1980 International Harvester Scout

SUV

6 - Cyl.

Manual

K0063KGD20481

Diesel

It is time to part with my 1980 International Harvester Scout II Turbo Diesel. I will do my best to describe this truck, and I am happy to answer any questions you have. The Truck: I purchased this truck in early 2003 for the original owner’s son. His father had purchased the truck new when he was in his late 60’s. When he passed away, he was early 90’s and had not driven the truck much in the past few years. As I recall, it was originally used for hunting trips in the Poconos. When I bought it, it had 58k on the odometer, which the son assured me had never rolled. Considering the condition of the truck, and the other cars in the garage, I have no reason to doubt him. He also had a 1971 Oldsmobile 4 door with ~25k original miles he was selling. His father’s daily driver was a late 90’s Subaru Outback, so both of the other vehicles spent most of their life in the parked in the garage. I have all of the original documentation from the truck, including the line set ticket and window sticker. There is also a smaller line set ticket still affixed to the inside of the glove box. The Drivetrain: This Scout is powered by the original Nissan SD33T Turbo Diesel engine, which is mated to a Dana 300 transfer case, a T19 Wide 4 speed, and Dana 44 axles. Since I’ve never used it offroad, the details of this drivetrain never meant much to me, but from what I have read, this is a desirable and relatively bulletproof setup. The SD33T is a wonderful engine if properly cared for, and I have done everything I can to make sure it will last a long time. These engines developed a bad wrap when the trucks were first built, so many of them were pulled and swapped with gas motors. Fortunately the internet has come to the rescue, and now a forum exists for enthusiasts of this engine who have worked out all the kinks. Anything you need to know about this engine can be found here: http://www.binderplanet.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=5. If you are shopping for a Diesel Scout, be sure to spend some time on this site. They are an incredibly friendly and knowledgeable group. Below is a list of everything I have done to improve performance and longevity. These turbo diesel engines need to breathe. The first and easiest modification was to cut holes in the air cleaner housing. The housing only has one small hole for air to enter. By cutting holes in the housing more air can get in, allowing for better combustion. In addition, I put in an AMSOIL reusable filter, which has better flow and filtering than a stock filter. What goes in, must also be allowed to get out. The original exhaust setup on these engines had a VERY restrictive 90 degree elbow immediately after the turbo charger which restricted the exhaust flow tremendously. I installed an “Elbow Eliminator” from ScoutParts.com, and had a custom 3” exhaust installed from the turbo all the way to the rear of the truck. There is no muffler in this system, because you really don’t need one. The turbo deadens the sound, and I honestly couldn’t tell the difference in noise level before and after the exhaust upgrade. On the plus side, with the better breathing on both ends, you can now hear some of the turbo whine. The next issue to tackle was the turbo exhaust housing. The turbo on this engine is a Garrett T3, and the stock housing has an A/R of 0.63. Mercedes Benz used the same turbo around that time, but with a smaller housing with an A/R of 0.48. That stock housing required high rpm’s to build boost. As a result, all of the extra oomph occurred when you were running the engine flat out, which is not how a diesel likes to operate. The smaller MB housing allows the turbo to spool up sooner, which makes a world of difference when you drive it. Also, when installing the exhaust housing I made a slight adjustment to the spring on the wastegate, which now allows the engine to build an extra pound of boost (from 6.5 to about 7.5 pounds). This is a small change, but every little bit helps. I’ve also performed a lot of preventative maintenance on this truck. The most critical piece is the injectors. These engines are tough on injectors, and most people don’t maintain them properly. They should be removed and cleaned every 15,000 miles, and have the nozzles replaced if necessary. If you ask most owners about the injectors on these trucks, they will never have touched them. If they are ignored, then tend to “seep” after the truck is shut down. If this is done when the engine is hot, the cold fuel landing on the hot pistons can crack them. In order to avoid this, I had the injectors rebuilt shortly after I bought it, and I ALWAYS let the truck idle until the Exhaust Gas Temperature (more on that below) has dropped below 300 degrees before I shut it down. This goes a LONG way to keeping these engines in tip top shape. When I first got the truck, I changed ALL the fluids (trans, diff’s, etc). I did everything myself, except for the cooling system which I had professionally flushed because I didn’t want to dump all of that mildly contaminated water into my septic system (or my yard). I changed the belts and hoses, and waterpump. I re-torqued the head, replaced the rear axle seals, repacked the bearings, got the front end aligned, installed a solid state regulator and probably a few more things I am forgetting. I’ve always changed the fuel and oil filters regularly. I run only Rotella 15W40 oil (specifically made for diesels), and I add Stanadyne fuel additive to every tank of diesel to keep the injector pump properly lubed. I hate fixing stuff that breaks, so I do my best to prevent failures from happening in the first place. I put most of the mileage on between 2003 and 2005. Since then, it’s been driven less than 1000 miles. Last year I replaced the entire brake system. The master cylinder, calipers, wheel cylinders, rotors, drums, pads, shoes, hard lines, and flex lines are all new, and have very little mileage on them. The tires were new when I bought it, and I have not replaced them. They still have passable tread, but they are getting older and should probably be changed in the near future if you plan to use it as a daily driver. I have a set of wider stock rims that I will also include in the sale (if you want to add a lift, these rims are much better than the ones on it). If you are interested in converting this truck to run on Biodiesel or Veggie Oil, there is plenty of information here: http://www.binderplanet.