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28-October-04 I have been trying to get this thing done enough to drive again but ran into a minor issue - I ruptured a disc in my back and had to have it operated on a few weeks ago. I have been more or less bed-ridden for over a month now and have a few more weeks left before I can start back into any kind of a normal routine. That being said I did manage to get a few things done: Re-jetted the QJet carb to be a little less thirsty, we'll see how it works. Repositioned the AC compressor where the alternator used to be and moved the alternator above the bracket to keep it as high as possible and out of any potential water hazards. Plumbed the Vintage air Gen II super cooler to the condenser, dryer, compressor and evaporator. Modified my dash for a built in grab handle for the passenger and pod mounted gauges in front of the driver. Built a fiberglass pod for my head unit and switches, built a new steel dash with cutouts for the AC vents, head unit, heater controller, etc. Built a new dash panel out of MDF and fiberglass and wrapped it in foam padding and black vinyl. Wrapped the rollcage in padding and covered in custom rip-stop nylon wraps made by my mother in law (not happy with the gray color collage now on the interior and might dye the wraps darker gray or black, but that can come later). Wired in the cruise control but struggling with the 4 wires on the controller as it is a non-stock column. Laid down 200 feet of sound deadening on the whole interior along with some fancy stuff with lead in it from Cascade Audio Engineering in the front. Installed the front carpet and rear sides and wheel wells, waiting on the rear cargo area until I get a few things figured out on my under floor storage box. Tore the doors apart and cleaned and lubed the regulator assembly, installed a SPAL power window kit and power door lock kit along with sound deadening on the outer and inner shells. That is about all I can think of right now, I am sure I did some more but in the meantime, here are some pictures. 08-December-03 I have started on the roll cage and rear bumper. The cage was a lot harder than I thought, but so far worth the effort. It tucks really close to the A, B and C pillars that it exceeded my expectations, pictures will be forth-coming. I got tired of working on the roll cage (figuring out the mounts was getting to me) and during the Thanksgiving weekend a friend and his wife came down from Dallas to spend the weekend. He had built a bumper for his Disco so he had some first hand knowledge that I figure I better put to good use. We started on Friday and got the frame mounts, receiver hitch and top half done by Saturday evening. I have worked on it a little since then, getting most of the bottom half done and the main skid plate. I need to make some bracing to the frame for the sides and a then start working on the tire carrier. Here is a link to the pictures so far, I am happy so far, hope you like. 06-Octover-03 A lot has happened in these last few months, I swore off alcohol and women (yes, even my wife) and spent at least 30 hours a week in the garage trying to get the Scout ready for the Rocky Mountain International Harvester Rendezvous in July. Thanks to all the people who helped my along the way, but in the end the Scout just wasn't ready to go. First, I lost the title so I couldn't get it registered, the brakes would not bleed right and the power steering pump was leaking like a sieve. Just because the Scout couldn't make it didn't mean I wasn't going to go so my wife and I loaded up her SUV and headed north. The Rendezvous was great, got some great pictures, met some great people and had an overall great time. My wife and I camped and wheeled around Ouray for a couple of days then headed back. Good stuff. I was so burned out from working on the Scout that I took the rest of July and some of August off, didn't even set foot in the garage. After a while I got the courage to go at it again and I managed to fx all the little gremlins. New rotors (FYI - Autozone calipers do not have the same stud hole size as original Scouts, 0.650 vs 0.625", but I finally found that a stud from a '78 Jeep CJ7 that worked perfectly), new power steering pump seals and a few other parts and it was good to go. I bolted on the grill, headlights, side marker lights, mirrors, etc. and got it ready for the safety inspection. I took it up today as a matter of fact to the place I got my exhaust done, passed with flying colors. Since it is a '77 they don't smog, which is a good thing as until the rings seat and I adjust the carburetor properly then I think it would have had a hard time passing. Now all that is left is a roll cage, interior, bumpers and paint - the easy stuff. Here are a few pictures of some of the things I have managed to capture pictures of over these last few weeks of actual work. 17-June-03 I got a few more things done, transfer case rebuilt, heater hoses run, fuse box mounted, etc. Here are some general pictures. Click here to see what I got done (purple highlight). You might also notice the big grey beast in some of the pictures, that is the new project, a two wheel drive '77 Scout, have an affinity for '77's I guess. Not sure on this one, stocker, sleeper, rock crawler, pre-runner ... stay tuned. 