NEWBIE with some Q's

[wwass2506]

I have just acquired a '65 Scout that I am going to start working on for my little brother and I to go up to the mountains with. Nothing to crazy, but I am hoping for a stout little rig that isn't going to fall apart as soon as I'm out of cell service. I'll cut to the chase and give you my list of questions...

1. How do I tell the difference between a s80 and 800? And, what is the difference in engine, trans, axles, etc. Between the two??

2. I have asked around and some people have told me that the scouts come with d27 axles stock, is this true? If so, would it be a good idea to swap axles to beefier ones... Jeep rubicon or a toyota pickup/forerunner?

Please do not be afraid to tell if/why an axle swap would be a dumb idea, or other possible options that might work out better.

Thanks for taking the time to read, any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Scoutboy74]

Welcome and congratulations on your purchase. The Scout was designed as a pretty stout vehicle to begin with, so as long as it isn't a total basket case from age, abuse and neglect, you're ahead of the game. '65 was the transition year between the 80 and 800 models. Easiest way to tell the difference is by looking at your dash. If it has just two, big gauge clusters, its an 80. If it has several, smaller individual gauges, its an 800. By '65, it wasn't unheard of for there to be a tapered or keyed Dana 44 rear axle in a late 80 or early 800 model. The front would be a d27 and the t-case is a twin stick Dana 18. The primary reason to swap axles is to handle much heavier than stock tire and wheel combinations, often in conjunction with a suspension and/or body lift to provide fender clearance. A Dana 27 can manage up to a 30" tire just fine. Your 152 4-pooper doesn't produce enuff poop-n-pep to effectively drive huge meats anyway. Engine output combined with a 3spd trans that doesn't exactly make the best use of the engine's narrow power curve in each gear will limit your tire size well before your axles come into play. I'm talking in terms of highway driving primarily. Lo range 4x4 driving is a completely different animal. But since you don't plan on extreme wheeling anyway, you really don't need to run big tires. Keep 'em small and narrow but aggressive and you'll go lots of places, in a slow and steady fashion. You won't be throwing huge rooster tails and mud pies with a fire-breathing engine that's wound up to 6 grand. You've got a tortoise, not a hare. Focus on making sure it stops and steers as good as possible and leave the axle swaps for later in the game, if ever. You want to enjoy it sooner rather than later, and the more upgrades and modifications you take on, the longer you'll be waiting to get it out on the trail. Give it a chance to show you what it can do in stock-ish, but safe and dependable trim first, then decide if you need to go bigger. Plus, learning how to be a competent offroad driver with small tires will make you all that much better as you move up to larger and more potent machines. Any yayhoo can womp through deep ruts with 400 horses and 44" meats. That's fun, don't get me wrong, but there's more money than skill involved in that endeavor.