15k: Independence From Boring: 1976 International Harvester Scout II Spirit of 76 Edition
The Independence from Boring celebration continues with a piece of rare steel from Fort Wayne, IN built by the International Harvester company around the bicentenial celebrations of 1976. International celebrated our nations 200th birthday by producing a number of limited editions of the Scout II SUV. The Spirit of 76 edition and Patriot editions added little more than a few red,white & blue stripes down the side and some higher end options, and only a few were selected (less than 400 in total) making them quite rare today. Find this 1976 International Harvester Scout II Spirit of 76 Edition for sale in San Francisco, CA for $18,000 via craiglist. Tip from Kaibeezy.
The seller says this is a Spirit of 76 edition, but an original would have come with a soft top, and the hardtop version would have been the even more rare Patriot edition. However, in the past 37 years this Scout could have had a hard top added or stripes painted on the side and bottom line any buyer will need to establish its providence before paying top dollar for a car that needs restoration.
This Scout is equipped with the 345 cubic inch (5.7 liter) iron V8 that puts 168 horsepower and 288 ft-lbs of torque into a manual transmission and all four wheels. The Scout II a capable off-roader and has a pretty decent aftermarket support for a defunct brand. It is probably because they are just about indestructible and built from thick gauge sheet metal that takes decades to rust.
This Scout II was a “barn find” 20 years ago but wears 2000/2001 issue California white plates, so it has been driven around the street in some fashion for the past 10 years. Not sure why the seller mentions the previous “barn” history as this should only make a buyer more wary and on the lookout for gummed up gas tanks, rusty floorboards and cracked tires.
See a better patriotic ride? No Jeep Patriots please!! email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com
Has the auto trans, which is the chrysler 727 with transfer case. This version was mostly a decal and paint package. I think 1 version had denim seat covers. But I am not sure if it was this version. The sheet metal rusted fast! But mechanically, the scouts were awesome!
I learned to drive on this vehicle; a stick shift, soft top and it did rust FAST! There was a huge embarrassing rust hole on the side and the soft top was very brittle and tore easily. The transfer case went bad and it was impossible to find a used one and we didn't have the money to get it fixed… sadly it went to salvage.
can't keep all these anonymouses straight – can you guys pick Name/URL from the dropdown instead – you don't even have to use the URL field – come up with a great name and use it all the time so we can get to know you 🙂