02-June-03 I have been traveling quite a bit so I didn't get as much done as I wanted. I got most of the axle stuff taken care of but decided not to perform the Warn hub conversion kit as I might upgrade to 30 spline outer axles so my front and rear hubs are the same. I tore into the transfer case and got it almost done but my rear output shaft end play at 0.006, and it is supposed to be between 0.002 and 0.005, so I need to tear into it again and as it was 100 degrees both Saturday and Sunday I was mentally and physically cooked, so I called it a night yesterday at about 4:00 PM. I have all the hoses and such for the hydro boost, just need to put them together and install. I have quite a few projects that I am very close to finishing so hopefully the percent complete will jump up pretty quickly here in the next few weeks. Right now it stands at approximately 25%. Only 6 weeks left, clock is a ticking! Click here to see what I got done. 12-May-03 Got a few more items done on the RMIHR Punch list this week, check out this link to see what I was up to (highlighted in green). I unfortunately will add a few more items as I move along and find more things that need to be done. Such as this - the recessed u-bolt plates don't allow the shocks to seat all the up against them as the shock body hits (why it wasn't noticed by the shop that originally installed them isn't real clear other than out of sight out of mind I guess). So I need to make a spacer to move the shock a little farther away, nothing big, but things that add time. 6-May-03 Alright, I got the green light from my wife to go to RMIHR in July, with one stipulation - we can only take the Scout. Holy Shtuffing, not sure if that can be done... let me see. Long story short I planned it all out and made a project plan in MS Project (I know I know, NERD!!! My mind wanders so much I would never have gotten it done if it wasn't all out in front of me in black in white) outlining everything that I could think of that needed to be done (if you see something be sure to let me know so I can add it in, I am sure there are quite a few things I forgot). Anywhere, here is the link to the table. The times are guesses but so far have turned out pretty accurate. I am going to try and update it on a weekly basis for items completed - wish me luck and if I do make it, see you at the Rendezvous! 08-Apr-03 Got around to making an air intake system for the Scout, check out the photos and brief write up in the Technical Specifications link at the bottom of the screen. 13-Feb-03 Finally bit the bullet and decided to use Aeroquip fittings and hoses throughout. I figured that the added safety and reliability factors were worth the added cost, plus they look cool ;) While I was spending money I also purchased and plumbed in a tranny cooler and filter (filter is nice as it has a port on top that my tranny temp gauge sensor threaded right into), oil cooler and a power steering cooler and filter as well. Hopefully this will help keep my fluid systems cool, but most importantly clean. From my research it appears to be dirty lubricant, more than fluid degradation, that leads to premature wear and failure, so for the little added expense of the external filters, I figure it will be worth it in the long run. Take a look at some of the pictures here. 3-Jan-03 Here are a few more pictures of the progress. Lost a few so am looking around my hard drive, they were of the steering column rebuild. 16-Sep-02 Been working off and on getting the Scout put together, here are some general progress pictures for the last couple of weeks, slow but progress none-the-less. 30-May-02 I have been working on the new wiring harness install, it is slow going but I am taking my time and making sure it is done right the first time, making brackets to mount things on instead of drilling dozens of holes into the firewall, inner fender, etc.. I have posted some pictures of the progress so far in the Tech Spec section under Electrical and Wiring Harness. I am far from done, but I do manage a few connections every day or so, whatever my garage pass time will allow (or as my friend Kelly likes to call it, a Kitchen Pass). So far the kit has worked out really well, plenty of wire length, a good assortment of connectors. The harness does not supply any ground wires, so I purchased a separate spool of black wire specifically for that purpose. I also bought some items from MAD Enterprises out of California, great shop, great service and great products. I bought high quality vinyl split loom, butt connectors, heat shrink, power post terminals, a small how-to handbook, etc. 23-Apr-02 I have been doing a little work here and there and have taken some pictures but haven't had the time to write everything up and post it properly, so I thought I would simply post the pictures at least. I have more but they are still on the digital camera, will add them when I get a chance. I have swapped out the non-clearing Demon carb for an Edelbrock 1910 spreadbore Thermo-Quad. I read a report in one of the 4x4 magazines about it and it was too good to pass up. It was spendy but half the price of fuel injection, which they say it is comparable to unless you change elevation, but in off camber situations and hill-climbs it rocked!! We will see. 10-Jan-02 I had some remaining vacation left so I decided to take it just at the years end and into 2002. I had almost 5 days or garage time and managed to get the following completed:
