Hot Rods Dare to be different - 63 Scout

The "Elephant Hunter" was at Saskatoon International Raceway back in the mid-'70's. When he got that little squirrel to go straight (half the runs!) it was really quick, but the runs where he was all over the place were much more entertaining!
I had a '61 four-banger, did an axle flip and stuffed in a 304 Int. V8, hoop roll bar in the bed. Fun lil' truck, wish I still had it.

 

BadAss and with some history to boot! Look forward to seeing it, do those Wheelies!

 

I'm shamefully jealous. I had seen the add for it when the last owner was selling it. I spoke with him at length, but was unable to seel the deal. Good luck with your project.

jn6047

 

Those things have a decent frame under them, between the ones I see here used as plow trucks that the whole damn body's rotted off from and they still go, and guys used the frames to build stock cars with coupe bodies just before the tube frame era, too.

 

Holy Toledo
Same idea, different car

 

met Jim a few times and even saw him about 2-3 weeks ago, heard some neat stories from he and friends about this machine, i say have fun with it and get it rolling ! Then come take me for a ride ! just kidding, well, maybe

Derek

 

Sounds like a cool ride, looking forward to seing it running.

 

Very cool Saxxon!!

Ever since I went to a local sand drags event that had several straight axled/stretched wheelbase flat-fendered Jeeps I have considered a similar idea for my '48 Willys CJ2a... but for now I just need to get it running I think I will stick to my dry lakes push vehicle plan.

Dig the Holy Toledo too.

 

I love it man. I allways wanted to lower one of them .

 

She must of been a big "wench" if she tweaked a scout 80 frame there fully boxed frames that are much stronger than other stock frames people use for hot rods..................................By the way nice project good to see something different

 

Saxxon, Thanks for a great post. Nice to see farm equipment racing.

 

Totally cool, keep us updated please!

 

I can't believe folks are still interestted in my project

I had pics of the build to date then promptly lost them trying to transfer them to my PC. Why is it I can rebuild a transmission but can't take a picture? (Idiot)

I've talked to a number of previous owners and a few of the lunatics that went on 100 mph rides usually sideways and usually with at least 2 guys hanging off of the original rollbar. They all have a similar theme. The Scout was fast and really really squirrely. I also found out that the guy who took the original pictures for Hot Rod is a local guy, Richard Wood photography, and he has about 80 pictures of this from back in the day. These include the World Of Wheels show from 1973 and the long burnout Jim did in front of the Winnipeg stadium after the show. I'm currently trying to get a cross section of the portfolio without going broke. If and when I swing a deal I'll post some of them.

As far as the build goes, I have recently found myself in redesign hell. I keep revisiting previous work and making changes which seems to snowball for about $500 before it stops and I move to another change. At the moment all the changes have been for the better and it has even helped me find some mistakes.

I pulled out the Dana 60 and ladderbars to let my current welding guy in to finish the frame changes and found some misalignment in a couple of locations in the ladder bar install from about a year ago. I'll need to cut off the current brackets and do it again. Wheelie bar placement is the next thing to figure out. I also decided to go with a front and mid engine plate rather than the Hot Rod universal crossmember. It looks a whole lot better and a lot more "racy". This gave me a chance to drop the engine and make it compliant to the 24 inch from ground to crank center rule.

I have trimmed out 3 massive crossmembers from the original frame and replaced them with chrome moly (back and mid) and mild steel (front and ladderbar cross). I figure I've hacked out about 80 pounds so far. I'll keep the original frame rails because they are the original rails and they look great. Heavy as hell, but look great. The new front crossmember will conveniently double as a rad cradle.

I have the front end apart and discovered the straight axle is a late 60's kit with 1957 Ford F-100 spindles and brakes. Go figure that NAPA still has part numbers. I'll be able to rebuild the front brakes for about $100. (Sweet) I also decided to get rid of the 55 chevy saginaw steering box and I will go with a unisteer cross rack rack-n-pinion box.

The motor is done as is the trans. The 377 motor is milder than originally planned (Carb now, injection later) but should still pump out almost 500hp. Enough to get the truck sorted out without killing me. (I hope) With a projected race wieght of under 3000 pounds with my fat ass in it this motor should push it to mid / low 11s

I'll have pictures after the weekend (I promise)

The plan is to have it running by the summer. It won't be pretty but the original patina is really cool. My next decision is whether or not to run the roof. If I do then I need to put in windows to be race track legal. The truck was never run with the roof or the hood. I'm leaning in the direction of roof and windows. (looks better) and have a couple of rusted out Scouts located that have the slider windows and rails.

Thanks for the interest in the Scout.
I'll try to keep the build up to date.

