need a little more lift for 35's though.

I suggest you take off that cab-top and bulkhead and ship them to me.

I probably should, those tops are a dime a dozen now right :flipoff2:

 

[YellowIH]

Sell it.

 

[tsm1mt]

After you play with it on 31s, fix the worst of the cancer (new body mounts in particular), then in the back tub it.

When you do the SOA, either do an RS, or cut the hangers off and move them forward 2" - then cut the fenders until the tires don't rub.

Waggy 44 isn't very different from what you have under it now, but it does have the SOA perch and flat tops, so it has that going for it.

 

[tantjjim]

I suggest you take it all apart and than decide

I know it's been quite a while since starting this thread, but this is pretty much what happened with the project. I started by sorting out a lot of the bugs from the PO, got lights working, fixed a couple leaking brake lines, typical BS. I think it was October of last year I was finally able to take it out in the dirt and on the trip back home the rod bearings started to knock. Soooo, while we're rebuilding the engine, why not start the SOA? And while we're rebuilding the engine, why not throw a 4.0L cylinder head on it? And while we're doing the head swap, why not just fuel inject it? Yeah, this snow balled quickly.

So over a year later I've managed to rebuild the engine, fuel inject it, install a T19 wide, do a SOA with a semi-float D60 rear and Waggy D44 front converted to 5 lug. I also converted it from manual steering to power, because as much fun as I thought manual steering and 35's was going to be, I'm way too much of a soft body to do that shit for long. There's a myriad of other BS, but I'm sure you're all familiar with said BS.

Anyway, I was able to take her on the maiden voyage to the gas station today and didn't die so I figured I'd update this thread. There's still a couple things to wrap up like twin sticking the t-case, sorting out the final steering setup, cleaning up some misc wiring and plumbing, etc but here's how she sits today. This pic is on 31's, should be on 35's in a week or so and heading to the desert in 2 weeks to figure out what I missed and will ultimately leave me stranded!

 

[war pony]

Looks good. But it's not too late to take it all apart, get divorced and then put.it back together

 

[LibertySand]

Looks good. But it's not too late to take it all apart, get divorced and then put.it back together

This!

 

[tantjjim]

I always wondered if I was a glutton for punishment, the IH experience has definitely confirmed my fears How else could a $700 project that I was planning on building for under $4k and finish in a couple months go over double that budget and take 5 times as long. I think after this project I have a good feel for what the IH community is all about