Scout II/ Four Wheel Camper Buildup

[ntsqd]

Not a Scout owner, but a close friend is & I've been involved in some of it's build. I refer to him as "MISF" short for "My Infamous Scout Friend" due to the multitudes of stories I've told about him.

snip.....
Big Al, the front Dana 44 with disc brakes wasn’t introduced till 1974 (although some 73’s did come with that option).

Scout II trivia: at least one of those disc'd 73's was on a D30 and not a D44, yet the brake stuff itself was Scout II D44 type parts. Twas odd......

Make that 3 IH guys on the board, but all my Scouts grew up into Travelalls
I'd definatly swap to the 44 ASAP, 30's don't like a Scout's front weight stock Depending on what condition your brake system is in overall, you might consider going to 4 wheel disks.

Were it me, I'd look for a Scout II housing, but use GM stuff from the C brackets out. Get those with the internal spline for the locking hub & do away with those bolt-on locking hub problems forever.

If it will help, I can dig up pictures of a SII with dual underhood Group 31 batteries. It requires moving or deleting the windshield washer and coolant puke tanks, but I'd think about it, SII's aren't that big in the first place, never mind if you have to start putting mechanical components in the living space.

Using this pic for ref: http://www.canaryinacoalmine.com/pix/jesse/glamshots/rsz800/DSC_0595.JPG
MISF opened up the left side of the engine bay inner panel and extended an enclosure out into the dead air inside the fender proper. It runs from the 'shelf' up to just under the rail that the fender bolts to, and out to the left to nearly contact with the inside surface of the fender.
He then did the same thing on the right side for the coolant catch tank, the wiper squirter tank, and the remoted oil filter. There is a lot of lost space in those places that can be utilized too.
I like that he went to hydroboost. That mod would be high on my list.

www.Binderbulletin.org Bring your project on over, we'd all love to see it :wings:

FWIW I developed an electronic IGN conversion using Ford Dura-Spark II parts right around the same time as that of the article on that board. I can be of more than some help if this is a desired modification. Tried to attach my article on doing the conversion, but it's too big.

In MISF's Scout he has two 12 gallon fuel tanks mounted aft of the wheel wells against the inside of the 1/4's. I'm sure that won't work in this case either. You might be able to use the space inside the 1/4's on the right, but the filler is inconveniently placed in the left side.

 

[silverscout]

Triangle Spring Co. built the OE Scout springs, and they make a 4" lift HD spring set, very nice for those of us who USE our lifted trucks, and don't just sit pretty

I assume you mean me. Thanks Bro. I'm a bit partial to my Scout as well.

(sorry for the hyjack Phil).


Ntsqd, your right. The 1973 front axle with disc brakes could have been a Dana 30.

Phil, What are your plans for the spare tire? How much weight could that Pop-Up hold?

 

[ntsqd]

[further hijack] What was odd was that they looked like D44 disc parts, but IH D44 disc parts don't directly bolt to D30 knuckles, and these knuckles were not modified. Don't know about putting D44 knuckles on a D30 housing, could be someone did that prior to the vehicle falling into MISF's hands. [/hijack]

FWIW I worked in performance brake design (wilwood) for 2 years. I dislike all sliding calipers, but the Ford design used on Scout's I like the least. Too much friction in the mount, even with dielectric grease on the mating parts.
Were it me I'd do the hub swap I suggested and keep the GM brake set-up. You'll gain a tiny bit in caliper piston size (2-15/16" vs. 2-7/8") unless using the T-Bird calipers, but more importantly you'll gain access to a much wider variety of pad compounds.

I spend a fair amount of time on Early Bronco list. Those guys who have gone to Hydroboost swear they'll never go back to a vacuum booster. The H-B unit from an Astro van is one of the favorite JY sources. Combined with a 1-1/4" bore m/c makes either front caliper set-up work really well. Scout's have a really long brake pedal, but their pedal ratio is surprisingly low considering that length, so a good booster is a real bonus.

 

[Overlanerd]

Hijack? It's a community website...no worries.

