Hot Rods Dare to be different - 63 Scout

Here's a little on a Indiana boy who raced one - John Lingenfelter (this quote is from one of his relatives so I have been told):

"John raced a 1962 2wd International Scout with a turbocharged 4 cylinder. It was an old orange Indiana & Michigan meter reading vehicle. My recollection is that we went under the record at a points meet at Milan Michigan in the fall of 1969 or 1970. The scout would pull the wheels of the ground as it left the line. It was quite unique and fun for a while. We only raced it a few times as we kept cracking pistons. Also John proved what he wanted, that he could make this unique combination run under the national record."

John worked for International Harvester in the engine dyno room and the rest is history.

That guy ran almost everything...

 

Very cool. Got to love guys like John L. Run anything and make it work. A turbo 4 cylinder eh... I'm thinking super light wieght Scout body and a lightened frame, big boost Ford 4 banger pushing about a 1000hp and a 5 speed. That would sure make the ol Binder dance down the track.

Thanks for the history and picture

Anyone else have a Scout to share ???

The Manitoba Street Rod Assoc Rondex Rodarama is history for another year. It was a great event and I got to share the spot with some great people / drag racers. I also got to hobnob with super street rod folks. The weekend would have been perfect except for the torrential rain we had all day Saturday which flooded the parking lot and then turned into 6 inches of snow on Sunday (wtf ???). Some places in Manitoba got 50cm (approx 20 inches). Made for an interesting drive out. The Scout REALLY does not like to turn on a slippery surface and the spool in the back made it very hard to make the tight right turn leaving the building. I almost starting looking for the t-case lever to throw it in 4 wheel and go through the mud (sic)

The Scout didn't win anything but I didn't build the Scout to win trophies at a car show. Besides, the entire event is targetted towards street rods so drag race cars are tolerated at best. I was lumped into the Special Interest category which was the largest group and included some fantastic machinery. The VW Beetle Custom that won was simply over the top good. (lil Ruby - when I post a link to the pictures). I have to thank Richard Wood of Richard Wood photography for lending me a high quality picture of the Scout from 73 (same picture as my Avatar) that I propped up in the box to show what the beast looked like back in the day.

I was going to post some pictures but quite frankly my picture taking talent really sucks. Sort of like my welding and sheet metal work. A member of the Manitoba Auto Clubs was there taking pictures and I will post a link once he updates the site.

My postion with the body shop right now is that I have an agreement from the owner that he will personally inspect the Scout and he will tell me what, if anything, he will do about it. I am hoping we can come to amicable agreement. If we do I will be the first to give credit where credit is due.

Opening day at the track... 4 weeks and counting

 

Here's a link to some pictures going up from the show:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=585747

This link has a ton of pictures from the World of Wheels as well as the Rodarama event

http://www.autoclubs.ca/gallery/2011/index.html

Enjoy:

 

So... in the past week I`ve fabricated some inserts to cover up the defects in the firewall and to cover up the back of the dash and gauges. This is the last of the issues identified by tech back in October. I`m hoping running through tech this summer will be a formality.

Here is some bad news for me. The Scout is ready but I`m not. I will NOT be driving it this year. The last 3 months I have been off work with my back. It has been very bad and getting worse with the bulging discs interfering with the nerves into my legs. Obviously this has prevented me from working effectively, enjoying life fully and doing anything other than the most simple things on the Scout as well as around my house. As for racing, I simply cannot get in and out through the cage without pain or risking re-injury and I cannot exit the vehicle in a safe and timely manner. Also, the Scout is not a Cadillac and the way it shakes, rattles and (hopefully not) roll, especially on the return road, again, puts me at risk for re-injury. 3 foot wheel stands and a 5000 launch off the trans brake are also not Dr. recommended. I still want a 10 second timeslip and to enjoy the beast so I have already asked my brother`s friend Scott to drive this summer. He has been and is the primary tuner and has contributed a lot to this project. I also trust him to get his foot out of it if something isn`t right.

Opening day is May long 21 - 23. Since I`m not driving I`ll be holding the camera.

