1976 Scout 2

S

sandrider123

Member
Alright guys this is my first 4x4 project. Usually I am fixing up camaros or hondas. A little back story about this Scout it belonged to my great-uncle (grandpas brother) he bought it brand new in 1976. Its in pretty good shape the seat is ripped up and its got 2 dents and a few cancer spots. I have not gotten to dig into it to far to see what the underside looks like rust wise. I will eventually use it for a daily driver for days when the honda just cant do it, also most of the offrading this thing will see will be snow and sand and maybe some light dirt roads nothing to harsh mud wise. The plan at this point is rough but as follows:

4" of lift probably the Rough Country kit.
Tighten up the steering and upgrade it anywhere I can.
33" tires (I hope)
upgrade axles with new shafts, and lockers at some point.
Disc brake upgrade all the way around
neoprene carbeau seats
roll-bar
autometer guages
I have not decided on bed-liner floor or lizard skin ceramic and sound control. How does bed liner do for sound and thermal control?
Nice stereo system.
And the biggest part will be a GM 5.3l ls motor swap with a 4l60 transmission with a complete painless wiring kit.
This is a rough plan and May be changed as I research and learn more.

The pictures:
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Looks pretty clean. My '74 has linex on the floor for 9 years now. Still in good shape and I'd do it again. Ok on thermal so so on sound.

Before you pass on the original engine/trans, what's in there now and what kind of shape is it in? You've got a full industrial engine in there with gear drive cam shaft and on and on. Check it out first.
 
From what I can tell its a 304 the original window sticker says I'm still trying to figure ou if that's the case or not this cold snap we have had seems to drain my motivation. Mainly looking at te 5.3 for the newer technology better fuel mileage more hp etc. I'm also debating on doing a spray in lizard skin coating then maybe carpet to make it more "street able" at least for longer trips.
 
I'm not sure I'd trade in the 304 but if you do I'll be on the list to buy it. I have a well tuned 304 that gets 16mpg. And I imagine it will be running long after the 5.3. To each his own. Thats a nice clean looking rig. Cant wait to see it finished
 
I do spray on bedliner at my shop so I recomend it highly I have lined many hot rods and just about everything the sound dampining is good depends on how thick u put it on and for thermal controll its great not as well as carpet but it does do wonders for rust protection and looks great makes em look brand new and we lifetime garentee our product so ya if you want more details about it go ahead and ask but on the other note I really like what you got and hope it all turns out great
 
Yeah I am still debaing on the bedliner vs lizard skin and carpet. This thing will go off road every once in a while but it will also see some road duty. My other question is I am looking at lifting about 4" what is a good brand to go with? I plan on staying SUA. Also with the 5.3l/4l60e and 33" tires what gear should I be looking at running this thing is going to be 80% road 20% off road and some what light off road. Mostly sand and a little bit of mud. I was thinking 3.54 or 4.09 any advice?
 
Lookin for cheep go with ruff country lift kit and 4.10 gears are always good for street and great for off road and considering the trans your running it will be a great combo
 
So also kind of looking at the options of maybe modernizing the 304 a little. Obviously fuel injection is at the top of the list but not what else would help it new headers and new exhaust is on the list. Any chance on the aluminum 304 intakes being made again? I would love to get my hands on one. I just ordered some supplies from eastwood to start doing some work on it. When I did my 79 camaro I had pretty good luck with por 15 so thats what I am going to use on this and then topcoat it with there chassisblack. For color I am half tempted to use the new orange mopar is using called omaha orange.
 
I have been looking at that route also its just a newer high tech engine with better driving habits and more hp from the factory would really be better I have to pull the 304 for repairs anyways so to me it doesnt make much sense to reuse it being it wont fit my needs quite right.
 
A little extra cash but this is the only way to go:ihih: lots of zippppp and it get 22+ on the highway.
 

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So time for an update, guess some might of caught on I am staying with the IH 304 but we will update the old motor a bit:
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A little bit of sand was packed in there, and thankfully no rust.

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Floor repair
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Extra carbs, girlfriend always tell me how bad carbs are are these thing worth anything?

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Scout bench

I am getting pretty excited about this project as it has been in the family all of its life my great uncle was the first owner of it. Once I have it done I plan on being able to use this as to my commuter in the winter time as I drive 100 miles a day and sometimes the 100 miles in bad weather the civic just does not do that well on.
 
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Those carbs are 22xx smogerators, so there is no performance market for them. Their limited value would be as builder cores/parts donors for folks interested in performing original restorations or anyone subject to visual inspections where the original smog equipment must be intact.
 
Well another update. I pulled the front fenders and inner fenders off and cleaned them up painted and then tapped the threads with all new bolts at leat on the passenger side. The drivers side is rusted out pretty bad where the battery use to sit. Pretty easy repair except there is a piece I cant get to. I might just have to find a new one. For the paint I used por 15 scuffed it all down ground surface rust off and brushed the por 15 on over it. As for por 15 I have had some really good luck with itm for these pieces they will not be seeing much sun so uv breakdown is not a concern.

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Showing the fenderwell all painted and nice

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Front sheet metal parts painted ready to last for many more years to come.

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I am stumped on this part the rest of the pillar is solid as can be. I dont want to do a complete pillar replacement but will if I have to. Suggestions?

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Also looking for suggestion on this part to. What do you guys do where rust has pitted the part severely?
 
Hello sandrider, where are you located? My stepson and I just took off his Rough Country 4 inch lift springs to go sprung-over on stock re-arched springs, and tomorrow we are going from nearly new goodyear mtr 33x12.50x15s(couple rubicon runs, maybe 100 miles on the street) to 36 inch iroks. We are in the bay area (CA) if you are close. Send a pm
 
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