1969 Scout 800- still in the family
Tell us about your Scout:
I guess we sort of feel like our Scout is part of our family. We have way too many memories and milestones to treat it like it's just a vehicle. Call us weirdos, but you can judge for yourselves after reading. Our 1969 Scout 800 was bought brand-new for $4,000 in Fort Wayne, Indiana by my husband's parents when they were newly married. They lived in Indiana until 1971 and then moved to Austin to work at the University of Texas and start a family. It remained as their shared vehicle for many years, and they carpooled to work and drove their kids to school and family vacations in it.
When their son Damon was about 14, they were talking about selling it. He begged them to save it for him until he was old enough to drive it, and they promised to keep it for him. He took over driving it and maintaining it, which was no small feat, as the Scout was already over 20 years old at that point. Damon experienced a lot of lessons in auto repair at a time when most other kids in Austin were getting brand new cars that had all the bells and whistles and luxuries… like air conditioning. But Damon loved having the Scout, and kept it running. He even gave it a new fresh paint job in 1992, keeping the original red, and wow, did it look pretty! He took it with him when he moved off to medical school in Houston, and it even went with him when he did a special residency with the flight surgeon of the Blue Angels team in Pensacola. On the drive back from Florida to Texas, the Scout decided it needed an engine job. That was around 1999, so the engine had been going for 30 years. After he got it all fixed up with a rebuilt engine, he continued to have it as his only vehicle. During that time, he met me. He picked me up for our first date, and I guess I passed the test when I commented "cool car" as I climbed into the passenger seat.
Damon lived in Georgia for a year to attend a residency in Macon, and of course, he drove the Scout to the hospital there for every shift. After returning home to Austin, he purchased another vehicle for his less exciting drives to work, also when air conditioning was an absolute must. But the Scout was still his favorite vehicle, and he decided to make her go topless! He made a roll bar and added a soft Bimini-like top for it, which we eventually changed to a fully enclosed soft top with snaps so we could roll the sides up. We had so much fun driving it, and it was our get-away car after our wedding in 2002.
When we adopted a sweet Weimaraner pup in 2003 (practice child), of course the best dog name in the world we could think to name him was Scout. There is no doubt that if anyone loved riding in that vehicle more than us, it was our dog. Until we had two kids, and then of course it was their favorite way to get around too! We had so many years of fun family trips, with all four of us and our loyal dog, Scout. It broke our heart when we had to put our beloved dog down in 2015, but we made sure to give him one last trip in his favorite ride before he had to cross over the Rainbow Bridge. I like to think he was such a perfect dog that in his next life, he makes it back here as a human and drives a Scout of his own. We now have another Weimaraner, Ace, and when he is lucky enough to get to ride in it, we know he is having a blast by his big smile and non-stop wagging tail.
During the pandemic, our son Weston became old enough to learn to drive. We couldn’t think of a safer vehicle for him than that 1969 Scout. Forget about all those sensors and airbags on all the new cars, driving this one requires you to fully engage all of your attention…and muscles. It was quite a process for him to learn to drive a manual transmission vehicle, especially this one that also had no power steering, no power brakes, and no radio. Even with all the challenges of driving this old Scout, he still felt so proud to drive it, and I know he felt very cool when he pulled up to his high school in it. At this point it has been in the family for three generations. He even wrote a college application essay all about the character-building experience of learning to drive the Scout. He got into Texas A&M, so I guess the Aggies liked the story.
It was hard for Damon to give his baby over to the care of his teenaged son, especially since it wasn’t an easy car to maintain. By now, the Scout paint looks more patina than cherry red, but still very cool, maybe even cooler. They changed the soft top for a cute short cab hard top, so it looks like a tiny truck.
When driving home one evening in 2022, Weston gave us the news that the Scout would not start and there was fluid leaking from the engine. It turns out, the Scout threw a rod and smashed a decent-sized hole in the engine. So, now what to do? Well, find a donor engine, of course! Damon and Weston and a handy friend of ours, Tom, traveled to Houston to pull a Scout engine out of another Scout that was being converted. Performing the transplant proved to be a challenge because the engine wasn’t exactly the same, and some parts were in different locations, but they retrofitted everything and got it running!
The Scout is still parked in front of our home, and we take it on short easy drives around downtown Austin, where it attracts lots of attention from all types of people, from sorority girls to motor cycle gangs. Our daughter Ava, who is still in high school, is learning to drive it now too. I frequently see passersby take photos of it, and there have been many times over the years people have asked to use it for movies, photo shoots, or commercials. It was featured in a Jaritos soda commercial once. Occasionally, people knock on our door and ask if it is for sale. “I would never sell my Scout” is always Damon’s response. One day, we hope to be able to bring it back to its original glory.