More as it happens
Pictures as I take them

 

Grumpy says scouts rule

 

I love that poster.
I have plans tp put a poster of this ad up in my man cave

3 days to Gimli Dragway opening day.
40% chance of showers Saturday (Hiss... Booo)

 

Congrats! That thing looks great. I must say, you've managed to create a better gasser out of an international scout than a lot of people have been able to do with a 55 chevy

 

Opening long weekend at Gimli Dragway

Over the winter we added a Pro Systems carb, a trans brake and a stronger tie rod. All of these changes had a dramatic impact on this weekend. Also, as stated earlier, I`m not driving so my hired gun, Scott gets to have all the fun. And boy did he have some fun !!

We did a lot of parking lot testing and confidence is high the Scout is good to go so we decide to hit it hard right off the bat.

Day 1 - Rained out... Sucks

Day 2 - Much better

1st pass - Aborted.
Trans brake launch from 4000 rpm puts the front end 2 feet in the air and it makes an immediate right turn with the wheels in the air. (Video below) Scott bails out and gets it straight. Once back into the throttle the Scout goes into extreme death wobble. The toe-in is all wrong with the new tie rod and ends. 30 minutes to adjust the front end and to reset the preload on the ladder bars and we`re back in the staging lanes.

2nd pass - Launch off idle - 11.08 at 114
The Scout pulls the wheels 6 inches but this time it stays straight and hauls ass big time. The death wobble is gone but the best part is, with nothing more than a carb change the Scout has picked up .23 from last October. I`m excited. We drop right back into line and don`t shut it off just to see what will happen.

Pass 3 and 4 - 11.10 and 11.09
We`re intentionally hot lapping and the next 2 passes the Scout responds with bracket car consistency , pulling the wheels and never a bobble. 60 foot times are in the 1.46 range.

At this point the truck has been running continuously and made 3 passes in less than 15 minutes. The temp never budges from 178 but we`re low on voltage and fuel. Back to the pit to charge the battery, feed the beast and check things over

Pass 5 - 11.23 - Off the trans brake
Again a 4000 rpm launch and again it slams the truck up onto the wheelie bars but this time it stays straight. Scott tells me after the run that he got exited about the wheel stand and pulled 2nd gear way early. 60 foot drops off to 1.50. It`s launching harder off idle.

PROBLEM. One of the original front springs flattens out a bit coming down from the trans brake launches but it doesn`t seem to effect the handling. What it is doing is letting the spring hammer the backside of the steering rod on my side mount Unisteer box and bending it. Since I am using less than half of the boxes steering play the rack and pinion doesn`t hit the bend so again, no effect on the handling or steering, but since it`s only happening on the trans brake launches we decide that`s it for the trans brake until we get new springs and clear the box better.

Pass 6 - 11.01 at 115 with a 1.44 60 ft (off idle) - 6.84 at the 8th
Scott changed the shift points to 6600 (from 6400) and the Scout seemed to like that a lot and makes the best pass of the weekend. I`m stupid excited and disappointed at the same time. Not a 10 but OOHHH so close.

Pass 7 - 1st round of eliminations - We run 11.13 on a 11.01 dial in = Loss
Scott runs the shift points to 7000. Obviously this is out of the power band and we lose by .19. Interesting to note that that this pass produces the best mph at 116

I`m done for the day but my Brother goes to the final in Heavy Street and my niece wins Jr. Dragster.

Day 3 - COLD !!!!

The temps are near 0 but the air is great. Some cars are running almost 2 tenths faster. My 11.01 is looking very vulnerable. But I lose the opportunity waiting for my driver who ultimately doesn`t show. Around noon the track decides that the top end of the track is too slick in the cold weather and they shorten the event to an eighth mile. They also limit us to 2 passes prior to eliminations. Not wanting to waste my entry fee I turn to my friend Larry Arnold (Top Dragster) who jumps at the chance. Besides, he has his own jacket and helmet and he was nice enough to haul the Scout in his enclosed trailer as opposed to my open. Something I really appreciated with the threatening weather.

1st pass - 6.91 at 97 mph
Larry learns quickly and makes a good pass. The cold track is slick and the 60 ft drops to 1.50 but it still hooks hard enough to carry the wheels past the tree.

2nd pass - 6.95 at 96 mph
Larry summed it up as - I drove shitty - he told me he simply missed the shift points.

We split the difference and dial in at 6.93

3rd pass - 6.89 at 94 mph - break out - loss
Larry trees the 10 second (slow) Blazer, carries the wheels a long way and is well by the Blazer early. He`s hard on the brakes in the lights but still breaks out. We`re done.