I managed to make a new page for the engine installation, there are still some things that need to be added, but that will have to wait a couple of days. 13-Dec-01 I have not updated this for a while. I have been traveling quite a bit and waiting for Santa to bring me the parts I need to finish the project off to the point of at least running. Will keep you up to date with what is going on when I get some news worthy of publishing! 6-Nov-01 Not a whole lot action on the Scout, but I have posted some more information and photos in the Tech Spec and How to sections. Kelly has been writing up all of his repair stories but I have too busy to get them all posted, so keep checking back for his reports! Over the past few weeks I have gotten a couple of E-mails regarding this website, thank you for the positive feedback, I will continue trying to keep it current and fun! 14-Oct-01 I called Stan from Stan's headers and spoke at length with what the issues were wit his headers fitting a Scout II with a 345 or 392 engine. He said he would replace my headers as soon as he prototyped a new one but could not do anything about the Jet-Hot coating I had already paid for. So I finally bit the bullet and decided to get the motor in and headers on or die trying. I had a friend weld in the motor mount plate holes and move them over towards the driver's side by 1/4". This helped and the driver's side still fit with no problem but the passenger side still contacted the frame. I bolted the headers on are far as they would go and marked the frame where they made contact. I covered the engine with a tarp and proceeded to grind that around down some with my grinder. I would grind, test fit, mark and grind some more. I eventually ground through the frame and decided to rethink this effort (even though the frame is completely boxed and strong as heck, I wanted to make sure I wasn't grinding more than necessary). One last test fit reveled that I would have to take off more frame that I already had to get them to fit and that is something I did not want to do. Out came the 3 pound sledge hammer, a board and a rag. I placed the headers on the board on the floor and the rag over the headers and began to whack at it. I would whack and test fit, whack and test fit. Finally I got it to clear the frame by flattening the header maybe 1/8" of an inch along that entire section, now the header fit but just barely. I figured that even with the poly engine mounts the engine would torque enough for the header to make contact and I was in too deep, Stan's definitely wouldn't take the header back and I had already ground the frame. One positive side of it all was that the Jet-hot coating held up without any marks or flaking, tough stuff. So now was between a rock and a hard place, I didn't want to grind anymore and I definitely didn't want to decrease the tube diameter any more that I already had. The only way forward was to pull the engine and proceed to whack the frame in with my 3 pound sledge, altering it instead of the headers. I also ground down the edges where I ground through the frame previously to prevent crack propagation, now the hole is about 1.5" X 2" and kind of egg shaped. Getting the engine in by myself was a few hour affair, lift here, pry there, jack a little, no wait, lower it down, bolt it here, lift there and get that bolt in, wait, the torque converter isn't in all the way, pull it back out, refit the converter on the transmission, lower the engine, pry this side up, jack the tranny up, no wait, the other side, etc. (having someone to help you is definitely a good thing when installing an engine, even if you have the whole front torn apart). Now it is in and the headers fit and look great. I bolted them in with some grade eight bolts, bolted up the rebuilt AGR steering box and installed new grade 8 hardware there as well along with Stover nuts (oblong shaped to act as a locking nut) and installed the new deep transmission oil pan complete with drain plug. Now all I need to do is find all the bolts to all the accessory brackets and get the engine back together, now we are cooking! 20-Aug-01 Since the last update the Scout has taken a long back seat to moving into the new house and setting up the garage into the workshop I want it to be. When I had time I would clean and paint parts. I managed to borrow a friend for a day and finally pulled the old engine out (thank you Chris Kelly), and since I had the access I cleaned and painted the frame rails with POR-15. Once all that was done I bribed some other friend's (thank you Kelly Rives and Bill Hartson) this last weekend and we managed to get the 392 in without too much of a hassle. Just a note, make sure that the torque converter is seated properly on both sets of splines otherwise the engine will not want to mate, no matter how hard you try (we have a couple of sore backs to prove it!). We saddled up the engine with the Race Proven Technology poly engine mounts (they are some impressive pieces of equipment) and went to bolt the headers up, driver side no problem, passenger side a no go. I had read on the Binder Bulletin about this but figured the problem was a tweaked frame or slop in the motor mounts or whatever, nope, it appears from a follow up thread from Mike with Mr. Scout that Stan's originally prototyped the Tri-Y headers on a Scout with a 304, which is a narrower block than a 345 and 392. So what to do? There is only about 3/8" needed to clear the frame rails, large hammers, cutting torches, etc., hopefully not, I am looking to Stan's to offer a solution I will let you know when and if one arrives. So now I wait, that is fine I guess, more time to dink with the little stuff and save money for the big. 22-June-01 I looked into a couple of transport companies at www.movecars.com and in the end