Scout

[Clyde]

This is probably the most interesting thing I've every followed on the webs.

[72gmc]

I'm wondering just how much better than new this Scout will be.

[MDEnvEngr]

Tub flip weekend!

We used the tractor on one end and the engine hoist on the other and me in the middle.

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We set it down on a rolling table we made last week - a buddy dropped off a bunch of steel box tube he cleaned out of his Mom's place - perfectly timed!

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Here we can see the last of the undercoat and leaky engine/tranny goop. That's about all of the original tub metal left on this thing:

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After some scraping, and then a liberal application of Easy Off oven cleaner and then some more hand cleaning we end up with:

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So now we finish up the welding that we left for "when we flip the tub over" because we didn't go crazy with the overhead welding. Then some more roughing up and then some paint. Meanwhile, now that the chassis and tub are divorced we will turn some attention to the chassis. Also, the boy removed all of the accessories off of the engine in advance of the big clean and painting on that. Things moving along, for sure.

This has distrated me from cyclocross this year, but after 40 years I've come to know that sometimes I get distracted from cycling and that's ok. Plus our main family catalyst to go to the races is now a freshman at UVM, and really enjoying that. And a proud dad plug: she got selected for the UVM collegiate MTB nationals team. Largely because she went straight to racing with the "A" women and has held her own and she is good at both XC and gravity.

Thanks for looking! Bob

[Too Tall]

Dang good report all around congratulations.

[MDEnvEngr]

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and painting. Not my favorite part of the project. It does make progress more visible. We could work on the tub structure for a couple of weeks and no one but me and Finn could tell that we did anything at all. A few hours of painting and even Mom can see there is progress being made.

We scrubbed the chassis inside and out. Found and repaired a few cracks and installed some "fangs" on the front which will allow us to put the shackles on the rear of the front springs were they should have been all along. Aside from the cracks and one gaping hole where a shackle hanger had been torn off and re-welded the frame is in good shape.

Cleaning out the frame:

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Attaching the fangs. We used the TIG as a root pass, so that we could be sure the fangs were fused right to the frame. And then we used the MIG to do a final fill pass. The boy appreciated the heavy metal and just being able to set the TIG to "stun" and make the dimes with the filler instead of the foot pedal.

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All cleaned and ready for paint:

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Painted. So to get to black we painted the inside of the frame with a rust converter paint. We will see how that works - but every little bit helps. When we get the Scout fully assembled we will squirt fluid film into every crack and crevasse we can and that will keep the rust in check. Anyway, green inner-frame paint. Then an Eastwood rust prevention epoxy. Then a chassis black paint. We still have another coat to do on this side, and then flip the chassis for a couple coats on the bottom:

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Meanwhile we did about the same on the tub. Wire wheeling, scrapping, sanding, cleaning, etc. Then the Eastwood stuff. Then we mixed up some DIY lizard skin: we mixed in ceramic mirco ballons in rustoleum satin black. The ceramic balls are used to create an insulating paint. The rustoleum seems pretty low tech, but the real lizard skin uses water-based paint, so it can't be too bad. We painted the whole firewall and the bottom of the tub. It went on easy with a normal spray gu and left a very nice texture - like 160 grit sandpaper. Hopefully it holds up - and keeps the floor cooler.

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A closer look at the texture:

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Fianlly, Finn has the engine torn down and we are waiting on a full seal kit. Might as well replace them all while we are here. Then we will paint the engine,etc. We are coming to the end of the nasty dirty work. We should have our axles done soon, engine/tranny/transfer case done and we can start to put things together. Hoping for another couple of days of warm weather so we can flip the tub back over and weld the rear quarters on and get a coat of epoxy primer on it before the cold sets in.

Thanks for looking! B&F

[MDEnvEngr]

Took advantage of a warm Saturday to stick some roadkill (sound damping sheet) on the bottom of the tub before we flip it back over.

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Then we flipped the tub right-side-up and spent some time hanging plastic sheet to make a DIY paint booth - and also a smaller area we can keep warm as the weather gets cold. It would have been nice to have the tub in epoxy while the weather was still warm, but it is what it is.