Larry is looking after his daughter in Jr. so we don`t get a chance to run the Scout again. My brother loses 1st round but my niece goes to the semis in Jr Dragster. Good weekend for her.

Overall I`m really happy with how the Scout is running. The eighth mile numbers are telling me it can go 10.90`s in good air but the mph in the quarter is showing the barn door effect which is also hurting ET`s. The new carb is fantastic and the primary reason why the Scout picked up 3 tenths. We hot lapped the Scout and it never faltered. It`s showing it can be consistent, if I throw in an electronic or CO2 shifter it would be a deadly little bracket car, especially in the eighth mile. Besides the fact I wasn`t driving (which sucks huge) the rain Saturday and cold Monday, the weekend was a huge success.

Pictures and Video very soon

 

The guy I share shop space with works on Scouts...I was kind of thinking of a gasser Scout 800 about 4 months ago. Glad it's already been done, so I don't have to put in the effort. Did I mention that I really hate Scouts?
Looks like a great racer!

 

My niece Megan likes making videos and I simply cannot argue with her choices of music.

This is the Pelissier family racing operation. My older brother Paul runs the Ranger pickup. It had a bog problem this day but still went 11.43. Even with the problems this was 3 tenths faster than last year with just a header change. Yah I know it`s not HAMB friendly but there is hope for him yet as we are building a Hilborn injected 49 Prefect for him to drive. The Ranger is going to my niece when she`s ready to step up.

Megan runs the Jr. Dragster. She is a past track champion and Rookie of the year. Her car is capable of running well under the 7.90 index although it is usually dialled in around 8.10

The Scout shows up about 1.40 in and are just some of the runs from Saturday including the first wheelstand. I`m the fat guy with the cane doing my best Arnold Palmer imitation.

 

I agree with you 100% on the music. Fuck yeah.

 

Ah yes, a little drag racing and Motley Crue at 4:45 in the morning. No better way to wake up. Looks like the Scout hooked too well that one time. Anything get hurt?

 

The wheel stand was a direct result of launching off of the trans brake. All the other launches in the video are from an idle.

Damage report:

The left front spring has collapsed / flattened out. This has allowed the spring to hit the back side of the articulating shaft that runs through the steering box and has put a pronounced bend in it. We have also found a crack in the steering box housing. As stated, the steering travel is limited on the Scout so the bend does not come into play. Just to be safe I`ll order in a new box along with some new stiffer springs. I`ll also put in an extra inch or two of lift and try to mount the box a bit higher. Bump stops are also the order of the day.

Then we will play a bit more and make adjustments on the suspension. We want it to move forward off the trans brake rather than straight up.

 

Some more wheels up action. Not as dramatic as the first spring crushing effort (Thank God) and not quite up to the Rebel Reaper standards but still enough for a decent photo op.

We had the wheelie bars set low, just to be on the safe side. This is a 4000 rpm launch off the trans brake. Still have some suspension to sort out but it`s close. This pass was an 11.23 with a 1.50 60 ft.

 

Wow the truck runs great. I will be out this Fri night to watch the madness. Are you bringing the Scout. Hope the weather holds out for racing.

 

Nope not this weekend. I promised my wife that the summer would not be dominated by racing weekends so this weekend we`ll be in Grand Forks shopping. July 8,9 is Thunder Jam and likely the next time I`ll be out all weekend. I should have the new springs and bump stops in by then. If we can get it to launch straight off the trans brake then we`ll lift the wheelie bars and put on a show.

 

Just a quick update for those of you who have been asking... I'm actually very surprised how many folks came up to me last race weekend at Gimli Dragway asking about the Scout and when it will be out next. Even more surprised to get PM's asking for updates. Thank you !!

The Scout has been at the body shop for the last 10 days addressing some of the issues. I`m actually quite happy with what they have done in this last fix but not entirely happy with the overall effort. The lack of compitence and concern for quality is still very evident if you know what you are looking at. I haven`t decided whether or not I want to explore any further action. I`m simply tired of the whole affair and I want to start enjoying the truck rather than hauling it back and forth and dealing with the issues. I'm sure this what the shop is hoping would happen and I will just go away but at this point I don't care. I've taken up up a lot of their time as well and I might be content to simply call it a draw.

