Gold Digger: 1973 International Harvester Scout II
This four wheel drive 1973 International Harvester Scout II has spent its life as a ranch truck and the seller believes that it only has 29k original miles. It is located in Fredericksburg, Texas which is in the hill country west of Austin and San Antonio. This International Harvester Scout II is listed here on eBay with 3 days remaining in the auction. This Scout II is bid to $10,200 as was said to be pulled from a barn in 2019. International Harvester were manufactured Scouts from 1960 to 1965.
The interior looks well used and a seat cover on the front seat is either protecting the original vinyl bench seat or it is covering rips and tears from use. The tan interior matches the faded gold exterior. The first Scouts were offered by International Harvester and called a Scout 80. The second generation of Scout was called the Scout 800 which was produced in three sub-models (800, 800A, and 800B). In 1971, the third generation model was introduced and produced until 1980. It was called the Scout II (like this model).
This Scout is equipped with the 304 cubic inch V8 engine and Torqueflite 3 speed automatic transmission. The front axle is a Dana 30 differential. The first Scout equipped with the 304 cubic inch V8 engine was produced in 1968. Early Scout 80s were equipped with a 152 cubic inch inline four-cylinder engine rated from the factory at 93 horsepower. This was also the base engine for the Scout 800 but it could also be ordered with a turbocharger which upped the power to 111 horsepower. An optional 196 cubic inch inline 4-cylinder was introduced in 1966. Other optional engines included a 266 cubic inch V8 (1967), a 304 cubic inch V8 engine (this one), and a 345 cubic inch V8 engine (1971) in second and third generation Scouts.
While tired looking, this Scout II looks to be in fair condition and not eaten up with rust. The seller is starting a business and needs the money for the new company so he/she is selling this Scout II. If it was used for ranch work, this Scout II probably didn’t see too many highway miles. Some mechanical work has been done on it but more will be needed.
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Comments
It’s ALL highway miles. From 1973 to 1985, someone drove the wheels off this thing, Texas a mighty big state. Apparently, “determined” is the central theme of the post, and if people are really bidding 5 figures on this bucket of bolts, we’re in worse shape than I thought.
128k or 228k
That was a really hard 29k miles! Color me skeptical.
229k more likely..the speedo has turned over a couple of times.
Believe it or not, under 200k is low miles for a 304. Lots of forged components, gear driven cam… Real workhorse of an engine
It’s definitely got the 70’s look, which I like. I could see it as a background vehicle on an episode of “CHiPs” 😎. Pretty cool rig if I could get it for under $3k. Yeah, I’m cheap, I know. My wife already told me.
I saw a guy in Georgia take a scout similar to this and put a lift on it & 33 inch tires and gave it a paint job & wala instant classic born to sell or keep
seldom see air conditioning. in a scout not bad for the age and not a bad price
This Scout has less rust than that Firebird mentioned earlier, lol. The fact that the seller isn’t sure of the mileage is an immediate red flag. Agreed that the odometer has turned over at least once.
My first job as a mechanic our boss had one of these that came from the dealership with a Nissan diesel L6 engine and that thing was a beast! In granny low it would pull a house down!
I hve a yard full of these outside waco
Charlie, really? about the yard full of these? I’m in need of a head for a 1973 392 with the improved cooling.(water tubes from the water pump feed the block on both sides rather than the previous feeding to the heads. If interested in chatting, send me an email.
daveyrite
I have maybe a coupla 345 motors that i might part out but really i want to build at least two nice scout 2s out of the scouts i have and then sell the remaining parts. I have bought fenders and doors individually in the past and dont want to be in that position again.
I only saw one 392 in a big truck in the late 90s and did not know about the tubes going to the block. I only knew to look under the right side for the size. Of course the 304 water neck makes it easy to spot. I think i have one of those.
One 800 196 motor with 4spd 370 axles 66k miles with a tiny rusted seat rail under drivers seat. Several ii’s and two 72 parts trucks. 1030 chapman rd., Crawford, tx.google earth to see.
Charlie, I bought my ’80 Scout II from the original owner (in Dallas TX). I was surprised to learn that it had a rather “tall” gear, 272:1. It makes for a really good road gear at the expense of some off-road capability, but of course the prized low ratio Dana 300 transfer case helps offset the taller gears.
Yep my main hunting wagon was a 1980 scout 2 but i was thinking 2.90 ratio axles. It is auto with the 345. Unfortunatly my then 16 yr old got tboned on hwy 6. The body got bent bad in the driver door side but we drove it home. It was bent so bad the cruise was over idling the motor. I have a super scout i want to move the body over to this chassis because it is in such good shape.
The A/C looks like an aftermarket add-on. I could be wrong
Ron, it’s actually factory air. My 1980 Scout II has the same A/C vent setup. Agreed, it does look like an add-on..
yep jeeps used a similiar under dash unit at the same time period. I have changed my most recent scout II to the small compressor but still use the underdash unit.
does your 80 scout have the 290 axle ratio like mine? That lets it cruse 80 on the road without straining, these motors have lots of torque and will run forever if taken care of.
maybe only the original owner knows, at any rate all the seals door rubbers and hoses will need to be replaced just as a starting point. I bet money the pinion seals, transfer case and rear crank seal is leaking. It will need a mechanic/owner to bring it up to good condition. If the door seals and real hatch and tailgate seals have been leaking there will probably be rust in the floorboards, the first thing to check is the bottom of the windshield posts to see if they are rusted out. The holes in the top of the windshield frame lets water inside the frames and it runs down into the bottom and rusts out the bases of the frames. Maybe all the time inside saved it so far. The roof seal is a good place to look before it sets outside in the rain.
The windshield frame unbolts and can be changed out.