If there was something off-road to properly rival the classic Ford Bronco during the 1960s and ‘70s, then it was the International Harvester Scout. The second-generation Scout II was manufactured up until 1980, and mostly during that final model year, the company even fitted a nice little turbo diesel engine to the SUV. It was none other than Nissan’s 198ci SD33-T mill, mated on this particular occasion with a four-speed transmission.
Because so very few Scout IIs were equipped with the turbo-diesel version borrowed from Nissan, the SD33-T-equipped examples were rarer than the hen’s teeth, and probably even fewer survived the passage of time. Well, this patina-covered blue unit did... sort of. It has been rescued by the affable host of the Vice Grip Garage YouTube channel after sitting abandoned in a farm field for no less than 18 years.
But there’s a catch because our mechanic needs to find the right solutions to get it started, running, and in road trip condition... as he’s some 600 miles (966 km) away from the home base. Luckily, the western North Dakota-located Scout II was towed to his brother’s garage (should we feel surprised that he’s also into car tinkering?), so the vehicle “that is rumored to be one of the rarest in all of the land” has a fighting chance.
That goes both ways as the off-roader was bought by the former owner around 2002 or 2003, got driven for a little bit, and sat abandoned for almost two decades without a lot of background history attached to it. So, there are all sorts of surprises to be expected with this vehicle that has the “perfect patina and not a lot of rust.” Yeah, save for the shot driver’s doorstep or the massive hole in the trunk, as well as the rotted tailgate hinges.
No worries, because some light work starts at the 7:35 mark after the initial presentation. Then it’s time to check out the interior (9:13), which is complete with rat poop, rifle holder, and possible 113k or 213k mileage (182,000 or 343,000 km). Well, the info card with the last oil change being made in 1995 isn’t too helpful either, so it’s time for the peek under the hood at the 13:05 mark.
Once there, “it’s rough... but all here,” so we know this Scout II isn’t going to give them the hardest of times. Not the easiest one, either. So, the first turn of the key (18:10) shows that nothing happens, “not even a click.” But already the second attempt is a bit more successful from the 22:06 mark and there’s an idle-running victory to be had at the 23:59 timestamp. After some more tinkering, it’s time for the first drive (41:25), first a few inches in the garage, and then outside for some time lapse action.
The “gentle” wash (45:35) gets the Scout II almost ready for a fellow passenger, as the youngling will accompany his dad once all final preparations have been made at the 49:30 mark. Wait, did you imagine that everything would go smoothly? Well, it kind of does, but only after another maintenance session on the side of the road that kicks off at the 1:04:10 mark. So, in the end, we could write this down as a major road-trip victory for this survivor SUV.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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