 

I love it. I've always wanted to do this to a 80/800, but never had the room. Can't wait to see progress pics

 

Sorry kids but no pictures. I never got to the shop this weekend and may not for a while. My Mother is passing soon (Cancer) and obviously what time I have left with her is the priority.

As soon as everything settles down and I get back to the build I'll post up.

Thanks for your patience.

 

I had 70's something Scout. It had a V8 that would not rev at all due to cam design. Trackloc rear end. Full roof came off and it had a canvas one that went on in the summer. It was truly a good 4x4 and tuff. Wheel base was a little short for normal street driving but off road it was great.

 

any updates on the scout?

 

Any updates on this very cool project?

James

 

Here's the latest on the project. I regret that I didn't get the pictures with the rear end in place. It's really cool with the ladder bars and wheelie bars mocked up. It'll have to wait until it's back from powder coating.

So what we have here are a couple of shots from below and a front shot.

The below shots are showing where we hacked out the existing cross members and replaced them with Chrome moly. It also shows the 8 point cage we are putting in. The slots at the back of the cab are for the down tubes. The interior has a wierd angle to it so we had to cut reliefs to get to the frame. The 2 in the middle are from the original build in the 70's where the roll bar was the same width as the frame. That wierd box on the passenger side of the frame is the original battery box.

Yes the outriggers for the roll cage look crooked. They have since been straightened and welded in for keeps. We have added 12" downtubes from the roll bar to the frame to triangulate the outriggers.

The front shots show a bunch. We have the engine mocked in with engine and mid plates. It really shows how far back the engine will sit. I'm waiting on the installation of the front cage bars so I can trim the plate and mount the rad.

You can also see the front suspension set up. That's original from the 70's and will stay that way. I have brakes so all you spindle mount junkies will be disappointed. If you look at the right front you will see the Unisteer cross steer box I plan on using. That's a few weeks down the road.

I'll have more once the diff is back and installed.

 

Cool! Really cool...here's to racing "Farm equipment"!
I have always been a bit intrigued by Scout's...I've had a handful of Early Bronco's, and we fellas always regard each other with suspicion, yet a strange mutual respect, around here...

We expect low 11's, and perhaps eventually high 10's out of our "farm equipment" this year, too...if we can ever get it finished!

 

i hope you can make the rear tires hang out like it used to be.. crazy 70s cool !!! i think it kinda made the whole truck.. good luck really cool project

 

thats pretty damn cool

 

Here's a shot of the original builder, Jim Pratt back in 1973 making a pass at the old Keystone Dragways in Winnipeg Canada. This is how everyone who has seen it make a pass remembers it. No roof, no hood, few brains. In fact the photographer, Richard Wood tells me that the roof seen in the Hot Rod article was added specifically for the photoshoot. personally I really like the look with the roof and my version will have one.

Note the footprint on the old Mickey Thompsons. This is with big leaf springs, no traction device of any kind and 5.13 gears.

Also note the primitive (by today's standards) roll bar.
Aaahh those were the days, when men were men and for the most part fearless. Or stupid, but there's a fine line between the two.

 

I spent a vacation week banging on the truck and made some really good progress. Thought I would share some of it with you.

For those who have not read the whole thread, the project took a step backwards when we found out the ladder bars and crossmember were not installed correctly and some of the welds could have been better. As a result we tore it all out, re-ordered what I needed and started again. Well I'm here to say it's taken me 3 months to get to where I should have been 3 months ago.

We installed a new crossmember for the ladder bars and shock mounts. During this time I went nuts with a 5" grinder and took off every unnecessary bracket and previous attempt that was still clinging to the frame. Nothing like 4 hours of grinding and a couple of hair fires to make you feel warm and fuzzy about your project. Not to mention the effect it had on my shoulders. (Ouch !!). The frame was smoothed out with a blending wheel and I spray bombed the lot of it. It'll eventually be finished properly but until I sort it all out it'll stay with the back yard look.

We also got the cage welded in and triangulated. I had to cut a piece out of the bulkhead to get at the welding points but it was worth it.

We finished the welding on the diff and sent it out for powder coating. It looks great. As we were putting it in I discovered that there was play in the bearing seats. 20 hours of welding and fabricating and $200 worth of powder coating later we find out the Diff was worn out !! Apparently this is very common for Dana diffs. My brother hardly bats an eye and pulls out a grinding tool specifically designed to fix the issue. It only took an hour or so of hard work and the diff was like new.

We finished the install, added the brakes and put the tires on just to see how it all lined up. I think it looks awesome. Just to add some shits to the giggles, I threw the wheelie bars on and stood back to look at it. I'm stoked. I wish I had a decent picture of the wheelie bar look but I couldn't get an unobstructed view where the truck is sitting.

