1962 Scout 80 Walk-around with Scott Brady | Rebuild by New Legend 4x4

In this overland vehicle walk-around Scott Brady of Overland Journal and ExpeditionPortal.com, shows off this 1962 Scout 80, rebuilt by New Legend 4x4 to today's off-roading standards. Brady gives us the full overview of this revived classic rig, inside and out, at this past Overland Expo East 2018.

There’s always an inexplicable draw towards the class, style and strength of vintage vehicles. And while older vehicles such as the Scout 80 certainly turn heads, the main problem with vintage trucks is that they typically can’t keep up with modern vehicles and really aren’t comfortable going down the road. They are also a lot less capable in off-road, rough terrain adventures.

And several things about this vehicle really stand out. In bringing this classic beauty up-to-speed. This Scout 80 was put on top of a brand new Jeep JK. It has a Jeep JK underpinning with coil spring suspensions — a modern suspension design. The geometries of this modern suspension allow the vehicle to reach speeds of up to 80 or more miles per hour.

The front of the Scout 80 features a full off-road capable bumper with a winch installed.

“Interestingly enough, right before the SEMA show, the guy who built the vehicle hit a deer,” Brady said. “It damaged the motor on the winch, but didn't do any damage at all to the vehicle That’s a pretty amazing testament to how strong this bumper is!”

Under the hood, the Scout 80 has a 4.8 liter Vortech V8. The installation is very serviceable and clean.

“Shawn Barber [of New Legend 4x4] really focused all of its original energies on the scout platform,” Brady said.

The Kenda Tires on the Scout 80 are an off-road, on-road variant, so they are only marginally aggressive. Kenda, best known for mountain biking tires, is starting to really branch out into off-road tires as well.

To top of the Scout 80, there is a free-spirit roof tent. An interesting feature in the design is that the tent doesn't clamshell out and over; it simply rises up. This design feature makes setup easier and faster.

In a five-day across country trip, Brady says the set was ‘surprisingly comfortable.’ Not the quietest vehicle on the road, but comfortable and stylish!

“[The Scout 80] has been a pleasure to drive across the country,” Brady said. To read more about Brady’s experiences, in the coming weeks visit: expeditionportal.com or pickup the next edition of Overland Journal.