came up with LT Auto Transport out of Dallas, highly recommended. My Scout arrived four days later and around 9:00 PM, they winched it off the trailer and the driver helped me push it into a parking space. He was really nice and we chatted Scouts for a while, once again, great company if you need to ship your Scout or car. With a friends help I managed to get it to the house two days later and pull the engine out of the back with a cherry picker, but we had to remove the roof to do it. While on the back of the transport truck the wooden carry cradle for the 392 managed to break, crushing the oil filter that then poured oil all over the cargo area and dented the floor causing my fuel gauge to stop working (must have cut the wires) and it also mauled the rear tailgate and liftgate, I guess I am just thankful that it didn't roll out of the back. I got the cradle back together and the engine is now safe and sound on my garage floor. With another friend's help we tore the front end apart, now all I need to do is pull the old engine, clean everything up and paint, stick the stuff on the new engine and away we go, in the abbreviated version anyway, but that is another story 5-June-01 I made it home, John Comer ended up having the Scout back to me on Tuesday the 29th with the rebuilt engine sitting in the back. I drove it home and the panic work attack began. I put on the fenders, doors (after removing them to put the fenders on), replaced the windshield frame with my "new" one from Scout Madness only to find it is tweaked just enough to not fit, so back on with the old one. Bolted the top back down with all new bolts and allen head machine screws into the windshield frame. All new bulbs in the side marker and tail lights, trouble shot a wiring problem as I had no turn signals, heater motor, AC, windshield wipers, etc., turned out to be a bad ignition switch connection, fixed that and everything worked, well mostly. Put seat belts in, door panels, headliner, top side panels, new brake booster, charged the AC, filled it with gas and headed to Houston (after troubleshooting a faulty AC fan blower switch the AC still blew HOT air). Wow, it really smelled like gas, I mean really bad. Turns out my 33 gallon gas tank leaks, from where I do not know but definitely a good leak, so after driving 40 miles and filling up with another 8.5 gallons of gas and downing several Tylenol due to massive headaches, my wife and I decided to turn around and head back to Denver, get her car and start over. Now the Scout is sitting in
the garage of my wife's parents on jack-stands (didn't want the weight
of the engine in the back to de-arch my brand new springs) and I am
trying to figure out a way to get it down here for as little money as
possible ... 25-May-01 Well I got the bad news yesterday that after 8 months at Gryphin Racing, my Scout will still not be ready for when I go home. Maybe my schedule was too aggressive, rebuild engine, remove old one and install rebuilt 392 plus transmission, transfer case and radiator all within a loose timeframe of 6 months. I have gone back to Denver twice already, first time in March, then once in April, and am working on my third trip later today, each time the Scout was supposed to be done but other things have popped up that apparently delay the project approximately another month. I am not disputing that John is the best at building Binder engines, but am disappointed at the excessively long time it has taken to do this, oh well, another life lesson in project scheduling I guess. 21-May-01 I have added some more content and pictures in the Tech Spec section for my dash and door panels. I am going to change both actually as once I finished I decided I wanted to do different designs, some things are never done I guess. I will be heading back up to Colorado for Memorial Day weekend and the following week. John Comer at Gryphin Racing has promised that my Scout will be done except for the exhaust - tubing bender problems with the exhaust shop or something. If that goes according to plan I will finish off a few things like installing fenders and such and will road trip down here to Houston (time to get the AC charged I guess). Since I have been in Houston I have met a few other Scouters, mainly through internet contacts. The IH community is great, people you don't even know invite you over to see their Scouts and talk shop, very cool indeed! Now I am going to have to join the Scout Owners of Texas club so I can meet even more people and share more Scout stories. 5-April-01 The Scout is a Gryphin Racing in Aurora Colorado waiting for the new exhaust to be put on, hopefully it will be drivable soon. John Comer, the owner/operator/wrencher, has done an good job on the engine rebuild, it will definitely be one heck of an engine and I can't wait to feel what it can do. When it is all said and done I will post some estimated horsepower and torque figures from the Desktop Dyno program. Eventually I will take it to a chassis dyno shop and see what it actually puts out. Since I had left over parts from the body swap and rebuild, I ended up needing to clear some space and posted them on the Binder Bulletin. I ended up chatting with a lot of people and met some great folks when they came to pick up the parts, I hope they are working out for you OK. I have also been working on some custom door panels and a new dash out of fiberglass, I'll put some links in the Technical Specifications when I get that far.
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