During this week I fabbed up a subframe for the truck bed. It's designed to support the fuel cell and battery box. It'll double up as a floor support for the thin gauge aluminum I'm putting in.

For months I've been agonizing about what to do for a seat. In the end My brother and I decided that our lack of sheetmetal skills shouldn't get in the way, so after we watched a couple of Monster Garage videos we started pounding on a sheet of aluminum and ended up with a seat-looking-like ... thing. I made a few wooden templates for the brackets and got the guys next door to cut them with their water jet. I'm pretty impressed how it's turning out. Sort of a retro bomber look. Should look cool when completely done and hold my fat ass pretty well.

Also this week, I scored a set of Brodix Track 1 heads. They'll replace the Edelbrock Performer RPM's I was planning to use. I'm hoping they'll push me a little closer to 500 hp with a single carb. Once I get the suspension sorted out with the "practice" engine, I'll drop a roller cam and the hilborns in / on it and put the wheelie bars to good use.

More to come folks

 

For the past week and half I've been thrashing to get the truck into some sort of shape for the Rod-a-Rama car show this weekend. But the truck has decided something else.

I've managed to mount the Unisteer cross steer box, it's a little unorthodox but it appears to work. (pictures coming) I decided to mocked up the engine and trans again to make sure the headers clear the steering. While I was picking up the empty T-400 case my back went out. This is an old injury that needs surgery. This put me on my back for a day and at 1/2 speed for the last week. Once I got back to it, I found out the headers don't clear the mid plate. So I pulled it and will recut a new design.

I've got the front brakes refurbished and remounted and currently putting in the brake lines front and back. I have a fuel system in pieces waiting for the install. I also mounted all the tin work in the truck box. Considering I have "0" tin working skills it actually turned out pretty well. I also pulled out the roof and hacked the back out of it get it to clear the roll bars. My Bear's steering kit has come in and I have it mocked up. Here's where the truck bites me a second time. I decide to make one additional tack to hold it in place. It was entirely unnecessary but I do it anyway. I blow a hole through the thin metal and drop spatter on the shaft inside. I have to cut the whole thing apart, clean the spatter off the shaft, remake the shaft housing and machine some new bushings.

I found out today my bargin Brodix heads have the wrong valve springs. I've only been asking the guy to check that for 3 weeks. So, I won't have them for another 2 weeks. The upside is I have a set of top of the line titanium keepers and valve springs for when I upgrade to a roller cam.

I still have a complete engine on the stand and still have thoughts of showing the truck as a work in progress at the show this weekend, so today I pull the mock up engine and trans, pull the steering, clean up the front of the frame and spray bomb it. It looks ok, but I plan to redo it after the show. I also meet a guy who it willing to do the body and paint for a very reasonable price. (Cool).

Just as I think things are going well, the truck bites me a third time.

I'm stepping down from the back of the truck onto the drive up hoist frame it's on and I slip. With all the grace a short fat(ish) middle aged guy can muster, which isn't very much, I crash down about 4 feet and land on the hoist frame, the hood edge and an axle stand. I slash 6 fingers all to hell (blood everywhere) and the axle stand takes a big chunk out of the palm of my left hand. (More blood). I have a some nasty purple and black bruising on my legs and arms. On top of this and the worst of all, I have re-aggravated my back.

Once again I have look at the flip side,
>> Yes, like an idiot I fell off the truck,
>> Yes my hands are messed up and my back is wrecked,
But I didn't break anything, I can still type so I won't miss work and I narrowly missed a rack of axles that would have done some real damage.

I also realized my left leg had slid over the moist frame and under one of the cross beams... A few more inches of fall and I would have had anew knee joint and some exposed bone... Wow... that was really close

But in the end, I get the not so subtle hint and much to my disappointment I decide to cancel out of the show. Almost immediately I feel better.

Of course it could just be the drugs kicking in or the beer going down a little too well, but I'm comfortable thinking it's just the weight lifting off. Now I can slow down and do it right rather than rushing to do it half assed. Besides, the state the truck is in may be just about perfect for the paint and body guy to take over.

Maybe I should have listened a little earlier to what the Scout was trying to tell me.

Pictures as I take them.

More as it happens.

 

This is a really cool project. Keep the updates coming...

 

Be careful man. Us old(er) fat(ish) guys cant jump/climb around on/under/over these rigs like we used to.

Dirty Harry said it best, "A mans got to know his limitations".

Ive really enjoyed reading about this project being found, researched, and brought back to life. Thanks for sharing it.