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Those front fenders had been hiding behind our pile of doors and we had forgotten just how chewed up they were. The fender lips are basically gone, along with the rockers. The rockers will fix easy enough, but the fender lips will be finicky work. Makes us think that Bushwacker flares might be in our future - we will see how nicely we can repair the fenders.

Next up, hanging the rear quarters on the tub and prepping everything for epoxy. Also, springs/axles/etc on the chassis and rebuilding the engine. Good day - B&F

[MDEnvEngr]

Finishing the tub structure and getting it ready for primer. This past weekend, we finally got the rear quarters finished off - lots of tapping with wierd hammers to get our patches fair with the rest of the panel. Trying to keep the amount of bondo this Scout will have to a minimum.

Checking final fitup - some tweaks to the wheel wells and such. Final sanding/cleaning of areas that will be welded:

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We used 3M panel adhesive on the wheel well/fender lip join and that seems to have worked great. We changed the design of the bed top rails when we made our bedsides. The original design had a trough on the top and a seperate piece of trim was inserted into the trough to create a flat spot for the top to land. The trough was really a result of a spot-weld seam across the top of the bed. As we are TIG welding the quarters on, we didn't need this seam and we could make the top flat. Six lengths of 030 TIG wire and the quarters were welded on. Tricky welding because the flange on the top of the quarter was very thin in spots. But sharp eyes and good coordination make it work:

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This is what the top rail looks like. We installed weld nuts on the top rail in the stock locations. If our measurements were correct then a hard top should bolt right up. We do not plan to ever run a full hardtop, but maybe someone will.

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Fiannly, I took the day off yesterday and just buckled down the the sanders and got it done:

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So now the tub is just about ready for epoxy. A quick rub down with etching sauce and then a clean off with acetone. Then we will lay some rust encapsulator on the areas that have and rust remaining - which is only where the remining parts of the tunnel are towards the front. Then we will spray on the epoxy. Then the tub will sit until we install it on the chassis. Final tub finishing - sanding/filling/blocking/paint - will wait until the weather warms back up next year. Meanwhile our attention turns to the chassis/engine/drivetrain. Looking forward to the change. The fabrication has been fun, but putting stuff together and getting the computer to talk to the engine will be cool too. Although there still is plenty of things left to build: exhaust and gas tank will be next up. Thanks for looking! Bob & Finn

[Clyde]

Thanks so much for these pics as I am about 4 wks into a 12 wk shoulder rehab they are inspiring!

[MDEnvEngr]

Thanks so much for these pics as I am about 4 wks into a 12 wk shoulder rehab they are inspiring!

Well, I'm glad we can provide some distraction! Good luck with the rehab! B

[MDEnvEngr]

Quick turn around - we pushed through final pre epoxy preps so that we could take advantage of a warm day. Epoxy went on yesterday. Now the tub will pretty much get set aside until we place it back on the chassis.

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Thanks for looking! B&F

[MDEnvEngr]

Meanwhile on the other side of the garage the chassis is all painted and we finished the axle rebuilding and got those hung:

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Next up we have the gas tank - we are building our own tank - the one that was in the Scout was bad. We wanted a little more fuel than the stock ~15 gallons, and we wanted to mount the tank to the chassis. We also did not want to spend $700 on an aftermarket 30 gallon tank. Finally we we needed a tank that was 10" deep and would allow us to use a stock jeep fuel pump/level sending unit. That would just keep things simpler. So, we drew something up and went to the metal store. $100 and we have all the metal we need for the tank. We brought the big sheet to my place of work after dinner one night to use the big brake:

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Here is a view of the interior of the tank showing the baffles - the pump will go in the right front corner:

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I have to show off this weld. The boy is getting tons of practice - with just about everything but especially his welding - on this project and I can see his skills improve constantly. It really is cool - and I'm grateful for this time with him. This weld is a series of linked 1" tacks. We left the sides proud for the weld, and will trim them down later. We are cutting all this sheet metal by hand and wanted to give us some margin for error:

