This 1978 International Scout II is listed for sale here on Kijiji for $8,500. The Scout is located in Brampton, Ontario near Toronto. The seller states that the Scout was sold by Forest City International Trucks Limited in London Ontario in 1978 and remained in the area for the next 37 years. The vehicle is clearly a project but is said to run and drive.
The tan and black interior shows wear and the odometer reports that 91,000 kilometers have been traveled in this four wheel drive vehicle. Many of those miles could have been off road. The Scout is nicely equipped and includes power steering, power brakes, air conditioning and even cruise control. Cruise control was not as common in the 1970’s as it is today.
There is not much information about the 345 cubic inch V8 engine in the ad. The engine delivered 168 net horsepower and 288 lb ft of torque from the factory. More specifications and engine options for Scout IIs can be seen here. This 345 cubic inch V8 is connected to a floor shifted A727 automatic transmission. One interesting feature of the 345 cubic inch V8 is that it has timing gears instead of the timing chain.
The body on this Scout II does have rust and the seller notes the floors will need to be replaced. Personally, I like the look of the faded paint as is. So who is a fan of the International Scout II?
These vehicles are starting to make a comeback slowly but the first generation more so but there’s a problem!! There are zero parts available and these things rusted very badly no matter where they ended up . There engines had low power weak cranks and rods that like to come out of the blocks due to bad oiling channel s . International was not in a good place when these were being made they had a lot of money troubles and union issues with employees and in the early 80,s there vehicles couldn’t compete against the big Four that existed at the time and Japanese vehicles were becoming popular due to there gas mileage. This one looks like a good parts truck but the price is too high for that . If your going to put that much time into a restoration buy a early Bronco because they bring the money when there done. And yes they rusted too.
Mike, your statement “There are zero parts available…” is completely erroneous. As a Scout II owner for the last twenty years, I can tell you there are dozens of companies out there that can supply just about any part you need for a Scout. They can be costly but it beats “unobtainium”. The oiling system may not be on par with modern engines but these engines were built like anvils for farm and industrial uses and I’ve never heard of a 304 or 345 spitting rods out the side of a block (would be difficult anyway at the low RPMs in which these engines operate). My opinion.
I’m inclined to disagree with you, Mike. Just jotting down the places I can think of, I count (7) that specialize in Scout and Scout II parts. While there might not be QUITE as many suppliers for Scouts as there are for Broncos they’re up there and the new items available are increasing. As far as the engines are concerned, I’m going to disagree with you again. They might be heavy but I’ve seen them almost outlast the trucks. Loads of 304s and 345s out west still seeing daily service. In big trucks, I’ve seen Chevy 409s blow more spectacularly than any Binder. I DO recall an AC160 with a 240 six that had a piston break and the rod fly out both sides of the block and finally land on the road. Very hard blocks, you need a Sunnen hone or equivalent to make a decent surface to seat rings; a regular de-glazer won’t do it. Emission controls got nasty with Binder and that really sucked the power out of them. And yes, they DO rust. But then whose trucks from that era don’t?
The link is not working.
Found it:
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/mississauga-peel-region/international-scout-ii/1516536033
I have owned 3 scouts with a 392, 345, and 304. I they were some of the best motors you could buy period. They will run for 200,000 mile without breaking a sweat. They were heavy and the only aftermarket parts were headers, they rusted no more than any other truck and later in production galvanised sheet metal was introduced to combat any rust issues. They came with great running gear dana 44s front and rear dana 300 transfer case and strong chrysler transmissions. You can’t beat IH scout for reliability.
Oh yea! As a former original owner of two Scout II’s, I can attest to how strong an reliable they are. The first was a lowly 1973 Scout II, base model with only two options I bought new in 1974, as a leftover. The only options it had was an A727 auto, plus AMC 258 straight six, that ran fantastic, but slow, with little power, especially with a single speed transfer and 3:08 gears. It was terrible in deep sand, only due to the fact it would only bog down an not move, till my passengers got out to push! Never got stuck though with not enough power to dig in. The second one fixed all that. I specially ordered a Special Edition 1978 Scout II 4×4, TERRA Truck, loaded with 345/4 brl I immediately added headers and dual exhaust, plus cane with HD A727, 2 speed Transfer with 3:52 Detroit Locker. The truck was sharp in canyon black, with gold Rock crawler wheels and stripes down the sides, plus white fiberglass removable roof. Tan pillow top bucket seats and dash, that truck could Tow! Plus low range sand drags I would beat anything that ran against me, stock.
These were good sturdy trucks that were built the same way they did their farm equipment or over the road heavy trucks!! Tough!!!! I’d love to have one of these to add to my collection and drive around!! The big problem is I got to much already!!!
I use one to plow about an acre of driveway using a V-blade BOSS plow.
It’s a beast!