All-Purpose Scout 80 build

[WilliamKElliott]

Great build!

One thing, and you can take this with whatever grain of salt you like, but I and many I know have had trouble with Griffin radiators. They seem to have a propensity for cracking where the tubes go into the tank flanges. Griffin will stand behind the radiator, but the issue remains.

Again, great build!

 

[FjFairlady]

Awesome work. This is gonna be a great rig when done.
I built a Scout 80 with a Cummins 4bt in 2005. It was noisy.

 

[MotoDave]

Great build!

One thing, and you can take this with whatever grain of salt you like, but I and many I know have had trouble with Griffin radiators. They seem to have a propensity for cracking where the tubes go into the tank flanges. Griffin will stand behind the radiator, but the issue remains.

Again, great build!

Feels like I've come across the same story about every type/brand of radiator out there - you gotta start somewhere!

I want a radiator with the correct sized inlet/outlet ports (and steam fitting) for the LS style motor, as big as I can fit (which is pretty much 26x19). Haven't come across anything OEM that will work better, so I'm going to give the griffin a try.

Another thing I like about this one vs. a universal, is the mounting flanges on the side tanks vs. having to make up something to grab onto the small flanges top and bottom, or weld to the tanks and void the warranty right off the bat.

If it fails after a while, I'll be sure to report back here.

 

[warwickscout]

awesome scout.except for the chevy engine haha just kidding

 

[MotoDave]

awesome scout.except for the chevy engine haha just kidding

Heh you're right, should have kept the anemic IH 4 cylinder, 3 speed manual and Dana 27's, huh?

 

[ntsqd]

I gotz a turbo about the right size and a first gen MegaSquirt sitting around, we could've made that I-H 4 fly! Weld some Sube heads together and you'd have had a two cam, 4 valve Leaning Tower of Power I-H 4 cylinder. Probably could've gotten it clear up to the 300 HP zone w/o breathing on it too hard.

Oh wait, that's about where the V8 is without all of the work.

 

[warwickscout]

that's only half a engine mine has the 392 IH but I really with it was fuel injected.

 

[MotoDave]

that's only half a engine mine has the 392 IH but I really with it was fuel injected.

Ehhhh. I'm not a purist, I'm building the truck to be what I want, and that doesn't involve futzing around with IH parts just to stay 'within the brand'.

I can see zero advantages to using anything from the IH engine family over a LS based (or even old Small block) Chevy V8.

IF i had started with a later truck, say a Scout 800 with a decent 304 and better axles, it may have been more of a debate. But I bought my truck basically for the frame and body, planning to replace everything as you see in this thread.

 

[warwickscout]

wasn't starting a debate I was just kidding I would love to have a newer f.i engine with an overdrive tranny.as you can see from my scout with s.o.a and 36 in tires im not a purist either.looks like you are very talented and have great tasted in trucks but you seem a little defensive. enjoy build what ever makes you happy

 

[WilliamKElliott]

Feels like I've come across the same story about every type/brand of radiator out there - you gotta start somewhere!

I want a radiator with the correct sized inlet/outlet ports (and steam fitting) for the LS style motor, as big as I can fit (which is pretty much 26x19). Haven't come across anything OEM that will work better, so I'm going to give the griffin a try.

Another thing I like about this one vs. a universal, is the mounting flanges on the side tanks vs. having to make up something to grab onto the small flanges top and bottom, or weld to the tanks and void the warranty right off the bat.

If it fails after a while, I'll be sure to report back here.

True, but in this case, it's not necessarily hearsay. We've put three of the things in my father's '56 Chevy, and the one I put in my Jeep didn't make it 3,000 miles.

One thing that might help is to mount the radiator to the core support with rubber. We did this on the last radiator in my father's '56, and it has definitely made it longer than any of the previous radiators. I think much of the problem comes from mounting the radiator solidly.

Like I said, just my two cents.

 

[MotoDave]

wasn't starting a debate I was just kidding I would love to have a newer f.i engine with an overdrive tranny.as you can see from my scout with s.o.a and 36 in tires im not a purist either.looks like you are very talented and have great tasted in trucks but you seem a little defensive. enjoy build what ever makes you happy

Well said, I probably came off as more defensive than I feel. I just meant to say I bought the truck for the body basically, and it's been the plan to do an engine swap all along.

Got any info on your truck? I like the proportion of bigger tires on the Scout II's.

 

[MotoDave]

True, but in this case, it's not necessarily hearsay. We've put three of the things in my father's '56 Chevy, and the one I put in my Jeep didn't make it 3,000 miles.

One thing that might help is to mount the radiator to the core support with rubber. We did this on the last radiator in my father's '56, and it has definitely made it longer than any of the previous radiators. I think much of the problem comes from mounting the radiator solidly.

Like I said, just my two cents.

Ah yeah - I will definitely have rubber isolation in the mounting setup for the radiator - the day job makes me all to aware of what fatigue cycling does to aluminum.

I will also build the radiator support so it won't be that big a deal to replace the radiator with another option should the need arise.

 

[superbuickguy]

Looks great....

and you got yours running and wired before mine... I've no excuse

 

[Metcalf]

True, but in this case, it's not necessarily hearsay. We've put three of the things in my father's '56 Chevy, and the one I put in my Jeep didn't make it 3,000 miles.

One thing that might help is to mount the radiator to the core support with rubber. We did this on the last radiator in my father's '56, and it has definitely made it longer than any of the previous radiators. I think much of the problem comes from mounting the radiator solidly.

Like I said, just my two cents.

The 1st Griffin I had in my old flat fender Willys lasted less than a year. I think it was slightly damaged in shipping. The 2nd one has held up well for the last 2-3 years.

Mine is a universal type and I built an isolated mounting system for it. The radiator can 'flex' in the mount slightly.
Griffin thought it was my mounting system that broke the 1st one but luckily I had pictures showing the slight original damage.

Having a hard mounting flange makes it easy to mount, but I don't think that is a good idea for most aluminum radiators.

It is my understanding that Griffin adds the 'epoxy' on the core to help combat this issue. The epoxy is not a primary seal, only a support.

 

[superbuickguy]

and mine runs too! thanks for encouraging me to get to work