The Last International Scout Is A Diesel That Still Runs And Looks Better Than Ever
The new Scout pickup and SUV are still a few years away from production, but the last of the originals that was built 44 years ago is still on the road.
The Scout brand is being resurrected by Volkswagen as a standalone American automaker called Scout Motors that is based in South Carolina that will start building electric and range-extended electric pickups and SUVs in 2027.
Volkswagen holds the rights to the brand through its ownership if Navistar, which is a corporate descendant of International Harvester.
International Harvester built Scouts from 1961 through Oct. 21, 1980, when the final truck rolled off the line.
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The Tahitian Red Scout II SUV was loaded with air conditioning, the Deluxe interior option and a front bench seat, the last of which will be available on the new trucks. Its powertrain was a Nissan turbocharged 198-cubic-inch straight-six diesel and four-speed manual transmission.
A worker at the Fort Wayne, Ind., factory that built it wrote “10-20-80 The End” on the transmission bell housing and the truck was sent on its way to Mary Garst of Iowa, who was a cattlewoman and a member of the International Harvester board.
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Garst had it fitted with an 8,000-pound Warn 8274 winch and a Warn Classic bumper, but otherwise kept it original as it was put to use on the 5,500-acre property, which had once been visited by Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev’s, who visited the Iowa to learn about modern farming methods. The family donated the land to a conservancy in 2003 and sold the truck to a local farmer and Scout fan, Mike Bolton, who had been eyeing it up for several years.
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Knowing the significance of the vehicle, Bolton commissioned a shop called Resurrection Rides to perform a full restoration in 2015 that lasted more than four years, according to Scout Motors. The truck was in pretty good shape, but had a busted grille and was missing some trim. The frame needed to be straightened and sandblasted and the body had some dents that were worked out before it was painted and refinished. The factory pinstriping was recreated and the artist also brought the various faded signatures that were found back to life.
Bolton brings the truck to shows and it has been featured in promotional vehicles for the Scout Motors launch. With many of the surviving Scouts being heavily modified, its unusual to find an all-original truck, let alone one restored to this condition. According to Hagerty, a concours-quality example is worth around $65,000, although Bolton’s is likely worth much more than that given the extent of the work done and its significance.
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The valuation is interesting, however, as Scout Motors says that the new trucks will start at less than $60,000. Full details haven’t been revealed, but they will be offered in all-electric versions with up to 350 miles of range and with a range-extender option called the Harvester that adds a small gasoline motor that works as a generator and boosts that to 500 miles between charges and fill-ups.
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