Dirt Track Special: 1940 Indian Scout
When I first saw the ad for this 1940 Indian Scout racer, I thought I was just going to be doing an update on the 1940 Indian I wrote about way back in 2015, which you can check out here. Upon closer inspection, I realized that while they look very similar, these are completely different bikes! Given how popular racing and hill-climbing was, it’s not surprising there would be a few very similar Indians out there. You can find this one here on eBay in Maggie Valley, North Carolina with an opening price of $9,750 and less than a day to go.
The Scout was one of Indian’s most successful motorcycles. The model debuted in 1919 and went through several revisions until 1949. The name was resurrected in 2001 and is still in production today. Through the 1930s and 1940s, there were several trim levels of the Scout. This one appears to be a Sport model, which would make sense if you were building a bike for racing. And as you can see, it has all the signs of having been raced hard, but that just makes this one that much cooler.
The seller states that while the engine needs to be rebuilt, it turns over. They also state that it’s a 750 cc unit. Perhaps they mean 740 cc? It looks correct to me, but you will definitely want to inspect this one very closely. Rebuilding the engine isn’t the end of the world, but finding missing parts could prove to be expensive and challenging, at least if you want to keep that period look.
Restoring this one back to pristine condition will be a fair amount of work, but even if you have to go through everything, it’s still less work than restoring a car in this rough of shape. If I were to take it on, my goal would be to track down vintage parts that are in safe usable condition. I’d want to treat the frame to ensure it doesn’t rust more, rebuild the mechanicals, put it back together, and hit the street with it looking a bit rough. So, would you take this one on and if so, what route would you take it?
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Comments
eBay listing says it was on display at Wheels Through Time Museum for the last 20 years and they’re selling it to make room for more displays. I’m surprised Dale hasn’t restored it, he and his staff do amazing work there!
They have been selling several of their motorcycles lately and I think it’s because they know that they will never be able to source the special, original parts, that are needed to restore these bikes back to original condition. If they can’t find them then your chances are even less.
Actually, I don’t think it’s finding the parts, it’s the budget restraints. I took a restoration course at a museum some years ago and they said that their annual budget for parts and outside labor and materials was $25K. Well, they were restoring a 1918 Winton at that time. The job was maybe 75% complete but they were looking at a $20K bill just to have the nickel core radiator rebuilt. That would have blown most of their budget so what they did was put some money away each year in a separate account and when they had enough they sent the radiator out. In this case it wouldn’t surprise me if budget restrictions are forcing the museum to simply sell off some of its inventory to allow it to concentrate on more viable projects. JMHO…
Cool to see. Thinking about black & white footage of guy’s racing bikes like this in the early ’40s. Wish I had a time machine…
What – no link?
My Dad raced them back in the day. That little Scout ruled the flat tracks of the day. There were some builder/ turners who could get every last bit of power out of them. It would be a fun project to take on. But if I would spend that kind of $$ he would turn over in his grave…LOL
This one would be a lot of work to bring back but it could be worthwhile. I’d prefer to have one that was roadworthy, even if it was just a 500 Scout…
Kickstand included?
WTT is a working museum & they pride themselves in preserving and restoring classic American MCs. They are constantly looking for rare old bikes And they ride them. Takes a lot of capital to keep WTT going. Highly recommend a visit if you are anywhere within the vicinity of Maggie Valley. You won’t be disappointed.
in-line 4? Trike?
Now ur talkin…
But no, would not send it away on a cold wet day…