Despite looking like it’s been parked for a few years and was just uncovered, this is a running, driving International Harvester Scout II that is in respectable condition and loaded with factory options. The Scout II has seemingly been looked after by its long-term owner, who is also only the second caretaker of the Alabama truck. The Scout II has just 71K miles on the clock and is equipped with a 345 4BBL engine and automatic transmission. The options list includes disc brakes, air conditioning, a rear step bumper, and more. FInd the Scout II here on eBay where bids are over $12,000 with the reserve unmet.
The listing includes a Buy-It-Now of $36,000 which offers some insight into where the seller hopes the auction will go. The interior is also quite nice, featuring parchment bucket seats and a center console, which is seemingly part of the “Deluxe” trim package. The interior isn’t perfect but is clearly very nice for being unrestored, with just signs of typical age for the mileage. The dash appears to remain uncracked and the door panels show no damage from cheap aftermarket speakers or other “enhancements.” The seller notes the Scout comes equipped with four-wheel drive and lock-out hubs, and notes that the transfer case is in good condition.
The engine bay is like the interior, which is to say incredibly honest and unrestored. While many Scout enthusiasts like to find these trucks with the durable Nissan-sourced turbodiesel under the hood, this engine will prove far easier to live with when it comes time to replace consumable components. The engine bay is not overly detailed and that’s OK, as it shows us just how honest this truck really is. The seller doesn’t say much about the mechanical history or health of the Scout, other than noting it drives well and that is has been “well kept” which is certainly obvious based on the photos.
By keeping its home in Alabama, the Scout has undoubtedly survived far better than the many trucks that lived in the snow and rust belts. The bodywork can turn an otherwise fine truck into a parts rig in short order on these Scouts, so it’s fortunate to see such tidy bodywork considering how complete and correct the rest of the truck is. The Buy-It-Now price seems ambitious to me, especially for a truck that presents like a driver in almost every way. That’s not a criticism in terms of condition; just thinking out loud that $36K is a fair number for one that’s been restored to some degree. What do you think? Is the asking price fair for a nicely-preserved driver Scout II?
Just about any price is out of reach for my budget but I sure wouldn’t kick it off my driveway. Parts for these are fair to come by but some trim pieces can be a challenge. With the numbers on the road increasing the aftermarket is going to rise as well.
The engine won’t be needing anything major for a while. IH blocks are very hard and last a long time. Most engine parts are easy to source although, as I mentioned before on another post, replacement coolant tubes are a challenge. I wouldn’t be afraid to take this on a long trip.
This truck can come to my place. I will give it a good home…
The coolant tubes you mention are an easy fix, mine rusted so it was simple just to replace the ends of the tubes where they fitted into the engine.
That works for the most part. However, I’ve seen some that were completely perforated and all but but turned into rusty confetti. Replacements were the only way. I’ve had a couple of customers make them out of exhaust pipe. They mandrel-bent the tubes then made the ends from thicker-walled tubing. Then silver-soldered them on. With machined O-ring grooves they fit better and sealed better.
Okay, this is a MUCH different story than the older one, that I blew a gasket about. This is similar in name only, and while I wouldn’t use the “new” Bronco for any kind of comparison, this, at least, is a plausible price for one dandy 4×4. The V8s could be finicky, but so am I. I remember the ads for these, the guy takes his mom for a ride, and she says, “Louie, its a truck” and Louie says, “no mom, it’s a Scout”. The debate continues on what was the 1st FANCY SUV. The Cherokee made that claim, but it should be noted, the Scout ll was the best of the bunch. Had things gone down differently, like tax the heck out of the imports, we might be talking about the new “Scout”, but that’s not how the cookie crumbled. I for two ^ , think the Scout was a classy truck. The Scout 80, not so much. Get this right, be the last SUV you’ll ever need, and just think, if that Scout 80 post is any indication, resale will put your grandkids through college,,,or so it seems. Great find.
And I realize the “import” thing may ruffle some feathers, but a 5 letter word, that happened to be an import, took down the #1 truck manufacturer, IN THE WORLD,,,and that 5 letter word? Volvo,,well, that and Toyota took down the light duty line. Too late now, and the solution? Be one of the few to enjoy the best we had, right here.
Hey, what’s with this “retired” business? I’m supposed to be retired too but I’ll have to settle for “Tired.”
The import thing. Yes, I think that Reagan should’ve extended the tariffs on imports to include cars, trucks and construction equipment. Yes, the importers can bring it in but if they insist on selling it for less than cost then the sides should be evened up. I remember a customer coming back from a trip to Japan and telling me that a Honda 750 was at least 50% more over there than it was here; a Land Cruiser was something like double over there. Of course I was never there to verify it.
