Main Street Show-Stopper
Shoppers who strolled Main St. looking for Labor Day sales and bargains found a rare vintage truck looking like it just rolled off the assembly line, then made a stop at a custom car shop to achieve a one-of-a-kind finish. This beautiful 1979 International Scout II found its way to Keith M. of Fairfield by way of his Uncle Richard from Redding, an avid car collector. Only 44,434 Scout II’s were built in ’79 which was the last production year for this vehicle. The car drew quite the interest from passers-by with several taking photos and selfies with this fine automobile. The Scout caught the interest of Kate from Stamford and her two sons Tucker, age 13 and Jack, age 11 who noticed some interesting feature found in the interior.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
This scout was restored from the ground up by a friend of his uncle’s in Phoenix who was a highly skilled restorer of vintage Ferrari’s, and upon the completion of a 1973 Ferrari Dino, the Scout needed to find a new home which is how it made it’s way to Redding. Keith has owned the truck for 11 years, kept her garaged to insure she stayed in pristine condition and she has just over 63,000 original (he believes) miles on the odometer.
The power plant is the original 345 cid V8 with only a top-end rebuild and the original rally wheels were fitted with BFG 32.5” all terrain tires. The vivid plaid interior prompted closer inspection which revealed a working CB radio and a rotary telephone reminiscent of the kind of mobile phones which were in use at that time. Although it currently is non-functional and is just a visual accessory, Keith is hoping to find a say to get it on-line at some point. He also added a bluetooth radio which he installed in the glovebox.