Currently the Scout is at the spring shop getting the front springs replaced and about 2" of additional lift. I'm hoping this will give me the clearance that I need and not change the stance too radically. I'm also adding a another leaf to the springs to reduce deflection. It'll stiffen up the ride but should help to keeping the damage to a minimum upon re-entry. With any luck, and I can start hitting the trans brake with extreme prejudice. I should be getting it back early next week. From there I will be looking at getting a 4 wheel alignment as well as installing the bump stops. Then I need to assess if I need to change the steering box.

I'm planning on having the little beast at the Canada Day show and shine at the Winnipeg Mint on July 1 as well as racing July 2/3. If it's still in one piece then I'll have it out at the Thunder Jam weekend July 8/9. I'm pretty sure my niece will have a video from these race weekends.

 

should have been orange
LOL
Gerry /from crazy hare

 

Pretty good weekend for me as well as the Pelissier Family racing operation. We put in some new front springs and added a leaf to stiffen the re-entry. This raised the front about 2 inches. To be honest I like the new stance. It gives it a bit more of the 60's gasser look.

We had the Scout out at the Canada Day car show and celebration at the Winnipeg Mint on Friday. Typically this event draws thousands of people for smokies and mini donuts and 100+ cars for the car show. This day we were greeted with a steady rain from 8:30 until just before noon. Which meant I stood in the lot with 8 other drag racers getting wet for a couple of hours. It also meant that literally no-one else showed up for the car show for the 9:30 start time. Too bad... The rain stopped and the day turned beautiful for the afternoon. With no-one else there our little group had the pick of location. By the end of the day only 6 or so special interest cars showed up to line up with the Drag racing group. We were all a big hit with the really good crowd. (pictures coming)

Saturday, we hauled the little beast out to Gimli Dragway in my continuing quest for a 10 second pass. Alas... the quest must continue.

We have been preloading the suspension and this was tweaking the diff out of true giving us a seriously unwanted rear steer scenario. While at the track we dropped the entire rear assembly and adjusted the rod ends on the ladder bars. Lots of work but well worth it. The air this day was horrible (5400 elev) but the Scout ripped off 4 consecutive runs between 11.24 - 11.27. During these runs we were softening the shock settings one click at a time. On our 5th run the Scout suddenly responded with an 11.20 so that's what we dialed in at. Go figure the Scout tears off an 11.16 for yet another 1st round break out loss. A test pass an hour later with no changes was an 11.26 (??) To say I'm a bit confused is an understatement. The Scout was never supposed to be a bracket car but I would sure like to be able to predict what is going to happen.

Sunday I decided to stay home and give my wife a day. Around noon she looks at me and asks if I wanted to bring the Scout to the Cruising Winnipeg event. (God I love my wife) This is an awesome 3 hour gathering that is held every Sunday for the summer at Tavern United. It draws 100+ cars and was only 10 minutes from home. We hauled the beast over and they welcomed it with open arms. So much so that it was selected as the Pick of the Week. This comes with a t-shirt and a 1/2 page article in next weeks auto section of the paper. I was so appreciative that I drove over a speaker stand lining up for pictures (oops). I sure got everyone's attention driving through the lot. (That alone was worth showing up) My only questions is... why are the give away t-shirts always a size M or L ?? I'm a XXL kind of guy. Oh well I guess my wife gets another t-shirt. It's all good since it was her idea in the first place.

Back at Gimli Dragway on Sunday, my niece Megan won Jr. Dragster and my brother went to the semi's in heavy street. That's his white Ranger on the return road in the video. At this point in the summer my niece is leading the points

Like I said... good weekend. The Scout ran well but now I'm chasing a water pump leak between the engine plate and the block. I'll take care of that this week as well as run the valves and get ready for the Thunder Jam weekend coming up July 8

 

Catching up on some picture links:


Winnipeg Mint Car Show - July 1

http://www.autoclubs.ca/gallery/2011/110701a/index.html

Gimli Drags - July 2

http://www.autoclubs.ca/gallery/2011/110702e/index.html

Tavern United - Cruising Winnipeg
The Scout was the Budwieser Pick of the Night

http://www.autoclubs.ca/gallery/2011/110703f/index.html


Here's a quick preview of my update from the Thunder Jam weekend at the drags. I'll give a full report as soon as I can gather the media. Trust me when I tell you it's well worth the wait. I had the little beast on it's bumper all weekend and damn near stole the show. Here's a little taste from what I've found on Youtube

Jump to the 1.55 mark for my attempt at swapping lanes on 2 wheels



Here's a long shot with a camera phone from the 1/8th mile mark. If you look close you can see the bumper scraping wheelstand that tripped the 60 ft timers with my back tires



I'm having way too much fun doing this!!

