The International Harvester Scout is one of the good but forgotten off-road classic vehicles. It was supposed to rival Ford and Jeep.
Despite this, the Scout laid the foundation of what an off-road SUV should be, and from there, huge vehicles are now attributed with heavy-duty performance.
American automobile company International Harvester started out as a company that created farm machinery. Unfortunately, production ceased in 1980, its legacy remains.
Let's take a closer look at this SUV.
A Brief History of International Harvester
International Harvester has a deep history when it comes to pickups and trucks. The company has been in the business since 1907.
It wasn't until 1953, when the Travelall came out, that the predecessor to the Scout trucks was born. It was a truck-based people carrier but wasn't a real truck.
Recreational trucks were few during the 1950s. The only better-known ones are the Willys Jeep and the Jeep CJ 4x4. Seeing the void, International Harvester came out with the Scout 80 in late 1960.
Being quite new in making off-roaders presented several challenges. Such challenges include a lack of manufacturing guides and the fact that the initial military jeep design was failing.
The company got new parts from American company Goodyear to complete the final model and design of the Scout. It took two years for it to finally kick-off.
Looking Back At The International Harvester Scout II
The International Harvester Scout II came a decade after the first Scout model. The Scout IIs were manufactured from April 1971 to 1980. It was available in either a full-metal Travel Top, a Roadster, or a Soft Top.
While the design is quite identical to earlier models, the most distinguishable changes were mainly its front grilles. Its headlight trims also changed during the Scout II's later production years. These are just a few aesthetic revisions that the Scout II had during its run.
As for its performance, the standard Scout II was a -196 spark-ignition 4-stroke engine under its hood. Its engine was capable of 111 horsepower and 180 lb-ft of torque. A 232 6-cylinder was also offered during the early production stages. More powerful engine options such as a 304 V8 and a 345 V8 were offered later on.
Disc and power brakes were also standard starting late 1974. It was only an available option early on. The good thing about the Scout IIs though, is that there are rare orders for rear-wheel-drives. It was mostly the more powerful 4WD.
The IH Scout II also had special edition packages, which were mostly aesthetic tweaks. These packages were called the Shawnee Scout, Custom Vehicles Incorporated, The "Selective Edition" Scout II, "Spirit of 76" and the "Patriot" special editions, "Midas Edition" Scout II.
Of all special edition packages, none compared to the Final "Special" version, which was the Scout II's performance edition. It is also one of the rarest IH Scout models ever produced.
How Good is the International Harvester Scout II?
International Harvester had a good reputation for making trucks, so it only made sense that each one had its good attributes.
The Scout 80 and the Scout 800 shared pretty much the same features, which made the Scout II stand out even more. Since the Scout wasn't able to stick around for that long, it's best to be compared among its predecessors of the same brand instead.
Both the 80 and 800 only had a 4-152 spark-ignition 4-stroke engine with two valves per cylinder under its hood. The Scout II had the more powerful 4-196 spark-ignition 4-stroke engine.
Fuel capacity was also significantly more on the Scout II. Both the Scout 80 and the Scout 800 can only hold 11.1 gallons, whereas the Scout II has a much greater fuel capacity of 19.3 gallons.
The Scout II's 111 hp and 180 lb-ft of torque is significantly higher than both the Scout 80 and 800. The earlier Scout models only tallied 92 hp and a torque of 142 lb-ft of torque.
One downside the Scout II has is that despite its significantly more power, it had similar speed averages to the Scout 80 and the Scout 800.
The Scout II takes the lead when it comes to acceleration though, as the Scout 80 and 800 takes 19 seconds to go from zero to 60 mph, whereas the Scout II only needs 17 seconds.
RELATED: Bring A Trailer: 1974 International Harvester Scout II With Added Third-Row Seating
How Much Does It Cost Today?
An International Harvester Scout II is still expensive in today's time. Classic.com rates its commercial market value at $29,611, but bids for it say otherwise.
Most bids for a Scout II model range from between $20,000 to $80,000, depending on the model and its condition. The ones in the median price range can be found mostly on eBay.
The most expensive one in the market today is a 1973 International Harvester Scout II listed in Hemmings.com for $249,000.
There are restored International Harvester Scout models in the market as well, and these classic off-roaders are the most highly sought-after above the stock ones.
NEXT: 10 Coolest Restomodded International Harvester Scouts We've Ever Seen
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