10/04/2026
Hello everyone, Sara here! I’m Brody Keller’s girlfriend and I just bought a 1963 Scout 80 (named Penny, because her coloring reminds me of copper corrosion) and a 1962 donor “detritus” Scout. I have extremely minimal experience working on cars. Mostly refilling windshield washer fluid and changing cabin air filters, despite working in the automotive industry for 9 years.
Once we picked up the donor Scout, evidence suggests that it may have been a plow truck based on cuts to the front frame, the grille has spots that hydraulic lines may have gone through, and how rusty it is. It looks like someone in the late 90’s tried to resurrect the Scout- the alternator was dated 12/96, and we also found the old generator as well as the old fuel pump and ignition coil. Unfortunately, the spark plugs were pulled and the cylinders are filled with dirt. We’re going to tackle the donor’s engine as soon as we can and hopefully it’s not too damaged by the years of exposure to the elements.
We started by cleaning out the donor Scout & we found an original gear shift handle, a pair of channel locks, a door strap, a new ignition coil, 4 radios, an ungodly amount of 4” thick steel blocks, and a partridge in a pear tree. We filled a 5 gallon bucket with the steel blocks and they were so heavy that Mike Keller & Brody couldn’t lift it. I went through all of the dirt by hand to salvage any parts/trash.
Yesterday Brody & I started tearing down the donor Scout by moving the grille over to Penny. We also removed the jerry can & fuel pump that someone rigged up, as well as the rear floor, shift handles & boots, & transmission cover. We disconnected the parking brake linkage, cut and removed the old driveshaft, rear bumper, removed the hinge for the tailgate, taillight lens, and the rear shocks. Brody & Mike also removed the doors- the passenger side had a Scout 800 door that someone welded the hinges to the A pillar. They were able to cut the welds & save the hinges.
I’m on the lookout for a headlight bezel set & a set of turn signal bezels.
I’m very excited to continue to learn how to work on my Scout and have been so overwhelmingly accepted into the IH community. I’ve met some wonderful people so far and cannot wait to see what the future brings!
-Sara
