1971 810/Scout II

[edstarnes]

I forgot to mention the past few trips. I have been to Greenville SC and Clemson SC in the Scout. I have not had any issues. Both trips were about 5 hours or so. I averaged about 12 mpg. Not bad. The scenery was great. I take backroads everywhere I go. I get tired of the interstate quick. Also, my gas mileage goes in the toilet over about 55. Something about pushing a 3 ton brick at 65mph that just sucks the gas...

[lev1a]

Good to here the rig is treating you right Ed. Nothing like havin trustworthy Old Iron to drive daily.. Give me a shout sometime.

[edstarnes]

It's been a while since I posted up. I have a couple of things in the works. I am going to level out the body and see if I can get the doors to shut right. I am also working on a replacement shifter cover. I don't like the plastic one and I hear they are hard to find in good enough condition to fiddle with. Anyway, I have a template cut and some sheet metal to bend and cut. I will work on some pics of it when I get a chance.

I have not had too many other issues. I did get some good gas mileage the other day. Might be because I was not mashing the skinny pedal all that much. I don't know why I enjoy that so much...Something about goosing it and scaring old ladies is just a blast.

[edstarnes]

I leveled the body on the Scout yesterday. It is a temporary fix. I have entirely too many shims in there. I need longer bolts and some extra hands.

A little background:
I had some body work done pre-Levi. It was terrible. Guy screwed me out of a bunch of money and gave me nothing in return, but more work. I don't think any of the work was good. Levi had to redo most of it. Anyway, part of the fallout of the original bodywork were the center cab mounts. They were put in level and high, throwing the rest of the body out of alignment. Levi and I decided to put the repair of this issue off for a bit. It was going to be a lot more work to fully fix the issue and it would take a lot more time. Turns out that wa a better plan than we anticipated. I have noted some areas in the past week that are not so hot. The driver side rear body mount is collapsing on the body. It is not going to be "easy" to fix, unless you are well-tooled, well-trained, and some sort of body repair god. I am not. I have hand tools, jacks, lifts, and a stick welder. My air tools are not the greatest, so I don't use them much. I digress. Short story long is I have a high point in the middle of the body. I think it was easier to raise the front and rear cab mounts with some shims for temporary repair than to cut loose the center mounts and reweld them in place. I have never welded in my life and I am much better with hand tools.

Anyway, here is what transpired:
I loosened the bolts on the rear body mounts, both sides. Then I loosened the front cab mounts, both sides. Next, I loosened the bolts on the main hoop of the cage to allow for some flex in the center of the body while maintaining the length of the body. I cribbed up my floor jack and then jacked up the rear mounts and inserted shims. Then I jacked up the front cab mounts as much as I could. The passenger side is a little low, but it is workable. I need some longer bolts, which Napa did not have. I am going to swing by FastenAll later this week and get some bolts that will allow me to shim away to my heart's content. I need about another inch...(Don't we all, nudge nudge, wink wink). After jacking and shimming (sounds dirty ), I retightened the bolts and checked the doors. Driver side is about an 1/8" low and the gap is around 3/16" at the door. A little more shimming and I will be pretty good on the ddriver side. Passenger side will take a little more work. The driver door shuts good. Passenger side is about the same as before. It will remain the Dukes of Hazzard side for a while longer.

[lev1a]

Just digging some old threads back out of the depths. This is one of the first builds I ever completed for someone.

[J.J.]

Whatever happened to Ed?


JJ in TN

[lev1a]

Originally Posted by J.J.

Whatever happened to Ed?


JJ in TN

JJ I actually spoke with Ed the other day. He has been staying very busy working for the corps of engineers overseas and just got back in the states. He had sold this rig awhile back and am not sure where it is now. Maybe somewhere in Texas?