Scout

[PTinz]

Been watching this thread since stumbling onto it a couple weeks back.....what an awesome job and what an adventure!!

sign me,
"Amazed and Jealous, in Baghdad"

[Matthew Strongin]

Still my favorite thread in years. Congrats on getting it on the road!!

[72gmc]

What a great project. Not just the work but the planning and getting it done. Enjoy the summer cruises.

[MDEnvEngr]

We've been finishing up all of the little things while we drive it around and it has been a lot of fun. It does not get the attention that our old 69 DeVille convertible got, but that is fine. Those that know what it is are very enthusiastic. We got the mirror, windows and door cards installed. Got the radio installed. Chasing some squeaks and rattles.

And tuning- we have had a lot of fun driving around with the computer in Finn's lap while he refines the tune. Amazes me: going up a hill lugging the engine a bit - hear a bit of a knock - he's looking at the spark advance table and says, "I'm going to take a couple of degrees of the advance out of it at this load". And the knock goes away. He's watching the AFR all the time and tweaking the fuel load table to get it where he'd like it. At 15 I didn't know what stoichiometry was - he's saying "stoich" and telling me where he'd like to see the AFR a little above or below "stoich". And ajusting the VE table in real time as we drive around. Amazing! This project has been a great learning experience for both of us - but I do not think I could have timed it any better for Finny - he's just so into it.

This is what it looks like now:

IMG_3188.JPG

Interior:

IMG_3189.JPG

We just have to finish the roof and then we can call this one done - and start on the next one: a 1958 Ford F100.

Good day - Bob and Finn

[Clyde]

Blue-green with envy!

[Matthew Strongin]

Still the best thread! I'd love to do a project like that when my kid gets older. Keep the updates coming!

[TRuth]

This is really fantastic, nice work!

[j44ke]

There is genius here.

[Colinmclelland]

I love this thread, thank you for the regular posts. Best of all I keep forgetting it’s here so I get to rediscover it over and over again.

Reminds me why I love bikes. If anything goes wrong you can just throw it in a car and take it to someone who knows. Cars not so much, but you seem to have the advantage of actually being someone who knows!

[MDEnvEngr]

Thanks for the nice comments fellas. We are telling people we are done with the Scout. Fact is, there are a few things we want to address but that will be this winter after we put it to bed. Now we are driving and smiling. These past couple of weeks we have been working on the roof. We cut it up, cut a big hole for a ragtop, some other fabrication, filling, painting, installed ragtop, etc, etc. Finished up the last of the electrical, XM dock, and other little things.

This is how it looks now:

IMG_3203.JPG

We really like how the body color cage hides under the white roof, making it seem like its hovering over the truck:

IMG_3204.JPG

We love the topless motoring. But the fact is it sucks when it's over 80 and sunny, at least for us pale redheads. So - ragtop. This one 40X50". So not completely open, but pretty close.

Open:
IMG_3205.JPG
IMG_3206.JPG

Closed:
IMG_3208.JPG
IMG_3209.JPG

The rear end is pretty wide open:

IMG_3202.JPG

This weekend we are driving it 200 miles to the family place in the Adirondacks. There, Finn can get a good drive in it on the back roads. He's driven it a few miles and was the first to drive it out the driveway. But he needs to get some time behind the wheel, instead of co-pilot and computer jockey.

This has been a great project and I have savored the time with Finn. It was timed just right, coming along when his interest was high.

If I'm allowed to get a tad preachy for a second I'd say this to my fellow parents: do a big project with your kid(s). It was great, it is great. You don't have to be a master anything handing down life lessons - I think the better part for me was when I was done with the mentoring and we were working together as equals.

Next up is a 1958 Ford F100 and will be Finn's real first car - he's turning 16 in November and should be licensed by early next spring. We won't have it done by then but it'll be close. A different kind of project: less reconstruction, and less bodywork. But more chassis/suspension and fitting parts together. We will build the chassis from scratch. A lot more design work, more studying and calculations. I will probably keep this post going with some pics of that project.

