Advice

[StrobeNGH]

I promise I will not have daily polls trying to figure out what to do . . . but I could use some advice.
I have a '71 Scout 800B sitting in my parents garage (in Utah), and I'm not sure what to do with it.

I can't afford to have the scout be a designated trail vehicle, so if I keep it it has to be a daily driver.
It has a Chevy drivetrain (305, and a 4 speed automatic w/ overdrive). The transfer case is a D 300, and it has D44's from a Scout II front and rear.
The exterior is really good, but the floors probably need to be replaced.
I just had crossover steering put on it, and the suspension was just fixed. I think the brakes need to be redone, it needs new gas tanks, heater, seats, etc . . .

I love the Scout, but my mechanical abilities are . . . lacking. I'd need to have someone fix it if any problems arose, and I am not sure if I have the time or money to wait for repairs.

So, the question: Is it worth sinking money into the scout getting it dependable, or do I sell it and buy something newer (how much would I need to put into a car to get it to be a dependable daily driver when most of the components on the car are at least 20 years old)?

If I keep the Scout I'll be driving about 20 miles a day, and 80 miles on weekends.

Thanks much

 

[I Lean]

Daily-driver = Scout? I think not. Buy a Civic for that, reserve the Scout for a weekend-fun thing.

 

[StrobeNGH]

Civic is rusting out and will not be making the return trip with us.
If we move to Utah we'll need a 4x4 DD.

Would I be throwing money away if I put it into getting the Scout up to par?

 

[Tacoma]

well...

if you're dead set on using it as a DD, I would say that the majority of the money has already been thrown at it.... Seats can be had cheap, or take them out of the Civic... heater, cheap fix depending on the problem. Gas tanks and floorboards...?

Let's say you have to sink a grand into it: worth it to you? Could you ebay it and get a Blazer?

 

[Houndoc]

I turned away from the idea of a Scout when most the Scout owners agreed they take a lot of tinkering to keep them running. Not the choice for us non-mechanical types, as cool as they may be.

So either sell it and get a combined wheeler/DD or buy a front wheel drive DD and use the Scout to wheel and commute on the really bad snow days.