77 Scout SSII advice on rebuild.

[bbengard]

This is my first post so I apologize in advance:

I bought a 1977 Scout SSII that was equipped with a 196 4cyl, t19 with I believe 6.32:1 ratio, Dana 44 front and rear (4.09 gears). I want it to be a rig that I can take out on the rubicon and also go hunting in but she needs a full rebuild (lots of cancer).

I am working on taking the body off right now because there is a lot of rust and I have another tub to replace it. I am hiring someone to do the body and paint (tub I have has floor boards and rockers cut out but includes the replacing sheet metal) . I figured I would do the work on the engine, transmission, and suspension.

I am going to start with the suspension. I got a 4" lift kit with the tub I bought. Pretty basic I imagine, the only thing I need to get is shock absorbers and bumpstops (advice?). Also I saw in a build up on here (Scout II SOA + r/s by Jeff) with those control arms in the rear. Is this only beneficial with a spring over? Any advice on ways to instal the lift?

Transmission: any help on this one would be greatly appreciated. I have the t19 and im pretty sure it has the 6.32:1 ratio in it. When I was driving it would be hard to shift into and out of 1st and 2nd. I would push the clutch in all the way and it wouldnt engage easily. Also when at a stop I would push in the clutch and if I took my foot off the brake, the car would move forward. I imagine this is all a clutch problem.

Engine: I have a 196 4cyl. I thought about putting in a 345 but I think an inline six would be better. Not only for parts and fuel but also ive only owned 258's and havent had any problems. So my question is: will a 258 hook up easily to the t19? (I read that it should) also I was told that Ford made a 300 cu. In. Inline? Not sure if thats true... I read about a 262 inline and not sure if anyone has a background on that engine but if that can hook up too, im interested. I will be taking her in the hills so im looking for an engine that can pull. If anyone has advice on engines that mount to the t19 that you prefer or know about, im open ears.

Thank you for all your help

 

[Scooter]

Depending on where you live you May run into smog issues regarding the motor swap. If you're anywhere near kalifunkia smog natzi's they May frown on it. I currently know one guy in the bay area near me who has 78 that originally came with a 196 and he had it swapped out in favor of a 304 IH motor. He is having major issues at the moment due to the variation of emissions output between the 304 and what originally came in the vehicle. He now has to go to a test only station. And they most likely will tell him to scrap it.

 

[MarkO]

The 196 was a great little motor and will pull just about as hard as most six bangers. With some tweaking it can be made to be somewhat fuel efficient with adequate go to it. All while still keeping the smog nazis placated.

For a serious crawler you May want to consider spending your $$$ on a creeper gear for your transfer case. Combined with a 196 you will have a very serious off roading machine that you can still drive to work every day.

In regards to your clutch issue, it sounds to me as if you have an adjustment issue. With the pedal fully depressed it sounds as if the clutch isn't fully releasing. If that is the case you are going to have a tough time shifting into and out of those low gears.

Good luck and keep us posted as to your progress.

 

[Scooter]

I don't have any experience with the rear sway bar setup that was mentioned. I didn't install one when I did the reverse shackle and SOA in my 74. I drove it through parts of the rubicon and through hollister hills with no issues. I also installed Bilstein shocks on all 4 corners and loved them.

The creeper gears that Mark mentions would be from teraflex. Pretty much replaces all the gears in the d-20 t.c., including the bull gear. The kit changes the low range gear ratio from 2.?? To 3.15. IHPA does offer the kit in the online store.

 

[Hondo]

Being the owner of a 75 Scout II that someone stuck a 258 into, I can advise you to be carefull. You will need to find some hard to locate p/s brackets, alternator brackets, pulleys, timing cover, etc, cut out the old motor mounts and weld in some new ones, fabricate a new rear cross member for the tranny, modify the transmission tunnel cover, and a few other things. The tranny will bolt right up to the t19 (with the right bell housing), but you will need a special little thingy that gets stuck on the tip of the trannys input shaft, or do as I did and have a pilot bushing made. The scouts with the 6s had different frames than the 4 and 8 cyllinders. Check the appropriate Scout parts manual to verify this. Oh yeah you will also need to relocate the pivot for the clutch bell crank back a little on the frame. That said my 258 pulls pretty damn good, you will probably get better milage with the 196 though, especially with those gears. If you have the wide t19 and those diff gears, you probabbly won't need a tera low kit in the transfer case unless you run humongous tires.

 

[bbengard]

Thank you all for your help so far. I decided I will be sticking with the 196. As for the tire size, I most likely will be running 33's but May want to go up to a 35 later on. I want to take her out to moab this summer hopefully. Could you run 35's with a 4 inch lift? Also if I did a reverse shakle, how much higher would the car sit?

I will try to post pictures later today

 

[bbengard]

Here are those pics I promised:

 

[Scooter]

Ouch. You got bit by a po virus. For the front floor board and body mount sheet metal under the front seats, IHPA has new replacement sheet metal parts listed in their online store. They May even have a replacement for the rear bed area. I replaced the rear floor in my 73 beast, with a sheet of 11 gauge flat plate.

Here's a snap shot of my 72 ole yeller rolling on 33" shoes, 1-1/2 body lift, and what appears to be 2" lift springs. Hopefully this will give ya an idea of how your Scout would sit on 33" tires

 

[bbengard]

Nice looking Scout. Im going to go with 33s. And yes I bought another tub with that sheet metal. It has the floor boards cut out and rockers (where previous rust was) and the rest of it is fine. There are some spots that are going to require some extra work. I need to get a better picture of the tub.

 

[bbengard]

Another question: has anyone ever taken a Jeep seat bracket and installed it in their Scout? I personally dont like the Scout seat brackets.

 

[Scooter]

Not sure if that would work. Floor in the Scout angles down from trans tunnel to the door and I think the jeeps floor is flat. Fabing up brackets for the seat base isn't that difficult. I made up my own for my 74 and as I recall, IHPA posted up a photo somewhere of a seat base they made in one of their build threads.