Anyway, thanks for looking. Enjoy the time now as it gets cooler. Stay healthy. Good day - Bob & Finn

[72gmc]

So nice. It looks like a ton of fun, and reminds me of a full-sized Candylab toy truck.

[MDEnvEngr]

This was a picture I had in my head as we were working on the Scout. Up at the family place in the Adirondacks, me and Finn headed out for a couple of cruises - his first real on-the-road driving. He did great and only scared me once in 50-60 miles. If he can drive this with it's wonky steering and general 1974 truck handling, everything else we own will be a snap:
IMG_3213.JPG

As an aside, the Scout did great on the 500 mile weekend. No problem doing 65-70 on the highway, though it is much more pleasant at 50 on the two lane routes.

Good day - Bob

[lumpy]

I'm curious what kind of gas mileage you are getting with the 4.0 and megasquirt in that rig. My fuel injected '95 XJ Cherokee with a 5-speed got 20-21 on stock tires.

[MDEnvEngr]

I'm curious what kind of gas mileage you are getting with the 4.0 and megasquirt in that rig. My fuel injected '95 XJ Cherokee with a 5-speed got 20-21 on stock tires.

Lumpy, We are still calibrating our fuel gauge and have a little wackiness with the speedo (reads 0 until ~20 mph and then reads fine above that). Anyway, because of that we do not have a solid estimate of mpg. The best we can estimate is about 15-17 mpg. The Scout is a pretty heavy brick. We are also still tuning and generally leaning things out across the board, but especially in the highway cruising range. Bob

[MDEnvEngr]

Next! So, the Scout is the extra family fun car. This next thing will actually be Finn's driver. A different sort of project: more work on the chassis and suspension and less on the actual body work. Looking to make a truck that looks like a used work truck (although a bit lower), but will handle well, be fun to drive and the occasional autocross. He actually looked at this truck sitting in a driveway he went by on the schoolbus ride for years. When it came up for sale he thought it would be a good project. Even Mom agreed and we picked it up for a good price. It hasn't been here in New England too long - was originally a farm truck out of OK - so there's not terrible rot.

IMG_3217.JPG

IMG_3218 (2).JPG

We did a little sanding to see what we would uncover. Looks like the original white was covered with blue at some point and then gray primer. We are going to try and preserve this mottled look. In some places we sanded through to the bare metal, and we will have to figure out how to handle those spots. Then - we would like to flat clear everything. But, not sure yet how that would work on a surface that still have some "texture".

IMG_3222.JPG

He started his junior year yesterday - a goal would be to have this ready for senior year. Good day - Bob & Finn

[claritycycler]

Next! So, the Scout is the extra family fun car. This next thing will actually be Finn's driver. A different sort of project: more work on the chassis and suspension and less on the actual body work.

Year, make, engine, transmission? thanks

[MDEnvEngr]

Year, make, engine, transmission? thanks

It's a 1958 Ford F100. We will make the chassis. We have collected a 1999 Ford 5.0 with the GTP heads; an IRS section out of a 2016 Mustang GT and an MT82 6-speed transmission out of another 2016 mustang GT. Front suspension will be double A-arms. Power Rack and Pinion steering. Big brakes. We will use the megasquirt ECU again, but will basically keep the stock tune for the 5.0 - no forced induction. Should be fun! Bob

[claritycycler]

.... Should be fun! Bob

Understatement! Looking forward to the build.

[lumpy]

Lumpy, We are still calibrating our fuel gauge and have a little wackiness with the speedo (reads 0 until ~20 mph and then reads fine above that). Anyway, because of that we do not have a solid estimate of mpg. The best we can estimate is about 15-17 mpg. The Scout is a pretty heavy brick. We are also still tuning and generally leaning things out across the board, but especially in the highway cruising range. Bob

Sounds about right. I'm curious about what kind of mpg gains you can get with the Megasquirt. I've got an old Chrysler with a 2-bbl Stromberg and the Megasquirt might address some of the driveability problems that come with the Stromberg.

[darkmother]

I can't wait for the new build. Keep us posted!