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=78. This truck is a great platform for alternative fuels because the Indirect Injection diesels are much more forgiving than newer diesels that run at much higher pressures. The Instrumentation: The what? Once you allow everything to flow properly, you need to keep an eye on the Exhaust Gas Temperature. I have added three VDO gauges, EGT, Boost, and a Tachometer. As a rule, you do not want to let the EGT’s post turbo to climb above 1000 degrees. Personally, I have never let it get above 950. This truck seems to run cooler than many others I have read about, so for most driving this is not an issue. However, if you are towing a load up a long hill on the highway, you need to back off the throttle to keep the EGT’s down. I’ve only had to do that once or twice since I’ve owned it, and both times I was climbing through the mountains while towing a pair of wave runners. Under normal circumstances, it runs around 500 degrees, getting as high as 750 on the hills at 65mph. The boost gauge is nice to have, but not as critical as the EGT. The tach stopped functioning a couple years ago, and I never replaced it. It might even be as simple as a loose wire. Again, it’s nice to have, but not a must. The Body: The truck looks good from 20 feet, but when you get closer you can see it is a 30 year old vehicle. It came from PA originally, and has resided in NY since 2003. PA vehicle inspection laws do not allow for rust perforation, so the previous owner had to keep the truck looking good just to keep it on the road. The body is not perfect, but for a Scout that has lived its entire life in the NorthEast, it’s in remarkable shape. It appears the PO had some repairs done to the rear quarter panels because you can see a paint line below the stripes. He also had some repairs done to the passenger side floor boards. By the time I got it, the driver side needed some repairs too, so I sent it to a local shop to have the floor patched. They also replaced the drivers rocker with a new galvanized one, replaced all of the body mounts, and coated the whole underside of the truck in POR15. There is a small dent in the passenger front fender, one above the drivers taillight, and a repair behind the passengers front wheel. There is some faint surface rust on the roof, but the rest of the body is pretty good. It’s not perfect, but like I said, for a NorthEast truck, it’s not bad at all. I’ve tried to include detailed pictures, but if you want anything else, just ask and I’ll post more. I added a Class 2 hitch (3500lbs) shortly after I bought it, as well as an older electric brake controller. The brake controller was for an ancient utility trailer my grandfather gave to me, but I never used it to haul anything heavier than my garden tractor. The heaviest thing I’ve ever towed with it was probably the wave runners (~1500lbs), but I never did it without the EGT gauge, so you can be sure the engine has not been over stressed. The Interior: There is not much to say here. There are no real problems I can think of. It looks like a 30 year old interior; not perfect, but functional. The seat covers come with it (real sheepskin). The drivers seat has a rip, but the passenger seat and rear seat are good. I have a Pioneer cassette deck that is only partially functional, and two 6x9 speakers in home made cabinets in the rear. I have the original AM radio, which is included in the sale. Misc: The headlights are aftermarket Hella lamps that use replaceable H4 bulbs. When a light burns out, but sure not to toss the whole lamp in the trash, just replace the bulb. At one time I had toyed with the idea of switching the manual front hubs to auto lockers. I have most (but not all) of the parts to do that. It has a CB installed that was there when I bought it. I have the complete engine manual, as well as the original owners manual. There is a spare turbo from a Mercedes (the one I scavenged the exhaust housing from), and a centrifugal clutch fan which can be installed with some modification (never got around to that project). Video: I uploaded two videos of the truck to youtube. The first one is a walk-around of the truck, and then I start it up so you can hear it running. The second video is a cold start. For those of you not familiar with older diesels, starting one is not like starting a new Jetta TDI. You must “glow” the engine for roughly 30-45 seconds (depending on the temperature, battery condition, etc) before you start it. Once it catches, it smokes and runs rough for a few seconds until it warms up and smooths out. This is completely normal behavior for a Scout. If you search for “scout cold start” you will see other examples on youtube for a comparison. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4kQHwFOxiI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy0RSipvltc Why am I selling it? Everyone always wants to know the answer to this question when buying a car, including me. When I bought the truck, I was actually looking for any truck with a low range transfer case for towing a 15" aluminum runabout. I stumbled across this truck, and since I had I soft spot for Scouts (I learned to drive on an ’80 Traveller) I bought it. I’ve had a lot of fun with it, but the boat is a distant memory, and I now have two kids. It’s time for something with ABS and airbags, so I purchased a ’95 LandCruiser a few weeks ago, and I don’t need two 4x4’s. I’ll be very sorry to see this truck go (the whole family loves it), but it’s time to pass it on to someone else who will enjoy it as much as we have. Deposit and Shipping: I require a $1000 deposit within 3 days of the close of the auction. The balance will be due when you come to pick up the truck. When you arrive if you feel I have misrepresented the condition, I will refund the deposit. I will gladly deliver the truck for $1 per mile up to 250 miles from my house. Again, if I arrive with the truck and it is not to your liking, I will refund deposit minus the cost of delivery. If you want to arrange for a shipping company to pick up the truck, I am more than willing to work with them. I will require payment in full before the truck is picked up. Once the payment has cleared, I will fed-ex the signed title and bill of sale to you. I also welcome bidders with 0 feedback. I sold my Corvette on ebay several years ago to a brand new ebayer, and the transaction was flawless. All I ask is that you are honest and hold up your end of the agreement. I think that covers everything. Again, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.