Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives I want a project/money pit

Scouts were built here in Louisville. A friend of mine went by the factory as IH was closing it down, and bought up enough parts (he was in the scrap metal business at the time, and knew people) to keep his old Scout looking new for a LONG time.

Far as I know, he's still driving the thing. Last time I saw it (we lost touch some time back), it was looking like brand-new. All the bodywork was immaculate.

IH built Garands and tractors here for awhile.

I like them too, and looked at them but they are hard to find and $$$. I want something I can bash around in, and something with fairly cheap parts that I can afford to mess up, so I am trying to avoid something 'too nice'.

I had an 89' K1500 that I gave to my dad. I'm glad I did as he got a ton of use out of it on the farm, but it would have been a decent candidate were it not for the old familiarity breeds contempt thing. If I'm going Chevy truck it has to be 67-72 or 73-87. My heart is in a full size because I have never owned anything but a full size.

It seems like a guy can get a fairly decent heep off of Craigslist for $6K or so. I am entirely ignorant of them save for the fact that they are very good off road and the Just Empty Every Pocket thing. Heck, I bet I haven't even ridden in one more than once or twice my whole life and never off pavement. What makes the 97 or later jeeps better than the older ones?

Maybe consider a Jeep Cherokee XJ. The 4.0 and AW4 trans are pretty much bomb proof and good for at least 300k miles. You can check them out here:
http://www.cherokeeforum.com/

A neighbor had a Scout Traveller, the long wheel base version. It was in great shape. He died a couple years ago and I don't know what happened to it. One thing they needed on it was 4 doors.

where ya live at ?.....I got a 97 grand cherokee with good engine and bad tranny Id sell ya reasonable......

Buy a Chevy. That should cover the money pit part.

If you're not scared of fords, think about a bronco. The older 60-77's are a bit spendy if you find a decent one, but they're very cool. The 78-79's are plentiful, easy to work on, easy to buy parts for, and still very cool. Much bigger than the 60s'-77's though.

Jeeps are also cool and obviously tons of new and used parts available.

Yeah they are. They're also just as easy to wrench on. Quite a few parts available, and worth a ton more. Finished or not.

What about building yourself an old school baja bug?

Completely different and fun I'd think -

The 92-96 Broncos were the last version, and had a lot of commonality with the F150. The interiors were somewhat upgraded compared to previous versions. A few years earlier they received overdrive transmissions and fuel injection. For a using large Bronco they seem to be the most practical.

A couple years ago you could get a decent 92-96 for $3-$5k, now they seem to be appreciating significantly, I can't recall seeing a good one recently for less than $8k, and restored examples might bring $15k. So fixing one up might turn a profit.

They've had fuel injection since 86. Lol.

They really are a cheap, cool, 4x4. Many of the suspension parts are the same/same as an F150. I'm sure the front suspension is the same.

I love bronco's. I had a 79 as my first 4x4. I'd like to find one to toy with after my '55 f-100 is finished.

Yep, but I think it wasn't until 95 or 96 (the last couple years of production) that the 351W became a full roller motor. Unfortunately ones in good condition seem to go for a fortune around here. I've settled on the fact that if I can at least find a clean body with a decent interior I can always rebuild the drivetrain the way I want it anyhow.

Yeah, a 351W roller is reletivily inexpensive to build. I'm doing one now for my 55 f100. Injection would be nice in your next of the woods I imagine.

We need to travel to get one worth a dime. Ours rust out here. They can be fixed but your time is worth something right?

I scrolled and scrolled, looking and wondering is someone going to mention it?

Scout.

If I get around to building a little trail buggy for myself I will likely go scout rather than early bronco. I love early broncos, don't get me wrong. But from what I've seen, a scout is a much cheaper rig to start with. They are both terrible for rust problems but I think in project form you can often buy 4 scouts for the price of one clapped out bronco.

Cheesy mentioned the Scout in an earlier post



Been there (I grew up in MI). It's not hard to find a good body out here but I don't want a ground up build either. EFI is a must out here, frankly if I were building a motor for a vehicle I intended on driving regularly I wouldn't even consider a carb'd setup.

A buddy of mine has one of these that he bought new in 1977. Helluva truck.

That's because he's amazingly brilliant.

That's why I said "a few years earlier" IIRC the overdrive trans and rear anti-lock brakes came in 87

The Scout looks like it was designed in a Far Side cartoon. Can we say crude?

Even when they were current, parts were spendy for them.

One guy did bring a Scout into Dad's garage once, that had been converted with a 4-53 Detroit Diesel. It was actually kinda neat. Also taught me Dad gets angry when you innocently cycle the "Emergency Stop" button.

Willys pickups look pretty good, lifted with big tires. Think they take Chevy drivetrains without much trouble.