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Finally, we have started to re-assemble the engine. I think I mentioned above that we are using a 2004 jeep 4.0 engine because it was a much cheaper way to get modern fuel management as compared to installing injection on our old 258. The modern 4.0 shares the block with the 258 and it's not a huge change - except it has 50% more HP than the stock 258. Anyway, we disassembled the engine to check everything out and repace all of the seals and timing gears/chain while we were in there. We got the head pressure checked (some of these heads had a tendency to crack depending on their date of manufacture. Ours was good. We had the sealing surface decked (very slightly) and the valves and valve seats ground and the whole think hot dipped. It's better than new now. Here's Finn trying out his new birthday present:

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Every 15 y/o asks for a torque wrench for his birthday, right?

Anyway, that's where we are at - feels like we are actually assembling things and boy is it sweet to work on clean stuff! Good day - Bob & Finn

[caleb]

This thread is amazing. Love it.

[72gmc]

^^^^ yes. Thank you, and thank Finn, for sharing!

[Matthew Strongin]

This thread is amazing. Love it.

Yeah...best thread going right now.

[MDEnvEngr]

Prettying up the engine and getting it mounted in the chassis. We painted up the engine and reassembled. The valve cover is in primer for now - we aren't sure if we will go body color or black, so we will decide later.

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And then we started the 2 steps forward, 3 steps backwards, 1 step forward portion of the weekend. First, we got the flywheel and clutch installed on the engine:

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Then we realized that the plate that goes between the engine block and the tranny that we had fit an automaitc tranny, and was not the right size for our manual. So, everything came off. But we pushed forward and installed the tranny anyway so we could work on the motor and tranny mounts - figuring we will just pull the tranny later and install the plate and clutch.

We also put the original wheels on the axles so we could place the chassis on skates to move it around. So we got the engine/tranny over to the chassis:

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We were given some jeep motor mounts/bushings and we installed the stock jeep mounts on the block. We were amazed: everything lined up really well. We had to cut the mounts we were given and re-weld then to accomodate the angled landings on the Scout frame. The PS was a little more complicated, but not bad. Everyting looking good - this is going to be EZ:

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We ran out of day, so we didn't get to the tranny carrier, but this is where we left off:

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Then it was cleanup and thaw out and beer time. We got to talking about the day and what we could have done better - the tranny plate was an oversite. Rookie mistake. We talk about working out the tranny mount - and wonder why it is so much futher back than stock. We go out to the barn and measure the old tranny - nope about the same length. We know the blocks are the same length. We then look at the tub and measure where the shifter hole is. Yup- the whole shebang is 6" too far back. Dang! Rookie mistake number 2: not starting with shifter position as dimension #1 . And letting our optimism get the best of us and believing the jeep mounts placed the engine correctly.

Now we have to do something a little more complicated. But welding tubes is always fun!

Not bummed about the "wasted time" - it's all learning, and the learning sticks better this way anyway. Moving on! Thanks for looking! Bob & Finn

[MDEnvEngr]

So it was like the hokey-pokey out in the garage this past week: put the tub on, take the tub off, put the engine in, take the engine out, put the engine in, take the engine out, put the engine in...but at the end we have new motor mounts and the engine has landed where it should be.

We decided that we needed to have the tub on the chassis to correctly place the engine. To place the tub on the chassis we lift the front with the tractor and the back with the engine hoist:

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Then we debated: make new engine brackets and use the stock Scout chassis mounts, or vice versa. We decided to use the stock jeep engine brackets and make new chassis mounts. So we chopped off the old chassis mounts and welded a piece of sheet over the chassis crimp, my welding on display - not nearly as pretty as the boy's, but it'll do just fine here:

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Then back in with the engine and lots of measuring to make sure it is in the right place:

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Then some tube fitting and cutting and welding and we end up with a new motor mount:

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Here's both of them, they are different lengths and offset for/aft too. You can also see the plumb string that we useed to locate the trans output shaft. We are happy with the way they came out - looks cleaner than the stock mounts:

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And then some paint, and back in with the engine. This might be the last for engine going in - at least until we pull this stock 4.0 and replace with a 300 hp 4.9l stroker engine - but that is a couple of year away!

