There is no doubt that this is an early Scout but the seller does not know what year because he or she lost the title. International Harvester built the first generation Scout, called the Scout 80, from 1961 to 1965. This orange Scout 80 is for sale here on Craigslist. It is rough but the seller is only asking $2,300 for the vehicle. It is located near Seattle, Washington which has some high humidity for most of the year. Based on the pictures, the new owner might be fighting the rust bug on several components to get this back to a running and driving two wheel drive vehicle.
The undercarriage looks the worst with surface rust and oil covering everything. The seller states that the Scout 80 was bought from an older gentleman that apparently purchased it from an estate sale in the area. The removable top also has rust but the worst rust, according to the ad, is in the driver door. The window on that door is also broken which might be letting moisture in the cab. The rest of the glass looks pretty good but I think I would inspect this one in person before handing over any money. The original build sheet was still in the glove box and goes with the sale of the Scout 80. The seller might consider a trade or partial trade.
Under the hood does not look as bad as underneath. The seller states that the Scout 80 retains its original 152 cubic inch inline 4 cylinder engine that is backed by a 3 speed manual transmission. This engine was rated at 93 gross horsepower by International Harvester when new. Unfortunately, the motor is stuck and will not turn over. If so, this may be an opportunity to replace the 4 cylinder inline motor with a more powerful 6 cylinder or V8 engine.
I think the seller would have been better served by taking pictures of the Scout on a clear and not drizzly day. The Scout 80 was a light vehicle and was not very complicated. The odometer apparently reads 82,521 miles and the Scout will be sold on a bill of sale. The body panels look pretty good even though there are a few dings and dents. The tail gates on the Scout 80 also rusted pretty easy but this one looks solid. Hopefully, someone buys this one at a good price and sand blasts the undercarriage before getting it back on the road.
If it were 4WD,it’d be a really good deal.
I’m wondering how hard it would be to convert this to 4wd. I happen to know of at lest 4 Scouts right now, in a woods in Wis. with no fenders and doors sagging, but I bet they have all the running gear still operable. I think they were Dana units, incredibly tough. If I had the place, that’s what I’d do.
ALL CAPS DESCRIPTIONS ARE NOT DISTRACTING AT ALL. ALSO A STRANGE OBSESSION WITH EXTRA COMMAS,,, WEIRD HOW HE CHANGES TO lower case for his e-mail.
Well shiver me timbers, a 2wd Scout? That’s a new one on me, again, why bother? I can’t ever recall seeing one. It seems, originally, I read the Scout was suppose to be a 2wd to compete with the Willys 2wd wagons, but at the last minute, IH decided to make it 4wd and made the 2wd as well. They are extremely rare, fact is, none of the sites that feature Scout history even mentions it. One blog commentor said, 2wd Scouts were less than 20% over the 20 year run. This truck is pretty cashed, and it’s got to be a ’63 or newer, with the amber turn signals. Probably just a parts truck here, as with 4:27 rear axle, and no 4wd, it won’t make a good road vehicle. I’m not sure what it’s good for, as is.
My first vehicle at 16 years old was a 1964 2wd International Scout. It had no traction at all. I think I gave IH a bad name since it was only 2 wheel drive and if it rained I would get stuck in the grass/mud of the school parking lot. Fun little vehicle and I could drive it all week on 2$ worth of gas.
I had the same vehical, 2 wheel positrac, 4 cylinder hemi, removable top. Could not get it stuck, great fun.
Looks like the Scout I had in the 70’s, only difference is I paid $50.00 for it. Had it for about 10 years, it was on & off the road as my backup. It never failed me. Then I sold it for $150.00.
I was in the scrap metal business for a brief period in the early 90’s. Picked up a few of these and sold them to the shredder. Why can’t foresight be 20/20?
Cheap project?? Ya, right!
Rare? Yes. Cool? Yep. Cheap? Nope!