My Scout 80

[MochaMike]

Well, I've lurked here off an on for a while.
I finally logged on the other day & thought I'd post up an Intro & my Scout build.

Lisa (my wife) bought it for me for fathers day 4 years ago for $500.
It was her cousins.* Around 1981 he traded a bone stock 80 for this one.
He got it with a low mileage SBC 350 (from a Camero), Muncie M22 (2.72:1 :() & D20.
Stock SOA D27s.* It was an unfinished swap.
He then got married, & it sat in storage for 20+ years.

This is what it looked like when I brought it home:



Here is how I got... D27s that were SOA: : coco :

[MochaMike]

Since then, I've replaced, rebuilt, or removed almost everything accept for some of the body or frame.
I've rebuilt the 350 top end, new gaskets and machine work, new exhaust, added HEI, rebuilt the carb (rochester 2B carb).
I've got an Edelbrock 600 w/offroad jets & a 4 B Edelbrock intake... But I like the way the rochester works (only stalls at extreme angles).

Dual tanks were rusted, so I added a 33 gallon fuel cell in the bed.
Aluminum radiator for cooling.
Chevy column w/gussetted steering box.

The bench seat went, along with the seat mounts.
PO glued astro-turf to the entire bed in the back. (2 days of wire-wheeling that crap out).

I replace the rusted out floor boards & part of the tranny tunnel.



Here is the sheetmetal afterwards:


Bed after it was wire wheeled:


Then I herculined the cab & bed:

[MochaMike]

Here is the cab when I got it:


I cleaned up the dash, swapped in a Chevy column (along with a new Centech wiring harness) & added some Autometer gauges:


Here they are after the I painted the dash & herculined the cab:

[MochaMike]

I bought a Cage from Joel Kelsey (Scout Dude on POR) which he had in his 80, that was just tacked together.
I added lots of crossbars, triangulation, and seat mounts.

This is 1/2 way there... Seat mounts, but no triagulation.

[MochaMike]

As for suspension & drive train:
I got Waggy D44s with 4.88s, detroit up front, spool in the rear, discs all the way around.
Came with spare front shafts & rims.
I've since picked up 2 sets of spare rears, along with 2 more rims.
Tires are 35 pro comp muds.
Also added high-steer w/HD Tierod/draglink.

Springs are 2.5" BDS YJ springs with Military wrap at both ends.

Drivetrain behind the 350 is a SM465, Novak adapter & a D18 (pin removed for 2wd low).

Here is the power steering bracket I fabbed up:

[MochaMike]

I added a front crossmember/bumper made out of 1/4" 2x8.
Also did 1/4" 2x2 on the ends.



I cut a good portion of the body out in the rear corners:


I removed the stock rear crossmember (flimsy) & welded in some 3/16" C-channel.
Rear bumper is made out of either 1/4" or 3/16" 2x4 box tube.
It wraps around protecting the rear fenders.




I cut about 4-6" out of each rear corner to allow the bumper to wrap around & protect the body.
Future plans call some 1" tube to wrap around just above the bumper to help protect the corners.



These were my first serious welding projects on the Scout.
A friend did the suspension, and another friend helped do the cage.

[Jensers]

Woah - I whole build from start to fording a river in less than an hour!

Really cool stuff - Thanks for posting.

Looks like the 350 went in there without cutting the firewall. What did you do for a steering box? How about the radiator?

Tire carrier looks great.

[Ronnie]

Mike, thanks for posting up. I'd seen various pics of your Scout over the years but never seen the progression all in one place. It looks great! : thumbsup I added this thread to the Forum FAQ Buildups list, I'm sure seeing what you've done will help and inspire others (like me!).

Ronnie : kewl :

[MochaMike]

Thanks Ronnie.
I like your builds. Seeing them, made me post up mine.

Jenser,
I have BeCool 2 row Aluminum that I got from a race shop.
I fabbed up some brackets shown below.
PS box is a standard Jeep Wagoneer/Cj one from the JY.
I welded a plate on the inner frame raile & gusseted the crap out of it with either 3/16" or 1/4" plate.







Here are more pix from the Fordyce trip:
http://contracostajeepers.org/albums...006/index.html

[Jensers]

Hmmmm... Interesting - a 350 in a scout 80 without having to remove the crossmember or cut the firewall... Cool. Your distributor must be right up against the firewall? Will it come out without pulling the motor?

[MochaMike]

Actually, the PO did cut part of the firewall when they did the swap.
It was the inner corner where it meets the floor behind the gas pedal.
I simply patchet it.
It's a tight fit. I have to run rams horn manifolds, & the last bolt in each manifold can only be removed with a wrench not a socket.

I can remove the dizzy without pulling the motor, but I have to remove the heater/vent crossover (4 bolts).

The enging mounts via the old hot rod style of horseshow girdle that bolts to the front of the block.
Last year I had to fab up new mounts on the frame rail because the old style kept ripping apart from torque.
So I made two shackle hangers on the girdle (bushing w/bolt through it), with two plates on each side coming off the frame.

The engine sits 2-3" lower than most other 350s I've seen in 80s.
I also move the front axle forward a few inches for added wheelbase.

[Jensers]

Huh - good info... I have an 80 with a 350 in it that I am going to be hot rodding in the distant future. They actually went thru the trouble of cutting the air box and welding in a rounded section so the distributor will come out...

