Incredible Interior! 1979 International Scout II
Not only is this 1979 International Scout II wearing its original paint – albeit faded and in need of some bodywork underneath parts of it – this 4×4 has one of the amazing and flashiest original and almost-perfect interiors that we’ve seen, including having factory air-conditioning. The seller has it posted here on craigslist in historic Charles Town, West Virginia, named after George Washington’s youngest brother. The seller is asking $11,000, here is the original listing, and thanks to T.J. for sending in this tip!
Despite the faded paint and graphics, or missing graphics on the passenger side, this Scout looks great to me. I don’t even see a door ding on this rig let alone any glaring issues with the body. There is some rust around the rear wheels as there almost always is, but all kinds of premade body panels and filler panels are available from several sources if you don’t want to make them yourself.
International made the Scout from 1961 through 1980 when they got out of the personal vehicle market, and the Scout II was made from 1971 through that fateful year of 1980, when I graduated from high school, ouch. Instead of a Scout II as a grad present, I got $400 ($1,500 today), which I used to buy a rusty 1971 Toyota Corolla two-door wagon, ouch again. If I had gotten $400 worth of Apple stock instead, it would be worth (if I did the math correctly) $570,000 today with five stock splits. Why do I do this to myself?
I can’t imagine a nicer interior in a Scout than this, and the seller says that’s factory AC, as you can read in the big yellow letters. The seats look perfect both front and rear and the rear cargo area looks as close to like new as I can imagine for any 44-year-old vehicle. This Scout only has 45,000 original miles and has never left West Virginia, according to the seller who is the third owner.
Even the engine is the one that most of us would want, a 345-cu.in. OHV V8, which by 1979 would have been factory-rated at 161 horsepower and 292 lb-ft of torque. It sends that power through a three-speed automatic with a console selector and a transfer case to all four wheels, and the seller says that it runs and drives like new. How this one is still for sale is beyond me, it sure looks like a winner to me, despite the bodywork that’s needed. Hagerty is at $14,400 for a #4 fair-condition example and a whopping $36,300 for a #3 good Scout, so there’s a lot of room if you do the bodywork yourself. Any thoughts on this Scout?
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Comments
The interior, especially the upholstery, is…. wonderful. And it even has matching door panels.
Looks like a pretty good Scout.
This is worth buying for the sweet interior alone.
Remember when actor Jay Silverheels’ narration was featured in TV commercials for the Scout? Without looking, that may have occurred prior to 1979. If I was going to get a Scout, I’d want one endorsed by Jay Silverheels. “Get ’em up, Scout!”
Some photos from the underside, under the mats and even some door opening/rocker closeups would be nice, but this appears to be very solid relative to the the majority of the unrestored rust buckets out there. I sold my 1980 with 100k more than this one, a 304 and a pretty rough stripped out interior, no tilt wheel or AC for $7,500 about 8 years ago. The prior owner’s rust repairs were beginning to fail and I wanted to unload before it turned into Swiss cheese just sitting in my garage. If the listing is 90% true and accurate, this Scout may be a pretty good buy.
I met Jay silverheels aka Tonto in 1972 when a kid & got his autograph to say I was star struck would be putting it mildly as I watch The lone Ranger religiously lol. He was gracious to me & a fond memory indeed . The Scout is a steal I believe at this price & I’ve watched a neighbor have one painted & lifted & wow ! What I difference throwing some money at a Scout 2 can do!
BA, I’m incredibly jealous! I’ve been watching all five seasons of The Lone Ranger in a continuous loop for the last few weeks, one after another until the end and then starting over again. I’m like Howard Hughes watching Ice Station Zebra over and over again, except I don’t have long hair and long fingernails and I have no money. Mr. Silverheels had one of the best voices of all time and was a great actor. He’s missing in a few episodes because he had a heart attack but then he comes back and is as active as before. What a great guy, I wish I could have met both of those two stars, he and Clayton Moore (and, John Hart from season 3).
I’d like to see your source for the 345 V8 making 161 HP and 292 lb*ft in a Scout for 1979. I don’t think that is correct.
The International Harvester Collection on the Wisconsin Historical Society website includes a spec sheet (appears to be the back page of the brochure) on the 1979 Scout II, which shows the 345 making 148 HP @ 3600 rpm and 265 lb*ft @ 2000 rpm.
For the year prior, the 1978 Scout II brochure (available on multiple websites) shows 163 HP and 292 lb*ft for the 345, which is almost what this article says. Did you perhaps find this ’78 brochure, assume ’79 was probably the same, and misread that 3 as a 1?
Given its (outside) condition the price seems spot-on. If you have a friend who owns a body shop, this can be a real steal.
Cool interior indeed. I always wanted one of these. Nice write-up, Scotty!
I had a 74′ Scout from 76-78′. 258 cu in, 3 spd on the floor and 4:11 gears. It would pull like no tomorrow in the rough. However, passing on a two – lane road took planning, skill, and some bravery. I was fortunate to have an IH factory truck dealer near my home, so repairs were easily done. I drove mine all New England and the Canadian Maritimes. Not one hitch. The only drawbacks known at the time were the hydraulic clutches, they failed early, like around the 35K mark. So bad, that there was a demonstration by disgruntled owners in Fall River, MA. The points systems would kill it on every heavy rainstorm-put a boot over the distributor cap or go HEI. Lastly, those 345’s did not get good fuel mileage, but they sure were strong. Best of luck in the hunt
Honest 4x4s, get you where you need to go 🐗🎣🚠🏂🎿🏄🌄
General comment. I saw one of these at a car show a few years ago. The one I saw also had factory air and I believe an AM-FM radio.
Looks like this one has the slide bar on the radio too.
When I was a kid, I had a Tonka Toy version of this. Had a detachable roof and a removable snowplow that angled to both sides!
One day, I almost got run over in the alley behind my parents house when I was out plowing snow with my faithful Scout in a snowstorm no less.
Guess the guy couldn’t understand I was trying to keep the interstate open for his driving pleasure for God’s sake! Lol!
Judging from my Mom’s reaction she didn’t either!
Tonka toys were made in Minnetonka, Mn. a western suburb of the Twin Cities.
I remember an ad on TV I believe. International Scout II. Anything less is just a car.
It’s gone, which one of you grabbed it?
The 4 barrels on scouts were not made by edlebrock. My 1980 345 had a 290 rear axle ratio and would run 80 all day long and pull anything i needed to pull. It is factory except it now has a little round aftermarket compressor. The shifter cable froze up backing out of the shop and was not repaireable, luckily a scout guy in temple had one in stock, this was about 1996. Still have the scout along with a few more.