When last I left the dealer badge project, I was looking for another option. Melted tin was too imperfect. Resin made very good examples but I couldn’t find a mixture strong enough to stand up to the heat I’d be expecting. So I was considering something drastic, like making a sand cast aluminum version: I’d have to buy the sand, make a buck, build a furnace and crucible, and pour a number of examples before I got something I liked. That was going to be a winter project.
Yesterday, Brian and I were catching up on the EV project and he mentioned he had a local guy 3D print him some parts while we’re waiting around for an adapter to materialize. I asked what his cost was and when he told me I got excited. It turns out the guy is very local and very reasonable, and has access to PVC thread, so I asked Brian to send over my dealer badge file. Within a day he’d printed a test run, which looked great.
I had him print a handful for me, and Brian picked them up last night. I couldn’t be more jazzed.
PVC should be much more resistant to UV and heat; the final pieces have a lot more ridges and imperfections to be sanded off than the versions I printed at the library, but I’ll be happy to sit in front of a football game and clean these up if it means they don’t melt off the back of the truck in August sunshine.
Neal in Boston says:
That’s awesome!
Hey, since I’m writing to you, I thought I’d mention that I bid on a Scout! Granted, it was a rust bucket. And it was a failed attempt. But a first one.
I’ll see if I can attach the Bring A Trailer link here.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1979-international-harvester-scout-ii-terra-15/?contact=contact
My cheapo hail-Mary bid max was 3100. Which I know was ridiculous. And I was going to extend to 4k (especially since my teens said they would all contribute to my dream. But it went for $5500.
Not really big differences at all in the world of adult money! But for now it beat my max (and what I explained to my wife was a “I just can’t watch this slip away as a possibility if no one else bids on it!” for a silly spend. I still think it is a good deal on a cool scout. Definitely a somewhat BADLY rusty body, but mechanicals seemed good and cared for. And knowing so much about what basket case (and restored) examples go for, I was kind of excited about the possibility of having a crap box that I didn’t have to worry about and could just enjoy. Someday…
Hard to let it go, and I’ve been thinking about it all week! Scout guys online in the New England Scouts Facebook group were really rooting for me. But some said to realize that it was a shit box and rusty, but I think that’s the kind of Scout that I want so that I can park it outside and not worry about it too much For a few years. I do not have 40 grand like so many dudes seem to have to drop on an extra vehicle (that’s gonna rust in a few years anyway)!
Well, I’ll keep dreaming.
Enjoy your rigs. Maybe we can connect for Nationals sometime. And I’m excited about your new prospective project!
And I need to get around to ordering one of your cool t-shirts and stickers someday soon!
Happy holidays, and may all of your bearings spin freely!
-Neal.
bill says:
Hey Neal, good to hear from you!
I’m glad to hear you threw your hat in the ring on a Scout, but PLEASE don’t buy anything that crusty. Every panel on that truck is garbage, and the fact that there are no photos of the bed under those 2×6’s is a giant red flag. The other thing to consider is that all the panels for a Scout II are available, but not for a Terra/Traveler—so you’d have a hard time fixing the rear quarters on that truck.
I think you dodged a bullet!
My fear is that you would get very discouraged about the state of the body very quickly and suffer buyer’s remorse. I know they’re very thin on the ground where you are, so it might be worth waiting a little while longer and budgeting for a transport company to bring back something from the Midwest or the West Coast. In my experience, it’s easier to have somebody fix or replace a bad engine on a clean body than it is to fix a body connected to a clean engine.
Feel free to give me a holler if you see something you like and I can give you an honest opinion—I’d like to see you and your kids get something you’ll be happy with that won’t rust to oblivion the week after you get it.