There’s always the comments that imports were “better” than domestic brands but after being a mechanic for the better part of 50 years, I can definitely say that was a total myth. I worked on it all…
Thanks, pal, yeah, I put that “retired” on there so people don’t think I’m some know nothing know it all punk on their phone. Probably not necessary as nobody has been named “Howard” in the last 40 years anyway.
Always risky pointing fingers at imports. The reason I say those things, is some folks that were in diapers in 1978, may not even know who or what IH was. I’m bitter because, unlike the big 4x4s, K5, Bronco, these were more of a mid-size, more on par with the XJ Jeep and TEN Ntimes the vehicle a Toyota was then. With competition like the XJ, and Toyota Landcruiser, IH made a risky gamble, and put everything into the HD market, that was going great guns at the time. In the 70s and 80s, I’d say 7 out of 10 HD trucks were IH. Most of the many trucks I drove were IH. Fleets had hundreds of IHs, Schneider,was the biggest, I think. THEN Volvo hit the scene. Oh, it was subdued at 1st, with the White/GMC/Volvo offerings,( a rebadged White) which were actually good trucks, until it just became Volvo, and decimated IHs truck market. I think Volvo offered a “bakers dozen”, buy 12, get the 13th free. IH couldn’t compete. Again, nothing wrong with Volvos, they all use the same mechanicals, but AGAIN again, we never thought in a million years, with our Bulldogs, Cornbinders and Frightshakers,, they were any kind of credible threat. Sound familiar?
Politics destroyed a lot of what we had, and our ancestors died for. Free Enterprise doesn’t exist anymore; just take a load of money and grease the right palms, and you get what you want. It’s sad because I’ve got grandkids growing up in this. I’m doing my best to teach them to never forget, and that buying American isn’t going to “Wally World.” Me and Corvette turn 70 this year, and I’m not letting my grandkids forget that. And while I’m at it, a great trucking icon, the R-line, also turns 70. Well the Korean War ended too…
Toyota hasn’t come close to taking down the “light duty line”. Maybe the midsize, but the Tundra’s sales are pale when compared to Ford, Ram, and Chevy.
Toyota has been successful with its Tacoma but, yes, the Tundra has been lukewarm at best. Kind of reminds me of the Honda Pilot and the 450 motorcycle…
It gets 8 mpg. I remember watching the fuel gauge drop while diving on the freeway.
Not crazy about the original patina interior and plain engine compartment. But these are built for climbing powerline cuts and deep woods camping
“…What do you think?…”
not for sale, just testers for later sale
(of course ‘tests’ sell when top quote is reached).
Nice rig, wonder Y the stretched wires?
Need doz ‘under’ pic (& same 4 interior) for
this hi a $ command…
What’s that mean in ENGLISH?
Very good condition Scout given its age and propensity to rust. Certainly worthy of at least a light restoration. Durable vehicles. Too bad IH decided to jettison light trucks production. Likely couldn’t find a buyer at the time. Fast forward to today and light trucks and SUVs dominate the market. The Scout name is now owned by VW and they are planning to revive the nameplate in the next few years.
$36k for the newer version of the ’64 featured above? Both sellers are betting on the small Bronco/K series Blazers pricing themselves out of the market? Maybe. But going in at that price, you better make that Scout into a world beater custom, or you’ll be swimming underwater.
My dad owned two of these, 73 and 76. Both were fantastic 4×4s except they liked rust.
The reason these trucks were so good in their day was the engine, not some high spinning lightweight alloy thing adapted from a car or other vehicle in their range, these were a slow spinning heavy TRUCK engine, I asked an exhaust guy to make mine sound like a hot Chevvy but he said it never would because it’s a truck engine not a car engine. In my Scout Club we used to spend weekends pulling Toyotas, Nissans, Landrovers, even Jeeps out of the sand in the dunes near the coast in my State, in low range first gear you could get out and walk alongside the Scout due to the low revs but when it came to ‘GRUNT” these things had it in spades over all the rest. Sadly rust, especially around the windshield, let them down that’s why you don’t see many anymore.
These really were a cut above of the competition. The right size and nicely put together. The styling avoided typical trends and still looks good. They’d build one just about any way you wanted it. Except for the funky paint and the spot over the rear arches, this one looks pretty decent. Not nice enough for what they want though.
I had a Scout II with a 345. Stock it had a nice exhaust burble that reminded me of an Olds V8. Dual exhaust from the factory needed no improvement. Sounded just right.
Would be cool to have one again but I’m not wealthy enough for that nostalgia.