Page 214 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

TOP: 1966 “Sportop” model, with both hard and soft tops,
was intended to “civilize” the Scout with a “sports car motif.” Perhaps ahead of its time, it was dropped due to its high cost and manufacturing complexity after 3,500 were built.
ABOVE: 1965 introduction of the Ford Bronco prompted several upgrades to the Scout ahead of the Scout II, especially when it came to the engine lineup.
and a unique fiberglass top (also available as a convertible) with a slanted rear roof and a continental spare tire kit. Sportops featured the carpeted and padded “plushness” of the Champagne Scout but with a new dash and body improvements that made Scouts quieter, more weathertight and more ergonomic than ever before.
Despite the jaunty Sportop, the performance gap between the Scout and its competitors was made painfully clear with the launch of the Bronco, which had a base straight six and an optional 289-cubic inch V8. IH responded by dropping the unloved turbo and upgrading the base Comanche to 196 cubic inches as well as finding a way to shoehorn its own 155-horsepower, 266-cubic inch V8 into the Scout’s cramped motor compartment.
its replacement, the Scout II. Due to ongoing delays with its development, IH introduced an interim “800B” model that had only minor visual and mechanical changes and filled the gap before the launch of its successor.
Scout II
Though the Scout had outsold Jeep’s CJs through the 1970s, new entries like Chevrolet’s 1969 K5 Blazer were elevating customer expectations with more interior room and upscale options like air conditioning. International’s response was the larger and more refined Scout II in the spring of 1971. While the Scout II still rode on the previous generation’s 100-inch wheelbase, it was about ten inches longer overall than its predecessor and slightly wider, giving it a beefier appearance. The base engine was the 196-cubic inch four, with the 232-cubic inch six carried over, but the V8 lineup was broadened to include both 304- and 345-cubic inch variants as well as Nissan-sourced diesels. New equipment included power brakes, power steering, air conditioning, automatic transmission, a bigger clutch, a wider choice of rear axle ratios, more axle capacity, manual or locking front hubs for 4x4 models, and five more cubic feet of load space. The rear seat was lowered and increased in width to accommodate three passengers.
The Scout II rumbled on through 1976 before more major revisions arrived. That year International dropped all of its Metro vans, station wagons and regular pickups and began to focus on its heavy-duty truck offerings. The Scout grew again and adopted a 118-inch wheelbase for 1976 and came as either a Terra pickup or a Traveler hatchback station wagon.
The SSII (Super Scout II) was a stripped-down, off-road version introduced in February 1977. It was intended to compete directly with the Jeep CJ and was built until 1979. This model included a
In 1969, IH introduced the Scout 800A, which included more
creature comfort options, a slightly different front-end treatment
plus drivetrain option upgrades that included a 304-cubic inch
V8 upgrade option as well as an AMC-sourced 232-cubic inch
line six. In another nod to changing market expectations, IH
made an automatic transmission available. By late 1968, 200,000
Scouts had been built, but IH had already started work on air conditioning.
212Wayne CariniAffordable Classics
Scout II was only slightly larger than the original Scout, but added many creature comforts, including power steering and brakes plus