Project 1969 800 Lil' Hulk

[PaulG]

Hello,
I've spent hours on this site and want to share, learn and contribute with fellow IH folks. This is my first truck rebuild and looking forward to it.

Here's my first drive. We call it lil' hulk because of the 70's hulk green paint.


Here's a couple more pics:
we really like the original grill guard



This is an aftermarket bumper. I think the rancher wanted options on hauling.


We're diggin' the bench seat.


31k miles


Amc 232. At first doubted this motor but after research I like the simplicity and there's a ga-zillion hop-up parts and options.


Lil' hulk catching a ride home

 

[PaulG]

Here's current state of lil' hulk. After lot's a researching here's the plan:
- keep the old school truck look for now. It's got a good vibe. (keep bumpers, paint, and all the scratches)
- upgrade to d44 axles (disc front, disc conversion on rear)
- CPT 2-3" suspension lift
- 31's and some form of new wheel's to fit new disc
- debating on reverse shackle
- power steering form Scout II
- power brakes
- upgrade to t19 4 speed (from t90 non-syncro 3spd). I know I'll still have 1x1 final ratio but I like to shift! Full syncro will be nice
- once I have axles & suspension back together will pull the motor for inspection or rebuild
- move the front bumper forward (but keep the grill back) to make room for a winch
- boy, air-conditioning would really cap off the build...I've already 'scouted' amc sites for info on 70's air for 232 motors

what do you think? I'm trying to keep the old-truck vibe but add modern advantages.
I work and travel...so the build will take some time, but I'm not making a tv show!



Here's a pic of the interior. Just had surface rust where dirt had found a home:

 

[PaulG]

I picked up a t19 4spd and two d44's from a '78 terra.

A friend hooked me up with texas scouts and they did me a favor with supplying parts. Something they don't normally do.


Here are the newer '78 axles. Both w/ 3.07's to be replaced with an original 3.73 (from original) and new 3.73. Plan on lockers and rear disc conversion as well.



Dropped of the axles at torch monkey fab in austin for a full rebuild and lockers.


Meanwhile I'm scraping of grudge from the d20 to prep for paint

 

[PaulG]

Transmission project
here is the original t90 3 spd compared to the '78 t19 4spd. There's a big size difference. The benefit is supposed to be full syncro, more gear options and ruggedness. There's only a few threads about swapping t90 to a t19 with a amc six bellhousing (thanks for posting). They say it can be done and now that I have everything off I understand how.

T90 in front. T19 in back:


T90 left, t19 right:


Here's the output shaft comparison. I understand now how it will fit as they are the same length. Also, I'll have to take the original bell housing for some machine work to make new holes for the new bolt pattern and have the hole for the output brace made larger. Then per the other post it should all bolt up. I'll need to fab a new brace too. I'll post all progress on this for the next guy.

 

[PaulG]

Time to place my order with Jeff @ IH. Axles are almost ready and I have some free weekends in May.
CPT suspension
rear brake conversion
front calipers

need to decide on:
power brake booster
power steering setup (have Scout II box) but going on amc 6cyl.
New wheels that fit disc but have old school look

 

[scout2000]

Hello paul,

thanks for the pm.

Looks like you have a great Scout.

Subscribed! Looking forward to seeing how your build plays out.

 

[PaulG]

Howdy, on Thursday my order form IH parts arrived. CPT suspension (2-3"), rear brake conversion, new front calipers, new brake master, etc. Inventory check say all is here. Need to decide on colors and paint the shackles and brakes calipers. Picking up the rebuilt axles soon.

 

[PaulG]

While crawling around underneath I noticed the middle body mounts behind the driver / passenger are both bent. After website research looks like this is a common problem. How does this happen?

I'm guessing to repair them I'll need to
(1) loosen all the body mounts,
(2) raise each side of the body with my floor lifts and blocks,
(3) bang the mounts back and
(4) weld reinforcement?

Or do I even bother until a full body-off resto!?!

Left side middle body mount


Right side middle body mount


Best I can tell all other body mounts look good. Here's an example.

 

[PaulG]

Removed the pressure plate and clutch. Will be replacing with newer type pressure plate and clutch. The size is 10.5". Will also need to replace the main seal as I think this was leaking and impacted shifting.
Clutch shows signs of wear.


