bent frame??!!

[Tom Mandera <tsm1@domain.elided>]

Update on the '74 Scout II a friend of mine bought and I towed home and 
I'm helping out with the parts to repair..

Truck was parked on the side of the road, stopped, when a Ford pickup 
slammed head-on into it.. 

Assessment at time of purchase - new forward body mount (rad mount).  New 
driver's fender, new inner fenders, new grille, new hood, new column, new 
pulleys on the motor.  New Bumper.

$300 traded hands, and we towed the Scout home.

This weekend we did some more wrenching on it.. found out a few 
interesting things... like ohh.. the Frame doesn't appear to be straight!

Driver's side frame rail appears bent rearwards.  The gusset on the 
passenger side front corner is bent/buckled somewhat, and placing a 
square as best we could against the frame rail and laying some 
angle-stock across the frame didn't have the holes n' mounts lining up.. 
looking at it, it appears bent.

We measured wheelbase.. 1/8" or 1/4" longer on the passenger side than 
the driver's side.. as near as we could tell (it's on the street, with 
tires on it, in the snow.. no, we didn't crawl underneath and hang 
plumb-bobs yet like the shop manual calls for)

This was pretty bad news for Ben.. he's notably concerned now!

Other related items.. the frame side of the driver's side motor mount is 
cracked.. the bracket's weld has broken on one side (forward side) and 
needs re-welded.. also the "ball-stud" on the frame side of the manual 
clutch linkage sheared from the plate it was originally attached to.

The driver's door is damaged slightly.. the top part of the door is a 
little "shorter/narrower" than it was stock.. 

A few thoughts have come to mind...

#1 - price having the frame straightened.. if it's $100 or $200.. do it.
#2 - slap it back together as-is and drive it.. :-)
#3 - weld the frame I *just* cut up back together and do a full 
body/driveline swap (this one doesn't have my vote!)
#4 - locate another Scout II for $300, and put the two together.. not a 
bad idea.. 
#5 - I'm dragging home a Traveler in about a month.. sans 
top/motor/transmission/interior/windshield frame.  We could swap the 
motor/trans/t'case from the '74 into the Traveler, put the tailgate on, 
put the windshield frame on, and then locate a top (Terra or Traveler), 
and call it good.. (another choice that's my personal 
less-than-desirable.. it means another two months before the "74" is road 
worthy.. and more work!  It means.. Cherry Picker.. hefting transmissions 
around.. blah blah)

The problem with all of this is.. the '74 is in NICE shape!   I mean, 
yeah, the front clip is trashed, the motor needs pulleys n' such.. and 
yeah, the driver's door got tweaked and the liftgate hinges need 
attention but... the rust isn't terminal (surface, plus the usual rear 
fender lip).. the body mounts are in GOOD SHAPE.. paint is OK.. interior 
is fine.. 

I know there are digesters that have driven with tweaked spring mounts 
for years and never noticed.. I told Ben that he could probably expect 
funny tire wear.. but that I could keep him in stock tires for a while (I 
have 10 in good shape now.. and might get another 5 soon.. plus the 5 on 
his truck)..

Oh, the other option available.. I could give Ben my new racer's frame.. 
and do a swap.. but again.. a lot of work swapping drivetrains and 
bodies.. and it means my *racer* gets a bent frame.. (not a bad thing, 
really, but *I* want to be the guy that bends it, y'know?)

More fun things on the '74...

Finally removed the clutch fan and the rest of the front sheet metal.. 
and pieced together some handy rad hoses and pipes n' such.. pulled an 
alternator belt from my "builder" 345.. filled the hoses with water, 
kicked the heater on HIGH, and turned the motor over again...

We actually got it warmed up!  It was running pretty well.. but the #7 
and #8 lifters are *still* making a horrible noise.. it ran for 5 or 10 
minutes and never pumped up the lifters.. the oil was changed and now 
shows over full somewhat.. and has a quart of "Lifter Cleaner".. 

We went inside to get a flashlight to closer examine the motor while it 
worked (it got dark on us!).. when we came out, I checked the temp 
gauge.. middle.. looked out on the motor.. heater wasn't blowing hot 
air.. hmm.. temp gauge climbing more!  Uh oh.. look.. ah hah.. our 
make-shift bypass hose had sprung a leak and puked all of my tap water 
all over the snow!  We shut 'er down.. and I figured it was good anyhow.. 
no water to freeze overnight.. we'll just hook the hose back up another 
day and refill.

My concern with the lifter is that it ISN'T pumping up.. is there any 
chance that a blow to the crank pulley.. sufficient to mangle all but the 
inner-most pulley.. a blow that shoved the motor back hard enough to 
shear the motor mount bolt *and* break the welds on the frame-mount *and* 
break the clutch linkage.. could a hit like that cause internal engine 
damage?  The motor *sounds* good.. (well, what I can hear over the 
lifter).. and it sounds like 8cyls.. I suppose it would be a good idea to 
drop the pan and look at the crank anyhow.. hmmm.. 

We turned our attention to the motor after we surmised the frame was 
tweaked.. best to find out of the motor is good before we go any 
farther... or call it junk and make it a $300 parts truck.. ;-)

Check it out - http://www.tmcom.com/~tsm1/scout/jpg/bens74/

-Tom Mandera, Helena MT
http://www.tmcom.com/~tsm1/scout
'72, '77, '78 Scout IIs