'70 800A Green Machine

Bye Bye Scout, see ya on the flip side. I'm really excited, the next time I see her she'll be a beaut!

 

Sorry if I'm over looking it, I went back and looked thru your thread.

What are your exterior paint plans?

I see you did some interior pieces in a great looking red, so I'm assuming the exterior will match? yes? Or something else?

 

I'm planning on red with a white top. I think want to get the SR2 stripes for the hood and sides sans the "SR2" lettering, just the stripes. I really the like look of the SR2 scouts.

 

I agree.

Your Scout will look great.

 

How long until you get it back? Can't wait to see how the paint and all the other work turns out. I have an eight month old at home and, like you, my time in the garage has dwindled. Just celebrated a birthday by spending a couple of hours in the garage and loved it.

 

Probably going to be a little while. Maybe a month or 2, the owner of the shop said they were a couple of cars ahead of me. I decided to have this shop finish all the mechanical stuff, then I think I'm going to shop a bit around for paint. As much as I want the scout back, it's nice having it out of the garage for a bit. The wifey is kinda pissed about the mess I made. So when I get a weekend I need to go through all my junk and get rid of a bunch of it and wash the floors and walls. Ya, it's amazing how priorities change when a small person arrives. I kept trying to sneak into the garage and work on the scout, but it was never enough time to do anything substantial.....thus me taking the scout to the shop. Plus it'll be nice to have a professional look over my work and give me the .
-Jack

 

I got a call from the shop that my scout was done....much quicker than I had thought. Anyways, I drove down to Huntington beach to check it out, took it for a spin around the block and was totally blown away. I am so happy about how things are turning out, it drives VERY nice. The D44 with disc brakes, hydroboost and power steering make all the difference in the world. Last night was the first time I've driven my scout in almost 2 years and I am so happy right now. The to do list is getting shorter and shorter. I still need to put a bed floor in, and weld in one of the old fuel filler holes, then I guess it's off to the body shop. A big shout out to Chimera Motors in Huntington beach. These guys do awesome work and are super easy to work with, anyone in SoCal that has a scout and needs some work done, check them out!
-Jack

 

Here's a quick vid of the first drive after 2 years of work. I'd say I'm pretty happy. This vid is just putting around the neighborhood, sorry for the bad camera skills, its tough filming, shifting and steering.

-Jack

 

Jack, thanks for sharing the video, love that throaty sound. Greg

 

Jack. your build looks awesome. I have a 70 800 A also I am working on. Did you have to notch the frame for the fuel tank filler or just cut a hole in the C channel?
Thanks Chris

 

Thanks man! I just cut a hole in the C channel, didn't touch the frame at all.
-Jack

 

Jack,
I love the Green Machine. You do some quality work. I was just wondering what you used for the rear gas tank and skid plate, and how you routed your exhaust around it.
Phil

 

Thanks Phil! The part# for the tank is JP1C. I bought all of it as a kit from http://www.morris4x4center.com/. The part number for the kit is 8128585K, I think I paid around 290 for everything, and it ships for free. The kit includes the gas tank, skid plate, tank straps, fuel pickup/sender, pretty much everything you need. Keep in mind that the sender may not work with your fuel gauge, but I bought all new gauges as well, so plan accordingly.

The exhaust makes an "S" shape right where the bed starts and follows the frame rail back and exits right behind the rear wheel

Jack

 

I got some time this weekend to get a few more things done on the scout. I drew up a front bumper in solidworks, something I'm planning on fabricating very shortly. Also, I bought an 800A courtesy light off craigslist the other day and got it installed. It needs a new lens though, so I need to fix that down the road, but I think it adds a nice touch. And lastly, I didn't like how I routed the wires from my new harness through the firewall, so I bought a new bulkhead connector. It looks a lot better now, but I didn't get any pics of it.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Really like what you've done here. I have been wanting to do the fuel tank between the frame for a while now. I bit the bullet after reading this thread and found the JP1C tank on amazon warehouse deals for $62.(tank only) Now I am committed!! Still gotta figure out how I am going to route the exhaust though, I see how you did it, is there enough clearance with the spring?

I am also going to do the power steering conversion. Went to the junkyard and pulled a complete system from a 97 grand cherokee on Saturday. Will need to get a new pulley and fab up the mounting brackets, but think it will be worth it.
Keep up the good work.

 

Thanks, I really appreciate the feedback. Even though the exhaust looks really close to the springs/shock in the pictures, in actuality, it isn't, probably 4" or so. I was a little concerned about keeping the exhaust away from the fuel tank, but there's plenty of room. You shouldn't have any issues, the only drawback to the tank is it's relatively small capacity (15 gals) if I recall. I don't have the option to use the saddle tanks now either, so when I design my rear tire carrier bumper, I will have to incorporate jerry can holders. I suppose putting around town is fine with 15 gals. If you run into any issues with the fuel tank install, hit me up.

Also, thought I would post up a pic of my bulkhead connector. It's a 22 cavity weather pack connector.

-Jack

 

Good to know. I'll get under it this weekend for some measurements and decide on a new muffler etc. maybe even go with dual exhaust...probably not , I want to keep this as light as I can on the wallet.

I have only had 1 saddle tank working at a time and no fuel gauge ever since I have owned my scout, so I always carry a spare gas can with it. 15 gals. would be a plus for me.

 

Hey Jack, do a search on "30 day Scout rebuild" its one of Gary Billings builds Pg. 5 post #90 he made a really cool rear bumper/tire rack with 5 gallon jerry can incorporated. Thanks again for the help on the JP1C . I finished mine and it turned out sweet.

 

Jack I hate you Looooooooooooooooooooking really great!!! What wiring harness do you use or did you make it?