"Bill Caswell" (billcaswell)
04/06/2015 at 17:04 • Filed to: None
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"Bill Caswell" (billcaswell)
04/06/2015 at 17:04 • Filed to: None | 24
| 28 |
Last winter I bought a 1974 International Harvester Scout II. Yes it’s made by a tractor company. Or maybe you know the company simply as international... the same company that makes the horrible school buses from our youth. But somewhere along the way they made these awesome trucks! My dad had one back in the late 60’s. His friend owned one in the late 70’s but I actually never knew what it was as a kid. I know we had a Jeep Wagoneer and while our SUV was nice and plush and had wood paneling, his was raw and angry and looked way cooler than our family truckster. I always wanted one.
Then I see a post on Facebook by Zach Bowman of Road&Track awesomeness. Chris Cantle(formerly of R&T Awesomeness as well) shared this crags list posting of a 1974 Scout II that was converted to race duty by some guys in San Diego and it was only a few miles from me. So....I BOUGHT IT!
It was not without issue. I always try to drive my cars home when I buy them and the Scout was no exception. Sure I had issues. It caught fire for example. It ran out of gas.
It wouldn’t restart. I figured it out though. I yanked the wires out of the back of the starter switch and did it movie style by crossing wires and the damn thing started. There is something about hotwiring a car... maybe its all the movies as a kid and episodes of the A-Team but I always wanted to and never had the chance.
Ohhh, I did hotwire a car at lake Superior Performance Rally when I lost the keys to the race car but I removed the switch from the back of the key cylinder and used a screwdriver to turn the switch. It works well until you stall with the handbrake and dont have enough momentum to clutch kick it back to life and had to find the screw driver next to the seat fully geared up in the middle of a rally. But there were no sparks so it doesn’t count. Anyway, here is the video of me buying the Scout and Travis Marr and I trying to limp it back to the shop.
Anyway, the truck is now running a lot better and I’m getting it ready for a two week adventure in Baja. Wyatt Knox(of Team Oneil Rally School awesomeness) and I are planning on shooting a movie down there exploring the best beaches and fish tacos in North America. We hear there might be surfer girls and margaritas along the way too.
This is the old interior. It’s way cooler now!! For example, I’m building a new dash from a Gravity Long Board!
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Bill Caswell
04/06/2015 at 17:07 |
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Have you encountered the posts from over on TruckYeah with Andrew Collins getting a Scout ?
wunderwagen wants a longer roof
> Bill Caswell
04/06/2015 at 17:08 |
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I want to take a ride/drive this glorious truck. I too love Scouts, it's a bucket list vehicle.
Andrew P. Collins
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
04/06/2015 at 17:20 |
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Caswell's way ahead in the Scout race, his actually runs!
MonkeePuzzle
> Bill Caswell
04/06/2015 at 17:25 |
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this a handle for holding on or some team pull hand brake situation?
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Bill Caswell
> MonkeePuzzle
04/06/2015 at 17:27 |
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I thought it was a crazy hand brake at first but apparently its a giant Oh S#!T handle...
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Bill Caswell
> wunderwagen wants a longer roof
04/06/2015 at 17:27 |
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Its in San Diego, North County. You're welcome to drive it if you find me one day.
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Bill Caswell
> Andrew P. Collins
04/06/2015 at 17:28 |
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Ha! Yeah I bought it a year ago and meant to post this like 9 months ago so Andrew could share it on Truck Yeah but never really sat down and wrote it.
Prophet of hoon
> Bill Caswell
04/06/2015 at 18:01 |
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Is this the game of "guess the car beside the road with the electrical problem?"
It's a "Porch-uh"
> Bill Caswell
04/06/2015 at 18:03 |
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You don't have to cross the border for the best fish tacos, but you have to get close to it.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mariscos-g…
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wunderwagen wants a longer roof
> Bill Caswell
04/06/2015 at 18:05 |
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I might take you up on that if I'm ever in the West Coast! Thanks, haha.
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Bill Caswell
> It's a "Porch-uh"
04/06/2015 at 18:19 |
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WOW! Ate there on accident a few weeks ago when staying at my friend Ryan's house! Or at least I would swear that is the truck and same location. the menu certainly looks the same too!
cybersamurai
> Bill Caswell
04/06/2015 at 18:21 |
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Is that the drift brake or the OSHIT handle.
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Bill Caswell
> wunderwagen wants a longer roof
04/06/2015 at 18:28 |
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Just track me town on twitter or Facebook...
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Bill Caswell
> Prophet of hoon
04/06/2015 at 18:37 |
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You mean the BDSM Disco II in the background? It breaks a lot...
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Bill Caswell
> cybersamurai
04/06/2015 at 18:37 |
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Oshit handle!
SX-70
> Bill Caswell
04/06/2015 at 18:51 |
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I like the longboard idea, but part of me (the "patina junkie part" would just clean out the dust and leave it as is. Same for the outside - clean it and clear it.
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It's a "Porch-uh"
> Bill Caswell
04/06/2015 at 19:16 |
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Best "traditional" fish tacos in SD, IMO.
Good luck in MX!
Maxaxle
> Bill Caswell
04/06/2015 at 20:14 |
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I find your lack of mudflap disturbing.
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Bill Caswell
> Maxaxle
04/06/2015 at 20:15 |
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Getting mud on the side of the truck is the least of my concerns when driving this thing... getting covered in oil in the cockpit or electrocuted ranks higher at this point. And aren't mud flaps for fancy paint? This was spray painted....like rattle can spray paint.
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Bill Caswell
> SX-70
04/06/2015 at 20:17 |
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The dash is a mess and not really attached. It needs a ton of work! So much that is better to make a new that can hold speakers! The center will fold down on chains and become a shelf leading into a storage area.
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Maxaxle
> Bill Caswell
04/06/2015 at 20:19 |
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Mudflaps aren't for you, they're for everyone behind you.
idiotking
> Bill Caswell
04/06/2015 at 22:09 |
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An excellent choice, sir. I own a '76 (which is essentially a mixture of '78, '72, '75, and '79 parts bolted to a '76 VIN plate) over here on the Rust Coast. No, you won't get high RPMs out of the IH 345 but you'll be able to pull your house across a swamp. Your best bet for electrical woes is to rewire the whole thing from scratch; as you've probably found out, IH's wiring looms were made of identical green wire with little white numbers painted at the ends.
You'll be required to place a "We Race Farm Equipment" sticker somewhere on your vehicle. And please videotape every moment of this glorious adventure.
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tbonemc
> Bill Caswell
04/07/2015 at 10:43 |
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Is that Baja Jesus or a bobble head of your ex-wife?
JGrabowMSt
> Bill Caswell
04/07/2015 at 11:28 |
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You know what else is 345CI? A 5.7L HEMI.
Amirite?
The LS1 is 350, so the stickers wouldn't be correct.
I think you could make it pretty badass with a HEMI. The new Eagles are super reliable, and if you want to make things interesting, Edelbrock makes a great supercharger kit that wont really turn you into Broke Caswell.
But that's just me, I'm a little biased over HEMIs.
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Bill Caswell
> tbonemc
04/07/2015 at 13:04 |
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Baja Jesus!
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Bill Caswell
> Maxaxle
04/07/2015 at 13:07 |
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Thats why we run them in rally... but where Im going in Baja there won't be anyone behind me...
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Maxaxle
> Bill Caswell
04/07/2015 at 20:46 |
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Not sure if that means you'll be in last or if it means you'll be trailblazing...
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Bill Caswell
> Maxaxle
04/08/2015 at 16:10 |
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Trailblazing on a camping adventure in Baja. Im not going to race this truck if I dont have too...