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Volvo: Safety Beyond the Star RatingsThe International Harvester Scout: A History
The International Harvester Scout is truly a one-of-a-kind off-road vehicle that will never be forgotten. Learn about its time on the road here.
Loving the International Harvester Scout is easy. A true gem alongside Jeep back in the 60s-80s, the Scout is what all off-road lovers adore about durable, capable vehicles. A little before the Bronco, the Scout offered the best of both Jeeps and the Broncos. Part truck, part people-carrier, it’s a car that’s found a place deep in our hearts when we look back at classic recreational vehicles. Let’s dig into the history behind the car and see how the Scout made its way into thef world.
A Little About International Harvester
Before we hop down memory lane with the Scout, we have to go a little further back in time to understand how International Harvester began. Back in the early 1900s, International Harvester was a conglomerate made up of agricultural equipment, commercial vehicles, trucks, household equipment, and more. In 1907, International Harvester began producing trucks, by 1953 the company would add a “people-carrier” model to their lineup called the Travelall. In 1961, International debuted the Scout as a two-door competitor against the Jeep CJ Models.
And that’s where it all begins.
Scout Models
The Origin Model: Scout 80 (1960-1965)
The first-generation Scouts were only produced for five years and featured removable sliding windows, a fold-down windshield, and a gas-powered 4-cylinder engine. The Scout 80 had two other variants, the Red Carpet Series and the Campermobile.
The Red Carpet Series was a celebration of the 100,000th Scout sold. Only 3,000 Red Carpet Scouts were made with red seats and interior, a white exterior, and a special “Custom” medallion. Every International dealer in the U.S. was sent a Red Carpet Series Scout to use for promotion purposes.
The Campermobile is exactly what it sounds like, a Scout with a camper permanently attached to the body. The roof of this model was nearly double the height of the original Scout design and featured fold-down beds, a swinging ambulance-style door, as well as the optional deluxe design with a dinette, galley, and toilet. Some say less than 100 were made and there is only a handful left out there.
The Scout 800 (1965-1968)
1970 International Scout 800 – @JeffMG68 on Twitter | Shop International Scouts on Carsforsale.com
In 1965, the Scout 80 was replaced by the 800. International made improvements to the overall design, but also in comfort. With bucket seats, a better heating system, and two engine options (196hp four-cylinder or 232hp inline-six), the Scout 800 was a step above the 80. The Sportop, offered in 1966, was a fiberglass top package that included a slanted rear-roof and a spare tire kit. A Champagne version of the Scout was produced during the 80 and 800 model years for an even more upscale look inside and out. Fancy stuff, eh?
The Scout 800A & B Series (1968-1971)
The 800A and B Scout models included several small modifications to the Scout’s appearance. These Scouts were basically identical except the chrome headlights of the 800B. The 800B also had a Comanche Package option with special paint colors, trims, windows, and more. A snowplow package was introduced in 1970 just for those wishing to use the Scout for snow plowing purposes. Functional, yet comfortable was the name of the game.
Scout II (1971-1980)
1972 International Scout II – hiconsumption.com | Shop International Scouts on Carsforsale.com
You can identify Scout IIs by their grille. For every few years, the Scout IIs featured different grille designs from three horizontal bars to 14 vertical bars between headlights. By 1974, disc and power brakes were standard which had not been used much before in Scout models.
Special Edition Scouts
The Super Scout (Safari)
The SSII or the Super Scout was introduced as a direct competitor to Jeep’s CJ. Soft top, soft doors, and a roll bar were just a few of the options available on this extra off-road vehicle. Several Super Scouts were champions of the off-road circuit during the ‘70s, too.
The Swiss Safari & Sahara
Made by Monteverdi, a Swiss luxury car manufacturer, the Monteverdi versions of the Scout were a luxurious off-road wagon design. The Safari featured more radical changes to the original Scout design, whereas the Sahara only had a few things updated like the grille and interior. Engine options included a Chrysler 5.2, 5.7, or 7.2 L and Nissan diesel.
The Patriot and Spirit of ‘76
1976 International Scout Patriot – RidleyScottTowels on reddit.com | Shop International Scouts on Carsforsale.com
In celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial, International produced two special models of the Scout. The Spirit of ‘76 featured a special blue soft top, blue interiors, and chrome wheels and was only offered on the Scout II Models. The Patriot edition was only slightly different with a hardtop and could be added to the Scout II, Terra, or Traveler models.
The Selective Edition
For gold everything, Scout lovers should have grabbed the Selective Edition back in 1978-1979. Gold accents, gold-spoke wheels, and other additional items like customized seats, interior, and several exterior colors like Dark Brown, Black, Dark Blue, and Green were available.
The Midas Edition
A special collaboration between International and Midas brought a very luxurious Scout to life. With shag carpet, swivel seats, sunroofs, and fender flares, the Midas Edition was a top-notch version of the Scout II design.
The Last Special Edition Trim
The rarest of all Scouts is the Special Limited Edition RS. Only available on the Traveler Scouts, this car was manufactured in what was then called “Tahitian Red” and had red accents to match. Wood-grain trim, striping, and tinted glass were just a few of the bells and whistles added to this edition.
The End of the Good Old Days
Just like Andy Bernard from The Office once said, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in “the good old days” before you’ve actually left them.” The last Scout rolled off the production line in 1980 and little did we know we would miss the good old days.
As time passes us by, we see more and more concepts that take cues from the once-affordable, recreational, off-road vehicles like the Scout. The new Ford Bronco, Jeep Gladiator, Bollinger B1, and more continue to mold their designs around what once was. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of it all or just the way that vehicles like the Scout looked that keeps drawing us back to a truly durable, functional, rounded yet square-shaped SUV. Either way, we hope the good old days come back sooner rather than later.
I loved my 73 Scout 2. Wonderful truck
That’s great, how long have you owned it?
The Aristocrat?
I owned two IH Scout II, my first 4×4 was a 1974, which was followed by a similarly equipped 1979. ( bought for $7500 )These units were virtually the best off road hunting vehicle/ people transporter I have ever owned. The safety they provided as they were built solid amazing, they had a nice simple design and could pull most anything, and provided many exciting weekend going places where walkingwould have been difficult. I have seen the promos of what a reinvented new Scout would be and get excited in the possibility we could be seeing it for real in the market place.
I get excited
Thanks for sharing, Don!
The Scout that did not make it was designed with a Kevlar/Aluminium Body but it did not pass the crash test. When subjected to a solid wall all the Dummies set up inside would have died if they were human, all the design and set up was made at g reat expense and nearly caused IH to die. Another problem was in the heavy machine business someone said that CAT were building the largest excavater so IH decided to go one better and developed a Bucket loader that could beat anyone. It was shown at the New Orleans truck show and was so large it had to be sent in pieces at great expense and then found out that Cat was not going to go that large and that sunk the company. I was at that show and a Travelall was placed in the Bucket. Bill Auld from Nor Mar truck and Equipment from Penticton B.C.