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We will cover the silver with some black here in the near future. Overall we are pleased with this part. Next up is exhaust, trans mount, finish and plumb gas tank and rear brakes and then the tub goes back on...

Thanks for looking - I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving - Bob & Finn

[72gmc]

Happy Thanksgiving! Possibly silly question: are you using polyurethane or rubber bushings for your mounts? There's lots of bushing debate amongst the old timers in a truck forum I subscribe to.

[MDEnvEngr]

Dan, we are using rubber bushings for the motor mounts. We are into smooth cruising in this truck. Bob

[MDEnvEngr]

Exhaust work, finished, painted and installed the gas tank. Started on the Megasquirt.

Finn got lots of good stainless TIG butt welding practice in. The header came out decent - but it sure did give us an appreciation for the folks that can make this stuff look beautiful:

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The rest of it was a pretty straight shot, with a couple of 4's to go under the frame rail:

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Here it is installed. There will be a heat shield over the muffler. Intake and other parts starting to get installed on the engine:

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From the back end. Also good shot of the fuel tank. Frame mounted rather than tub mounted like the stock Scout. We will use a stock jeep 4.0 fuel pump/level sender unit - trying to keep is as simple as possible. This end of the exhaust is sporting a V-clamp flange. We are planning on running the tailpipe through the bumper, but we do not know where that is yet - so there is one more piece of exhaust to fabricate - once we get the tub on and the bumper made. Also can see the trans mount that we made - over the exhaust and under the t-case.

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Next up is the Megasquirt - a stand alone ECU. Because this engine didn't come with the ECU, and also because we want to know things about the ECU and wiring and tuning we decided to go with the MS. In concept it's pretty simple: the computer gets inputs from the engine sensors, vehicle speed, etc and tells the injectors when to squirt and the plugs when to spark. These are the parts:

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So we looked at that for a bit. Then we downloaded ~800 pages of manuals and started reading though those. First step - figuring the pins for all of the sensor connectors and where they plug into the MS harnesses:

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I love it when during a project it starts to come together. After skimming through the manuals we had a definite "WTF have we gotten ourselves into?" moment. But with more study it starts to come clear and soon it will be "no problem!" We have the wiring figured out at this point. Next up installation - and that will mean we have to install parts of our dash. Then we get to learn the software (300 of those 800 pages) and calibrate the sensors and start it up. Then we can do all of the tuning via laptop. It's going to be a lot of fun, but I can foresee some salty garage language in our future. Luckily, Mom is a EE that makes computers talk to machines every day so we have a fallback.

In other news, the next project has arrived. It cannot start until the Scout is completed, so my partner is now even more motivated:

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This is a 1958 Ford F100. Finn has been looking at this thing from the window of his school bus for a couple of years. It got rolled out to the road with a for sale sign on it a couple of weeks ago. We got a decent deal. It's pretty solid - the story is it has only been in new England 7-8 years and before that it was a farm truck on OK. The body has plenty of dings, but nothing huge and almost no rot. The frame is solid. No engine or transmission - which is fine with us because engine swap is a given. The plan for this is IFS and 4 bar with watts link in the rear. Lowered, but not slammed. Aimed at autocross monkey business. Probably put an LS in it - would love to keep it all Ford, but there really is no comparable Ford engine to the LS IRT swaps and aftermarket. Also 6-speed T56 trans. We are going to keep the bodywork on this one to a minimum - fixing what needs to be fixed, but leaving many of the dings and visible repairs. We will sand it down and hope that something interesting comes out - if not we will make it interesting - then spray with matte clear to keep the old work truck look.

Thanks for looking - and happy holidaze! Bob & Finn

[NorTX-Dave]

Really fascinating stuff...and the photos are crisp and clear, really meshing well with your descriptions.