BigEasyRider
New member
Hello all my name is chris I am new on here and figured I would post a up a pic of my new binder. I have always like scouts and respected them as a pretty rugged and capable 4x4, a real 4x4, so three years ago when my 16 yr old sister in law said she was looking at getting one I said go for it. She drove it for a couple months had a couple people work on it and it slowly ran worse and worse. Finally she parked it getting 5 mpg driving 60 miles round trip to a waitress job as a high schooler was impractical. Upon graduating high school she went straight to the navy and decided that it would be quite some time before she would be able to do anything to the Scout so for my birthday this year I received a signed title to a 1978 Scout traveler. She knows that I will do to it what she would have liked to so she wanted me to have it instead of leaving it sit in a field in south dakota for the 6 years she is in the navy. So in August I loaded up the ol' ladies bike and mine in the back of my 2000 f-350 psd and pulled an empty car hauler up to south dakota for sturgis bike week. On the return we had to stop in eatern sd to load up the Scout then onto great lakes naval academy in chicago for her graduation from badsic training. What a ride close to 50 hours total in the truck with a brand new set of 37 inch nitto mud grapplers installed the day we left new orleans. I knew those tires would howl but it felt like being in an old bomber. What I ended up bringing home is a 78 traveler 304 auto originally had air cruise and tilt. Truck has about 90000 original miles and receipts in the glove show engine was removed at 85000 miles to diagnose low oil pressure. The po had all cam, rod, main bearings and the oil pump changed at that time. The original line ticket is in the glove box and overall nothing on this Scout has been molested other than the addition of running boards, vaccum lines rerouted and deleted from cruise and emissions and an aftermarket electric pump was installed between the tank and mechanical pump. Original am/fm still works. I am quite confident that the top has never been removed from it either. I removed the carpet and the floor boards seem to be pretty decent as far as a Scout that spent its entire life in the upper midwest. There are know hole and as far as I can tell no patching will be needed. The body mounts under the floorboards will need replaced they are rough and the rockers rockers and rear wheel arches are in nee of chemo as they have some cancer. This travelers boring life with no change is all about to change though. I plan to do a SOA w/cut and turn. Custom front and rear bumpers, roll bar, get the engine all tuned back up paint with flattening agent for lo to no gloss (sister in law required this) cut out some rocker build rock rails for replacement trim fender wells and run 35 inch swampers. Regear and lock front and rear diffs. Go topless with bedliner interior and aftermarket rain friendly seating. She wanted nothing fancy for her Scout just true 4x4 minimal plastic no two sided tape accesories and thats what I am into as well. I have about 5.5 years to get it built and enjoy it before it will be her birthday present.
pictures by bigeasyrider - photobucket
pictures by bigeasyrider - photobucket
, ) I'll be doing the same.