Projects · Reno, Nevada

Scout II

A 1972 International that showed up wearing flat black over somebody else's red, and left the driveway sage green with fuel injection. Body off, floors out, three years of weekends.

The truck

Driving

Drivetrain

EngineIH 345 V8

FuelHolley Sniper EFI Replaced the Edelbrock carb. Cold starts and altitude stopped being a conversation.

IgnitionHamilton auto-advance · to install Drop-in distributor with automatic advance. On the bench, waiting for a weekend.

TransmissionChrysler 727 automatic

Transfer caseDana 20

Axle ratio—

Chassis & body

Model year1972

Tires33″ 10-ply BFG KO2

WheelsBlack steel

PaintAgave Green Metallic Eastwood single-stage urethane. Trim, grille and bumpers in Eastwood Interstate Black.

Build years—

The Sniper is the headline. A 345 with a worn carb is a truck you have to manage — choke, altitude, hot restarts. The EFI turned it into something you get in and drive. If it ever acts up, the problem is almost always fuel pressure or a bad ground, not the ECU.

The build

Before · During · After

Before

Flat black over somebody else's red

California plates, primer on the hood, torn seats and a tired 345 wearing an Edelbrock. It ran. That was about all you could say for it.

Torn seats before restoration — The interior

Engine bay before — Engine bay, as found

Teardown

Everything came apart

Doors off, tub stripped, floors cut out and replaced. Most of a Scout II's rust is in the floors and the rear wheel arches, and this one was no exception. Both kids logged real hours on a grinder.

Scout II stripped to the floors — Floors out

Paint

A pop-up tent and a lot of black

Grille, trim, bumpers and brackets all went black in a canopy in the driveway. Not a booth. It worked.

Rolling chassis with a bucket seat — Rolling on a bucket seat

Finished

Sage green, black trim, 33s

New seats, a rebuilt dash, black door panels, and a 345 that starts on the first turn of the key. It hauls four people and a cooler and gets waved at everywhere it goes.