Thanks for forwarding the "Canary in a coal mine" site. After seeing his ride, I feel so unprepared to face the perils (and bounties) of South American roads.

Right now I am focusing on enclosing the camper. The interior and exterior are incomplete and we are trying to do a 4- day trip in 2 weeks. I still need to fabricate something for the windshield and windows. This will be the trickiest part of the exterior.

As far as brakes go...my buddy has been tinkering with his hydro-boost system for 8 months now and his truck is still not operable. I am far- less mechanically cabable than he and hesitate to take on that challenge. Since I have 4 drum brakes and no vacuum booster, I use 2nd & 3rd gear to stop. It seems that the booster and disks from a D44 will be more than enough for now (or more than I'm used to). I towed an 800 lb. pop-up trailer for 1200 miles on a road trip and didn't have any issues stopping. In the meantime, we'll try to travel light.

I will be coming up with a swing-out tire carrier in the next few months. It's a toss-up between buying a Jeep tire carrier/ bumper combo for $300 & adapting the mounts, or fabricating one from square & rectangular tubing. Another option is buying a cheap Jeep bumper and installing a fabricated tire carrier.

Thanks for all the suggestions and information. I'll send more pictures tonight.

 

[silverscout]

South America, now were talking. As soon as your done with the Four Wheel camper build, bring this on over to "expeditions"!:safari-rig:

Don't worry about comparing your truck to the Canary in a Coal Mine. Although his truck was well thought out, it became over complicated. It unfortunately caught fire at one point. Keeping it simple is your best bet.

I like the idea of a swing away tire carrier, if for nothing else, it protects the rear door from unwanted guests. Especially if it’s lockable.

 

[oldcj5guy]

I like the build so far. Definitely like the idea of the swingaway bumper on the rear. Here's a link to where I got the hinge setup for mine. It held up a 35 and 2 gas cans until I sold it.

http://www.rockstomper.com/catalog/pieces/hinge.htm

 

[Christian P.]

I always liked the Scout since I was young...I came across this posting...i thought you may like it


http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/car/491802891.html

 

[Overlanerd]

Hey Guys,

Sorry for not updating this thread in over a month. I got a little busy with the holidays, work, and working on the Scout.

The camper is not finished, but is good enough to have been on 3 trips in December. I have spent 5 nights in the Scout in the past 3 weeks.

The heater is awesome! I just set the thermostat to 70 and laugh at the 25 degree temperature of the Kirkwood parking lot.

The fridge keeps the beer cold in 12 volt and propane settings. I haven't tried the 110 volt yet. The little freezer in the fridge is cold enough for ice cream.

I'll post more pictures when the interior is farther along.

 

[fisher205]

The Scout is looking good. Nice job and glad it's working well. Have any interior shots yet?

 

[kcowyo]

Really nice - :clapsmile

Pics on the beach always rule....

 

[4cruzer]

coolest rig ever??

in your pre-build research, did you happen to come across any similar conversions for the first generation 4runner? I've wanted to make a similar custom top since I've had it.....
nice job, cool truck, I'll keep an eye out for you on the roads.
cheers
gb

 

[Cabrito]

Love Scouts!

That turned out great! Nice work...

..

 

[Lynn]

Great truck! Like fisher205, I, too, am anxious for interior pix.

Since it sits level, I assume I was mistaken about the weight offset? What was I missing? I'm trying to learn as much as I can from other people's builds.

Great build!

I know that we're only seeing part of the big picture, but it seems you have a lot of weight hanging off of the driver's side. What will be offsetting it on the passenger side?

 

[MossMan]

That looks really cool.

 

[Mobryan]

Great truck! Like fisher205, I, too, am anxious for interior pix.

Since it sits level, I assume I was mistaken about the weight offset? What was I missing? I'm trying to learn as much as I can from other people's builds.

No, obviously what happened was that the weight offset induced a lean, that counteracted the pre-existing Scout lean (No extra charge from the factory ), there by negating the orginal lean


Matt