Hmmmmmmm. Makes me think. I have a 2WD 63 Scout 80 with a decent body and no engine sitting in the back 40, and a running LSx 5.3 that I just picked up for a song. Might make for a fun (fast) project.

Mike

 

Any updates on the scout??

 

I've seen this thread a couple of times, but hadn't checked it out until now. I have to admit, that a '61 Scout 80 was easily the stupidest vehicle that I've ever loved! My former girlfriend, when asked what kind of "toy" car she wanted, responded "a Scout". This was an otherwise normal, adorable Asian female ( I found out later this was just the tip of the iceberg!) So a likely candidate was found and the purchase was made. After a short round of making it reliable and safe, she drove that damn thing every day! When she wasn't driving it, I was (windshield folded flat, no top thank you!) Forty five miles per hour was all that thing would do - flat out. Which actually worked out well, because like most adorable Asian female types, she had absolutely no grasp of physics as they apply to automobiles! She started making noises about wanting it to go faster, and I very rightfully refused to put a bigger engine in it until she started taking corners with all four wheels on the ground. The reason I'm explaining this is that during the process of trying to get her attention away from making it a monster truck, I called on my buddy Jimmy Smith (Jeem here on the hamb) for a drawing of it as a gasser type deal. This happened to coincide with a commission for him from "Street Trucks" magazine for some truck drawings. So somewhere out there on pages from about March of '03 or so is a bitchin' rendition of a Scout gasser, complete with a oddly sexy, black haired, Rothesque monster driving it, on two wheels of course! Wish I could have kept that trucklet when she went completely crazy, but it was a gift, so it had to go away.

 

Sorry for the dead space since the last update. Us Northern folk tend to focus on indoor stuff like building cars when it's -40 and we can huddle around the cutting torch. I've also been consumed with basement renovations. It's really hard to justify to your wife that you are going to the shop when she is painting the walls of the only room in the house she has agreed to let you make into a man cave.

In the few evenings I've gotten to the shop I got the steering installed, fuel system installed and started to route the lines. I also put in some time in the cab and started some body hacking.

If anyone is building a gasser or rod I highly recommend the Unisteer rack-n-pinion box. It's a quality product, lightweight and looks cool. Once I got a mount fabricated and took about a gagillion measurements the box slid in nicely. I reverse threaded one end of the steering rod so I can adjust the toe in without taking out the system. The Bear's steering kit was also good to work with and it went in with only a little aggrevation. (See previous update)

The fuel system is based on a Holley Blue and billet particle filter. It'll push 22 pounds (with spring change) to a billet distribution block at the front. The regulator will bleed off the extra pressure and route the excess back to the tank. This system should handle up to 800hp. I spent more than a few hours running fuel lines. As much as like the look of the fuel tank up front, my tank isn't a moon style and I'm not a big fan of using an alluminum box full of fuel as a bumper if I ever stuff it in a gaurdrail.

Build tip - If you are not experienced bending lines, buy 3 times the length you think you will need.

Build tip - NEVER bend tubing when you're tired or frustrated. Inevitably you will try to do something without taking the tubing out or using the proper tool. As a result you'll crimp it and ruin all the work.

Mounting the steering and the seat was a blast but not without some issues. The steering had to run up the left side of the firewall recess to clear the headers and the seat had to move towards the center so my shoulders would clear the roll cage side bar. (I'm a little on the wide side). That means the steering is moving left and the seat is moving right. Ultimately the steering will have a pronounced angle back into the driver but I've seen this alot on old school gassers and it actually is comfortable. The other logistic issue is the very small footwell as a result of the engine setback. That puts my feet back to the left. In the end I mounted the seat at a slight angle so I don't tie myself up trying to drive this thing. For giggles I mounted a tiny little 10" steering wheel. I'm sure once I start wailing on this beast for real I'll want a bigger wheel. In the meantime I like it and it'll stay until I have to change it.

The next issue was the shifter and switches. The seat location and my vertically challenged status (Short fat and wide. Not always a good combination) meant any switches on the dash were out of reach with the belts sinched up. I spent some time researching and saw the old school Hydromatic shifter boxes looked neat. So I fabbed up a box and mounted the shifter and switches on/in it. It looks good and it's exactly where they need to be.

With all that done in the cab I couldn't help but do some fantasy racing. I spent so much time sitting in the truck going "vroom vroom" my brother thought I had been huffing the argon.

I thought you guys would like to see a bit of engine porn so I threw the injectors on the engine just to preview the final product. I'll be running a carb for the first little while to sort out the chassis then switch over to the Hilborn unit.

Next up is to finalize the engine and run the electrical

I also have a body guy waiting in the wings. All, I have to do is get it running and decide on a color. (Any suggestions???)