Old school 3 finger clutch.


Here you can see the amc i6 232 bell housing pattern and that the starter is on the driver side. On early amc 232's this was the case. Later it moved to passenger side and now that's a reason bell housings are an issue when doing swaps.

 

[PaulG]

To make the swap from the original t90 to the newer 4spd t19 I need to have the original t90 bell housing machined for the t19 bolt pattern and larger diameter output shaft plate.
I'll take everything to the local machine shop, but wanted to make a pattern.
We placed a card stock over the t19's bell housing (got this with the tranny) and pressed hard on the ridges of the pattern.


Then we flipped the card over and the lines to cut were very clear.
Here's of pic of placing the pattern on the original t90 bell housing. You can see where we need new bolt holes and how much to open up for the bigger output shaft plate.



Heck, it looks like I could do this myself. But I do realize that we need exact measurements. I'm guessing the machine shop will line up the t19 tranny and output shaft with the orig. Bell housing to get the machining exact. This has to line up for proper movement of the throwout bearing.

 

[Scooter]

while crawling around underneath I noticed the middle body mounts behind the driver / passenger are both bent. After website research looks like this is a common problem. How does this happen?

I'm guessing to repair them I'll need to
(1) loosen all the body mounts,
(2) raise each side of the body with my floor lifts and blocks,
(3) bang the mounts back and
(4) weld reinforcement?

Or do I even bother until a full body-off resto!?!

Left side middle body mount
View attachment 27186


Right side middle body mount
View attachment 27187

Your build is coming along nicely. These little baby scouts are growing on me. I have several of the bigger cousins called Scout II's.
Those two body mounts in the 80's/800's seem to be fairly common to get bent out of whack or break off. I have replaced both on two separate 69 Scout 800's. I used 2" x 1/4" steal flat bar, drilled a hole in the center just like oem to fit the body bushing, then used some heat off my rose bud attachment to bend up to match, notch and fit to frame then weld up.


Before replacement


After replacement


I only lifted up the body just enough to place the new piece in. It does help having new bushings on hand.

*edit - I looked back and noticed that one upper bracket(tucked up on body) on the right side(passenger) is slightly bent out too. Might need to align it back to being perpendicular

 

[PaulG]

Thanks @scooter! Nice work on the body mounts. I'm going to follow your steps exactly. I'll also fix that upper part and get some new body mounts. May even look into a 1" body lift while I'm at it. Paul

 

[Scooter]

You're welcome. Glad I could help out. One thing I left out is when I lifted up the body, I used a fingered porta power between the frame and body to lift the body just high enough to fit the new piece in. That way I was able to get the notch in new piece to fit right. When I drilled out the hole in the flat bar, I just chucked up a standard hole saw up into my drill press. Which was done before I heated and bent it.

I actually made my own 1" body lift for my 73 beast.

While I was at it, the cheesy sleeve that came with my new bushings was chit canned. I ended up making my own that were 1" longer and at least twice as thick, for just enough clearance for the body mount bolt. Granted, this was done for a Scout II, but just might do for an 80/800 with minor adjustments.

 

[PaulG]

Howdy, quick updates:
found a great machine shop close to the house and they're 50% complete with the work. I needed to have the original amc i6 t90 bell housing drilled out to fit the updated t19 4 spd. Once this is done I can install bell housing, trans, trnasfer case to then see pinion angles for the new d44 spring perches.


I've begun to get the rust off the axles for new paint. After researching there's seems to be a lot of debate about what paint to use:

 

[PaulG]

Ok, needed a change of pace so I'm removing the bumpers. Wife took picture as I wiggled the front bumper off after removing the four bolts. Not sure if I'll restore or build a new one w/ a winch.




The rear bumper is a custom job from way back when. It sits low and I will build a new one. I've seen one post where the new custom bumper attached with square tube that went right into the frame rails and then bolted up. I like that.


The frame attachment is nuts. There's no simple way to remove it as the nuts are inside the frame without proper tool access. So good time to get the plasma torch out. Once I get the bolts cut off then will decide on new bumper mounting.
Look for an update. Thanks for watching.