They chopped the firewall so bad that there isnt even room for your feet down there, and I hate it. I plan to move the motor forward and lose the factory crossmember when I put on a mustang 2 front end. Then I can fix the firewall so it is comfortable.

But maybe I need to look at it closer - maybe I can fix the firewall with some headers and not need to move the motor...

[MochaMike]

If I were to do it again, I'd cut out the front crossmember & go from there.
Much less hastle.

[guidolyons]

Nice work Mike! : thumbsup I've seen bits and pieces of your Scout on PBB, thanks for sharing on here. My build is going MUCH slower...like snail paced. I am slowly working on re-doing the floor pans and am planning on building sliders similar to yours. I'm not sure how much of the rocker I am going to cut, I need to get body mounts done first I think, then work on the sliders. I like then notch so the high lift won't slip off.

[binder man]

how does the sm465 fit in there? any cutting? I've found a few I'm looking at getting and wanted to know what mods it took...and how bout more pics of the motor and engine bay, like motor mounts and such like that?

Thanks,
Luke

[MochaMike]

It fits great, but it was a little work.
The PO cut a bit of the floor out on the PS near the tunnel.
They had rivetted aluminum plates on to cover it.
Used some sheetmetal & fabbed a new one similar to the old but larger giving more room for the TCase.

IIRC I welded up the old tranny hole & cut a new one....
I think I also had to widen the TC hole as well.
You can see it in the pix above.

You can also see my engine mount above in the pix w/o the radiator (below the alt).
The engine has an old hot rod horseshoe style bracket bolted to the front, which is tied into the frame.
I tore a few motor mounts on after my first couple of trips, so I re-designed it.
Now there are two plates comin off the frame on each side, & the engine mount has some tube with bushing going through it which has a bolt.
Similar to a shackle hanger & shackles.
Does that make sense?

[MochaMike]

Might as well update this (since it's been 8 months).

Just before I started this thread, I added a winch (9/06) into the front bumper:

[MochaMike]

In April/May (07) I added a back seat...




Still haven't gotten around to doing the rear Halo... Hopefully this winter.

[MochaMike]

In June I swapped in an Edelbrock 600CFM carb. I got it from a friend who ran it for several years on his Early Bronco with a 302. It has off-road springs to help with flooding on off camber angles... It works a bit better than the old one, but still isn't as good as fuel injection.



Also changed from a mechanical throttle linkage to cable (was scary last year when a motor mount let go & the engine torqued & engine hit 6000 RPM without my foot on the gas.... : bonk :

[guidolyons]

: thumbsup Nice Work Mike! I have been using your S80 for inspiration for quite awhile. Still running the BDS YJ springs?
Still running D44's or did you do the axle swap yet? Hubs look kinda small to be D60.
You still running the Spicer 18 behind the SBC with no issues?

[MochaMike]

Originally Posted by guidolyons

: thumbsup Nice Work Mike! I have been using your S80 for inspiration for quite awhile. Still running the BDS YJ springs?
Still running D44's or did you do the axle swap yet? Hubs look kinda small to be D60.
You still running the Spicer 18 behind the SBC with no issues?

Yes.. Yes, & Yes.

$$$$ has been tight so no 60s yet...

D18 has done fine... Just seems to leak a lot...

[Jensers]

Looks like fun. Makes me jealous!

[MochaMike]

Might as well update this....

Not a lot has gone on in the last 5 months.

In October I went to Fordyce to help on trail maintenance.
Broke the front short side inner cleanly at the splines. (front right was stuck in deep hole/drop off).
Took forever to get it out with a magnet.

Still not enough $$$ for the 60 upgrades, but I was able to make a small engine performance upgrade.

This week I installed the Redneck Fuel Injection (Propane) from the J/Y.
Fired up immediately & sounded pretty good (still need to do some tweaking).
Also have to fab up some brackets for the tank in the bed, so I haven't test driven it yet.

[MochaMike]

Just finished my latest upgrades (a bed shelf & misc. storage) today....

Here is what I started with:


It took a while because I kept changing my mind as to how it would work.
Started as a metal hinged shelf. Then a hinged wooden shelf. Followed by a removable shelf that was secured at all 4 corners.
I ended up going with the wooden shelf, which slides in only when the tailgate is down.

By doing it this way, I can lock either the tailgate or the tire carrier shut & don't have to worry about stuff in storage or the tank.

I had to move the tank brackets toward the tailgate due to the hinges on not being able to clear the cross bar for the shelf.

In this fashion, I can remove the shelf & then swap or remove the tank.
There is room for either my 2nd tank (longer trips) or regular storage.

Speaking of storage, I decided to get creative....
Last year I picked up an old tool box at a garage sale.
I really didn't want it, but it was full of torch attachments & had to take it all as a package. I was going to throw it out when I realized I could bolt on top of the fender well in the bed.

I also made two brackets for straps for ammo cans.

The shelf brackets were all made from scrap steel I had in the shed (old bed frames).

Here is the bracket before & after paint:



The shelf I covered with indoor/outdoor carpet I got at HomeDepot for $15.




Locking tool box for spares:


Shelf mounted:


Ammo Can storage:

[MochaMike]

I welded on some chain links to attach straps too.
Definitely redneck, but I went to 3 hardware stores looking for a store bought bracket, but couldn't find one.

There is also enough room by the tanks to store a few axle shafts & DS, and a few other small parts...

Shelf installed:


Cooler & camping gear secured: