1
I got to wondering... what if IH had decided to come out with a competitor to Dodge's LRE pickup? Of course, IH had discontinued it's 'full size' truck and SUV line after 1975, but they still had the Scout II, which was available in a 118" wheelbase on the Traveler and Terra models. A little bit of quick R&D, and maybe IH could've done this...
This is the Scout II kit, with it's wheelbase stretched 18 scale inches and a new rear cab bulkhead fabricated for it. It was also converted to 2wd by cutting out the front differential and making a new axle beam from 5/32" aluminum tubing. The bed is from a Ford Courier kit, and it has modfied Monogram '50 Ford F-1 fenders (because they look very close to the old IH stepside fenders- with a little reshaping they'd be near perfect), and INTERNATIONAL tailgate lettering foil copied from a Transtar grille. The side steps were scratchbuilt.
The model features plenty of '70's muscle car cues- Keystone mags, side pipes, blacked out hood with scoop and pins, and nasty metallic brown-orange paint. (Testors Flaming Orange in this case.) What's a '70's vehicle without a questionable paint hue? Oh- there's also a CB, because it was illegal NOT to have a CB in the '70's.
I also carpeted the floor, added a T-handle shifter, window cranks from a Transtar kit, and a LRE steering wheel.Under the hood, I dressed up the 'Red Diamond' edition engine by painting it Harvester red, and leaving the valve covers and air cleaner chrome. I also added some details under the hood, as this kit is pretty Spartan out of box.
Would such an animal have saved IH? Meh- I doubt it. Still, would've been kind of cool if they'd produced something like it, huh?
It would've been the first factory produced stepside 'compact' pickup, and would've beaten Dodge to the punch by a decade with a modern 'roadster' pickup!
Edited by Chuck Most, 15 June 2010 - 08:07 AM.
