00 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
03 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
13 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
29 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
34 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
36 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
07 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
09 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
10 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
12 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
15 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
18 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
21 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
22 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
06 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
04 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
24 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
26 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
27 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
30 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
31 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
32 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
33 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
35 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
37 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
38 – 1973 IHC Scout in Colorado Junkyard – photo by Murilee Martin
For two decades, a legendary Chicago-based manufacturer of farm equipment built the simple, rugged Scout in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Coloradans dearly loved the Scout in the days before all-wheel-drive cars and leather-lined SUVs, and to this day I still see plenty of rusty, battered Scouts in the car graveyards of northeastern Colorado. Here’s a ’73 Scout II that served its owners well for nearly half a century before wearing out and retiring to this yard in Denver.
When a Scout dies, it’s almost always due to the Rust Monster. This one is no exception.
When the tailgate latches corrode to the danger point, a Scout owner can apply some field expedient engineering to stay mobile.
I haven’t seen many Scouts with air conditioning, which seems like pure frivolity in a tough-it-out jouncy steel box, but this one has a great big compressor bolted to its V8. If this is the original engine (it’s possible, but by no means certain, that no swaps have taken place), it’s an IHC V8 of either 304 or 345 cubic inches, rated at 140 or 154 horsepower.
The automatic transmission wasn’t quite as rare in Scouts as air conditioning, though three-pedal versions are a bit more common.
This one worked as a snowplow during its final years (or decades) on the road.
It’s like a compact, a sedan, and a station wagon!
