Bronco vs. Scout

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve blogged, but as we all know, life’s little idiosyncrasies get in the way sometimes! Between working on trucks, a side project of a friend’s boat, and farm life… we’ve been a little busy!

My friend Todd, who I met through the Offroad Podcast site on Facebook, had suggested that I do a blog about Broncos and Scouts. I admit, I was lost on the whole subject of the Scout. Yes, I knew it was the predecessor to the Bronco, and it was it’s “puffy” cousin, but until I did a little bit of digging, I really had no interest in finding out more. Now, with that being said, the first truck I ever drove at 8 years old was a 1963 International Harvester Pickup. That was a cool truck; granny gears and all! So, this is why this has taken me so long to write. I had to actually “care” about the Scout and know more about it than I though I would ever know! LOL!

So, in my research, I found that these two vehicles are a LOT more similar than I thought. The Scout is said to have come from a beginning of farm vehicles, and then transformed into the off road world as a competitor to the Jeep. It’s run from 1961-1980 had many variations, and was fairly popular with those who didn’t want the Jeep platform. Similar to the Bronco, when the Scout was first produced, it had a 4 cylinder engine and a 3 speed transmission, later transitioning to the V8 version. When I looked at pictures of the “original” Scouts, I was surprised to see just how similar the entire vehicle was to the Bronco. I don’t know why I was surprised, it makes sense that the Bronco would follow the Scout in the world of off road vehicles, and yet be slightly more stylish and less “utility”.

Trying not to be too biased on the Bronco, I was once again surprised at the similarities, and began to understand that BOTH vehicles are pretty much a thing of awesomeness; especially in the era in which they were born. The Bronco came out with a little bit more “elegance” than the Scout, but it’s appeal seemed to be aimed more at city folk who enjoyed the outdoors as opposed to farm folk who needed a utilitarian vehicle. Let’s call it an evolution. The “puffy” Scout certainly inspired the more sleek and stylish look of the Bronco, but when it came to the bits and pieces, these two vehicles had a lot of the same mechanical details that made them amazing trail rigs!

Here’s the funny similarities: both were made with metal that rusts easily (as we all know after we’ve replaced almost every piece of sheet metal on the body!), they both had PTO winches, they both won the Baja 1000 at some point, they both came in half cab and full cab options, and they are both American Icons. When talking to Todd, we also could both agree that we are not a fan of “bastardizing” either one of them with LS engines or Chevy parts. LOL. Granted, my build is not a purist build, but at least I’m sticking with all FORD parts! 😀

I tease Todd a lot about his “marshmallow” Scout, but all in fun. I am more likely to bash a Blazer in the future than I will a Scout, but I still prefer the body lines and beauty of a classic Bronco. 😉 Todd and I can banter back and forth, but no feelings are hurt. We truly just love our classic SUV’s, and we show them the love by constantly “competing” about whose is best.