 

That is a sharp little truck. Great pictures. Is there any way you can put the videos on photobucket? I can't view youtube on my work computer and that is the only internet I have right now. Thanks for sharing your story and the rebirth of your truck.

 

Saxxon how much extension is left in the rear shocks above ride height, if you slow motion the 5-31 video you can see the wheelie bars slap the track hard than bounce back.

 

That is the best thing I've read all day. Even though you have had issues along the way it all comes down to that comment. That's why we do this. Congratulations on everything! Truly glad I happened to stumble across this thread.

 

3 inches on a moderate stiffness shock setting. This is not a good video to try and assess the suspension as we had to get out of it a bit otherwise we would have been in the Trans Am's driver's door.

When it all works right the landing is a small bounce and then straight ahead. The wheelie bars do little else once they unload on the re-entry. But it's REALLY early in the sorting out period. All we've messed with to this point is to set the pre-load, fiddle with shock rates and ensure wheelie bar height is level on every pass. We haven't even messed with engine tuning at all.

I'm open to any and all advice from those who know more than I do. Which is likely most of you. So please let me know what you are seeing and what you think is the solution. I simply reserve the right to decide what advice to follow and what not.

Thanks guys

 

Thanks

I have had such a good time building this little beast that I thought actually racing it would be a let down. Boy was I wrong. The intent of this past weekend was to put on a show in front of 3000+ people and we more than accomplished that. Even the Gravedigger driver, Randy Brown, gave the Scout the once over in the staging lanes. After we stood it on the bumper he and one of his crew came over and told me that I was crazy.


I have a ton of video and picture media coming my way in the next few weeks from a whole wack of people who were there. The video of the monster wheel stand racing under the lights the night before is wild. (So they tell me) I'll post some of the good stuff as it comes in and gets edited.

 

this picture is of a rover not a scout
fyi

 

Here's my first round win... EVER... with the Scout. It was at the Gimli Dragway Thunder Jam event. It was also one of my better wheelstands for weekend. WE show up around the 1 minute mark



More pics and video coming. I'll post as I get it

This was the big show for our little track. It saw Grave Digger making passes as well as some jet funny cars as well as Kenny Lang's Pro Mod and Scott McVey's Alcohol funny car. But the big deal about the weekend is a chance to win an IHRA Iron Man.

I am proud to report that my niece Megan won the Iron Man for Jr. Dragster. But not without some drama. She won the 1st round but tossed the rod out of the block. 5 minutes after she was back at the pits our friend and Jr. Dragster competitor, Larry Arnold, offered his daughter's motor for the rest of the event. (They lost 1st round). 2 other Jr Dragster "Dads" stepped in to help and they had the engines swapped and the car running in about 15 minutes. The really cool part of this is that one of the Dads who was helping was the Father of Megan's 2nd round opponent. Megan never looked back and cut great lights and won the event in front of 6000 people.

My Brother Paul, Megan's Father, was also running heavy street with his 11 second Ranger pickup. He came oh so close to being in the winners circle with his daughter but lost a double break out run in the final.

I would love to say I did well and went rounds but I lost in the 2nd round of Sportsman. But I damn near stole the show with the wheelstands which was really why I was there. Winning a round was just a chance to make another pass.

 

Obviously someone had the video of my 2nd round loss and was kind enough to send it to me. A couple hundred more of these bumper scrapers and maybe I'll earn the right to park beside the Rebel Reaper some day.

As stated, this is our second round loss but it's also where we almost stuffed the Scout into the gaurdrail. We still ran an 11.33 on a 11.40 dial in.

Did I mention I was having way too much fun ???

 

awesome!!!! That little truck throws down!!!!!

 

Here are some stills from the weekend.
Thank you to Don Yewish for the pics.

take a look, what appears to be a couple of duplicates are actually from 4 different different passes, (look at the position of the starting line crew). The shots with the Scout in the left lane are from the pass where we almost became one with the Trans Am