Andy's 75 Scout 250

[scouttoo]

I know how that goes!

 

[Scout-It-Out]

Well finally, some progress! I decided the rocker panel was too far gone to save. It didn't take much to get it cut free.

Because of all the rust in the floor, the door opening wasn't square. That's what the padded bar is for. (no it's not the beginning
of a roll cage) the padding is 'cause I hit my head on it already. The new rocker is 2x2" square tube .090 wall.

 

[Scout-It-Out]

Some more progress:d:d I built a new body mount brace. Mine was completely rusted out. It is thicker than factory but I figure it'll take longer to rust out that way





The big news today... I got the front end off!! Hooray!

 

[Rustbucket]

Look great! I always think of this piece of advice when I am working on my Scout;

"do you know how the ant eats the elephant?.....

One bite at a time...."

 

[Scout-It-Out]

And onward to the passenger side! It went a lot faster than the driver side. There was slightly less rust which helped but the main thing, I knew what to do!

There was less rust on the floor so I made some "door" cuts to access the cross braces.

I'm really happy with my rocker design. Not only is it simple but I gain about 2" of ground clearance from the bottom of the rocker to the ground!

 

[scouttoo]

Looking good. I've wondered how using the tubing will work with the bottom of front fender and bottom of rear quarter. Like you say, the heavier gauge steel tubing and mount will last a lot longer than sheet metal and a lot stronger if it gets hit or drug over a rock.

 

[Scout-It-Out]

I'm planning to add rock sliders that mount to the frame. Hopefully this is strong enough to hold the body square and straight.

Big progress today! I pulled the body off the frame! It went pretty smooth. The only thing I forgot was the exhaust hangers someone had welded to the tub. After I cut those off it came right up.

 

[Scout-It-Out]

I'm now test fitting the body on the frame. No this isn't the first time. I spent about 3 hours cutting and fitting to get it like this. The front springs are very flat. The rear has some 3" lift blocks under the leaf pack. I think if I get some better springs in the front and take out the lift block, it should be pretty close. Plus some bigger tires. These are 31" tall.

The front fenders still need a tiny bit of trimming:d

 

[Scout-It-Out]

I had to clearance the frame in a couple spots to get the body to sit down where I wanted. Now I have the body back off to weld up and strengthen the areas I cut.

I borrowed some 37" tires to check some clearances. Obviously it needs some taller springs in the front... And some trimming.:d

 

[Scout-It-Out]

Well, my frame strengthening plates are finally done.


Now I'm mocking up the rear shackle mount.

 

[Scout-It-Out]

All the body mounts are done, except for paint. I also built the gussets for the rear spring shackle mounts. Turned out really nice!

 

[Scout-It-Out]

I found an overdrive transmission on craigslist. I'll probably rebuild it but for now I need it for mock-up. It also came with another 360 v8, wiring harness and computer! :d

Big progress today! I moved the front cross brace back 8" to locate the engine next to the firewall.

 

[scouttoo]

Making good progress

 

[Scout-It-Out]

After what seems like forever, I'm getting back on this project! I set the body back on the frame and after killing some wasps, I started clearancing the rear inner fenders. It feels weird cutting metal that isn't all rusted.

 

[Scout-It-Out]

Making progress on the fenders. Got the passenger side tacked into place. It still has a couple of gaps. Today I started work on the driver side.

 

[Scout-It-Out]

i finally got the fenders fully welded! now working on some rust repair! also had to modify the access panel since the fender is over the corner of it now don't know why the pic's rotated like that.

 

[Scout-It-Out]

we always say custom builds like this are all about time and money. well this post is about money! i found a Dodge kingpin 60 front axle! it's about the same year as my frame so fingers crossed it will bolt right in!! it's a very beefy axle i'm already looking at lockers and high steer arms.

 

[scouttoo]

Should be a bolt in. '72 - '93 Dodges are pretty much the same under the skin.

 

[Mochamike]

Trust me in this, consider double shear.
Look into getting arms with the hole lines up with the stock hole on the knuckle.

Make sure you do springless.... With an adjustable spacer for the kingpin.

Run stock 30 spline outers to start.
Later, when $ permits look for 35 spline outer stubs & hubs.

 

[Scout-It-Out]

thanks for the input Mike!

i finished the cross brace a little while ago, i just never posted pictures. it's designed similar to the stock scout cross brace in that one side is over the frame bracket and the other side is under. the hope is to not need a jack to remove or install the brace. hopefully i don't have to modify it to clear the front driveshaft.

 

[Mochamike]

What Tcase are u planning on running?

Did the old drivetrain have NP205?

If so, find a way to run a doubler between it.

It may cause issues with the crossmember & front driveshaft.
That can be solved with a 2 piece drive shaft...

 

[Scout-It-Out]

the truck was a gas engine 3/4 ton so it had a NP241. i do have a 205 but am thinking about an atlas. i don't like the idea of that heavy 205 hanging off the back of my OD trans. plus the doubler box is about 1/2 price of the atlas.

 

[Mochamike]

the truck was a gas engine 3/4 ton so it had a NP241. i do have a 205 but am thinking about an atlas. i don't like the idea of that heavy 205 hanging off the back of my OD trans. plus the doubler box is about 1/2 price of the atlas.

You have the 241/205 already.
$700 for econo box & then fab or buy a cross member for 205.
Biggest issue will be length I think. (Versus $3k for Atlas)

I’m a manual guy, so research tc gearing for autos & figure out what is best.

 

[Scout-It-Out]

i'm working on aligning the doors. wanted to make sure i was somewhat close after replacing the rockers and a good portion of floor. after working on it for a while i decided to pull the door back off and check the hinges. they only had minor play when installed. turns out the hinges have a lot of play! so now i'm rebuilding hinges. i researched online and found a guy who used doorman hinge pins (38400). i bought 2 from different stores and they were both .005" smaller than spec. says right on the package .342 dia. so i tried Napa (675-5143) much better! the first one was bang on at .342 second one was .340" still usable.

 

[Scooter]

I Had similar play in both doors in both my scouts, along with one or two broken hinge pins, and I ended up rebuilding the hinges in both. I ordered the hinge pins through IHPA at the time. I don't recall off hand what the dimensions were, but they seemed to work.