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12/17/96 - In the last few months I've added a few more mods to my Scout
II... a 94amp Delco alternator, tried a 300watt 12V heater for a bit, then
sprung and had the 25yr old heater hoses replaced and the core flushed.. MUCH
better heating. It's around 0 degrees here in Montana today.. I also finished my seatbelt swap.. I tore the two piece shoulder harnesses from my parts donor '73 Buick Station Wagon and installed them. These belts have a lap portion, and a seperate (fixed, non-rectracting) shoulder harness that attaches to the ratcheting-male lap belt. The male ratchet piece bolted in place of the stock males, but the passenger car belts angle inward a LOT more than the IH ones did, so the belt is right up against the seat. Not a problem though.. just required me to torque the mechanism in at an angle and then use the bolt to make it flat. Sadly, I had to take a propane torch to the plastic/rubber cover around my stock belts.. it just wouldn't come off with my forcible prying. *sniff*. I then bolted the Shoulder pieces to the roll-bar, above the angular rear support, using two grade-8 bolts, and two metal backing plates (home made U-bolt). The end result is: I can wear my lap belt like before, and optionally hook up the shoulder harness for greater protection. Only problem is, while I really like the fixed position shoulder harness for the safety aspect, I have it set so tight that the parking brake is a bit of a stretch.. :-)
Oh, I bought new tires/wheels, too. I got 4 31"x10.5" BFG Trail Terrains used from a guy in Missoula for $225, mounted on Ford 5-lug rims. Great. Those'll bolt up! Well.. er.. except the front hub part.. so off to the tire man, and I traded the Ford rims for 4 used 15"x8" 5-lug Chrome Modular rims and $100. Total price for some really cool rims, and 4 31" tires - $325. A good deal cheaper than nearly $200 for each rim/wheel! I still need to buy a spare though.. :-( Gotta get that *soon*
| Replaced carb - the original 25yr old Holley was gunked up.. after two failed rebuilds by myself, I finally let the shop do it.. and found the base plate was cracked. Eventually I got tired of watching my new toy sit in my driveway. A total of $400 into the new carb. But, I went from 8mpg city, 9mpg highway to about 12 or 13mpg city, and almost 15mpg highway. | $400 |
| Roll Bar - I installed a reproduction factory roll bar from Giddem' Up Scout | $180 plus some paint |
| Bikini Top - After the roll bar went in, the top came off, and a $50 bikini with $15 window channel were installed for topless summer fun. (Pics of this coming!) | $65 |
| Replaced Junk 6x9's with Alpines.. MUCH better | $100 |
| A longer choke cable - the new Holley carb has the choke on the opposite side of the carb, so the factory cable won't reach: Update: I bought a cheap choke cable from Champion Auto, burnt the black handle off, then drilled a hole in the cable to attach my factory knob to it. | $10 |
| New valve cover gaskets - it leaks! --Finally got 'em fixed, along with the fr and rear diffs, the tranny and xfer case lube, the diff lubes, under-coat my roll-bar mounts, etc. | $100 |
| 94amp Delco Alternator to replace the stock 37amp unit | $90 (kept the ol' 37amp original) |
| 12V 300watt auxilary heater.. tried it, it SUCKS, yanked it. | $100!! |
| Heater core flush and new hoses. This restored my Scout's *awesome* heater.. still needs a new valve though.. | $50 |
| Heater Blower Motor | $52 |
| IH Service Manual for 72/73/74/75 Scout IIs | $60 |
| 8/29/97 Close ratio, 1976 T-19 & Dana 20 | $200, not installed yet - oops, installed in the '77 now! |
| Dana 44 front axle, 3.73 gears, LOCK-O-MATIC hubs | $250, not installed yet |
| Reman. Power Brake Booster | $95, n.i.y. |
| New disc master cylinder | $60, n.i.y. |
| pb mount & shaft | free, n.i.y |
| Proportioning valve | free, n.i.y. |
| 2 rear wheel cylinders | $20 ea., n.i.y. |
| Power Steering system | $50, n.i.y. |