When their son Damon was about 14, they were talking about selling it. He begged them to save it for him until he was old enough to drive it, and they promised to keep it for him. He took over driving it and maintaining it, which was no small feat, as the Scout was already over 20 years old at that point. Damon experienced a lot of lessons in auto repair at a time when most other kids in Austin were getting brand new cars that had all the bells and whistles and luxuries… like air conditioning. But Damon loved having the Scout, and kept it running. He even gave it a new fresh paint job in 1992, keeping the original red, and wow, did it look pretty! He took it with him when he moved off to medical school in Houston, and it even went with him when he did a special residency with the flight surgeon of the Blue Angels team in Pensacola. On the drive back from Florida to Texas, the Scout decided it needed an engine job. That was around 1999, so the engine had been going for 30 years. After he got it all fixed up with a rebuilt engine, he continued to have it as his only vehicle. During that time, he met me. He picked me up for our first date, and I guess I passed the test when I commented "cool car" as I climbed into the passenger seat.
Damon lived in Georgia for a year to attend a residency in Macon, and of course, he drove the Scout to the hospital there for every shift. After returning home to Austin, he purchased another vehicle for his less exciting drives to work, also when air conditioning was an absolute must. But the Scout was still his favorite vehicle, and he decided to make her go topless! He made a roll bar and added a soft Bimini-like top for it, which we eventually changed to a fully enclosed soft top with snaps so we could roll the sides up. We had so much fun driving it, and it was our get-away car after our wedding in 2002.
When we adopted a sweet Weimaraner pup in 2003 (practice child), of course the best dog name in the world we could think to name him was Scout. There is no doubt that if anyone loved riding in that vehicle more than us, it was our dog. Until we had two kids, and then of course it was their favorite way to get around too! We had so many years of fun family trips, with all four of us and our loyal dog, Scout. It broke our heart when we had to put our beloved dog down in 2015, but we made sure to give him one last trip in his favorite ride before he had to cross over the Rainbow Bridge. I like to think he was such a perfect dog that in his next life, he makes it back here as a human and drives a Scout of his own. We now have another Weimaraner, Ace, and when he is lucky enough to get to ride in it, we know he is having a blast by his big smile and non-stop wagging tail.
During the pandemic, our son Weston became old enough to learn to drive. We couldn’t think of a safer vehicle for him than that 1969 Scout. Forget about all those sensors and airbags on all the new cars, driving this one requires you to fully engage all of your attention…and muscles. It was quite a process for him to learn to drive a manual transmission vehicle, especially this one that also had no power steering, no power brakes, and no radio. Even with all the challenges of driving this old Scout, he still felt so proud to drive it, and I know he felt very cool when he pulled up to his high school in it. At this point it has been in the family for three generations. He even wrote a college application essay all about the character-building experience of learning to drive the Scout. He got into Texas A&M, so I guess the Aggies liked the story.
It was hard for Damon to give his baby over to the care of his teenaged son, especially since it wasn’t an easy car to maintain. By now, the Scout paint looks more patina than cherry red, but still very cool, maybe even cooler. They changed the soft top for a cute short cab hard top, so it looks like a tiny truck.
When driving home one evening in 2022, Weston gave us the news that the Scout would not start and there was fluid leaking from the engine. It turns out, the Scout threw a rod and smashed a decent-sized hole in the engine. So, now what to do? Well, find a donor engine, of course! Damon and Weston and a handy friend of ours, Tom, traveled to Houston to pull a Scout engine out of another Scout that was being converted. Performing the transplant proved to be a challenge because the engine wasn’t exactly the same, and some parts were in different locations, but they retrofitted everything and got it running!
The Scout is still parked in front of our home, and we take it on short easy drives around downtown Austin, where it attracts lots of attention from all types of people, from sorority girls to motor cycle gangs. Our daughter Ava, who is still in high school, is learning to drive it now too. I frequently see passersby take photos of it, and there have been many times over the years people have asked to use it for movies, photo shoots, or commercials. It was featured in a Jaritos soda commercial once. Occasionally, people knock on our door and ask if it is for sale. “I would never sell my Scout” is always Damon’s response. One day, we hope to be able to bring it back to its original glory.
- Next page: Our two Scouts
