[WIP] 1964 Scout LS600H conversion

[robertwa]

Hi Folks,
Embarking on a conversion of a 1964 International Harvester Scout 80. Nice little truck, similar to an early Ford Bronco. What's nice is it's very agricultural, with no bells or whistles whatsoever. I'm down in southern California, so don't need many niceties, this will be a low mileage beach and around town runner

Will spare you the details on the general restoration which is involving cutting out a lot of rot and replacing sheet metal, luckily there are plenty of resources for parts for these vehicles. Starting point = basket case or a clean palate, depends on who you ask

To date, procured an 08 LS600H transmission and inverter from ebay, complete with harness. Also populated my zombieverter with the devices that were not available during SMT run due to chip shortages, and verified connectivity to the VCU SW via the supplied WEMOS wifi module.

Pictures to follow. I know I'l be leaning on this forum a lot, I appreciate all the help in advance and will reciprocate where I can!

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

This should be quite a cool project! A Scout is on my list of potential future EV projects. I think It'd be cool to have an old EV Scout and a new EV Scout (when they actually hit the road)

[robertwa]

Here it is in her initial sorry state:

Now with new floor pans and rocker panel repairs. Half cab is removeable and windshield folds down. Large transmission tunnel with plenty of access from up top.

Cleaned up engine bay:

[robertwa]

The LS600H - quite a bit longer than the GS450H, but motor sections look identical

Inverter has the same main connector PN as the GS450H inverter. It is a little different on the high voltage side, with a removeable cover plate over the connections vs. the plastic glued on strip on the GS450H:

[robertwa]

Thinning out the transmission harness:
Started with this:

Ended with this. See the resolver cables converge on a common connector, different to GS450H:

The LS600H has this extra connector (top right) that I do not believe is on the GS450H. Not sure what it is, or where it goes, so left it there for now. There is no other plug on the transmission to mate to it

[robertwa]

Decided to buy the other half of the wiring harness so I can have the full resolver runs.

Started with this mess:

Final combination of both harnesses:

[robertwa]

Transferring over to the bench setup:

[Bratitude]

excited to see how you get on with this. your publicly the first to go ahead with the ls600h as far as i know! great potential for 4wd conversions

[robertwa]

Ok really excited to have the transmission now spinning on the bench. Had some challenges getting the shunt to initialize and had wired the throttle pedal incorrectly. It now spins up readily until I hit the max current of my power supply (10A). If I snap the throttle closed I get a spike in voltage which trips the main contactor.

Looking for advise on anything else I should verify on the bench before tearing down and installing in the truck?

As you can see in the video, the front output doesn't spin. I didn't have a 3rd hand as I was holding the camera, but if you give the front output a helping start, it will continue to spin. I think this is OK. It's a Torsen center diff with a 60/40 split. I must try locking the rear output and gently see if the front output spins. I'm no expert on AWD systems.

[nkiernan]

Good progress, a good milestone

[JamesA]

Looks good

[PatrcioEV-ATX]

I haven't read much about this version of the Lexus transmission. Does the axle to the front wheels only spin if it senses slip in the rear wheels?

[robertwa]

I haven't read much about this version of the Lexus transmission. Does the axle to the front wheels only spin if it senses slip in the rear wheels?

There is a planetary gear set in the transfer case to distribute power to front and rear. With no load, I'm thinking it is just showing a rear bias which is why the front didn't spin. I should have locked the rear output to ensure the front will spin when I had it setup for a bench test. With no power on, I can spin the front output while holding the rear to prevent movement and I can hear the motors revolve.

[robertwa]

Batteries!

Proud owner of a Tesla pack from a Mercedes B250e. Purchased from a wreckers up in LA and now have to figure out how to get this 500lb lump out of my truck and somewhere safe in the garage

Managed to get 5 feet of the main HV power cables and connector to battery, as well as a nice full length run of the charger port connector & wiring harness, and cooling port fittings

[robertwa]

Since the Dana 27 axles are pretty puny, not to mention the front diff has the differential on the wrong side for the LS600H front output, and front axle only has drum brakes, I'm replacing them with axles from a Jeep YJ. It's a Dana 35 in back with Dana 30 up front. It will mean this Scout has a modern drivetrain literally axle to axle.

Cutting off the YJ front spring perches was not easy - big hogs of cast steel. Ended up using every cutting tool I have. Now painted up and ready to install. Next up then will be mounting the transmission.

Of course I broke the #1 rule of an EV conversion and chose a basket case of a vehicle to convert. Had to take the body off the frame to fix broken body mounts which set me back a few weeks. At least the frame and underbody is all cleaned up and painted now - much nicer to work around

[sigdigits]

Batteries!

Proud owner of a Tesla pack from a Mercedes B250e. Purchased from a wreckers up in LA and now have to figure out how to get this 500lb lump out of my truck and somewhere safe in the garage

20230328_114457.jpg

20230328_114439.jpg

Managed to get 5 feet of the main HV power cables and connector to battery, as well as a nice full length run of the charger port connector & wiring harness, and cooling port fittings

How much did it set you back, if you don't mind my asking...?

[robertwa]

How much did it set you back, if you don't mind my asking...?

Battery was $4K

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

now have to figure out how to get this 500lb lump out of my truck and somewhere safe in the garage

I've had success with an engine hoist and one of those hydraulic lift tables from Harbor Freight. The lift table was fantastic for working on and installing/removing my Tesla LDU.
https://www.harborfreight.com/automotiv ... 61405.html
https://www.harborfreight.com/automotiv ... 60438.html

[robertwa]

Haven't posted in a while so this is a bit of a catch-up. I mounted the stronger jeep axles, leaving the axle perches un-welded for now and I'll burn them in once I get weight on the truck with batteries installed etc and set my pinion angles correctly

Put in new springs and shocks all round and played around for far too long with rod ends and steering linkages

Cut out the transmission cover plate and welded in the ninja star:

Went to and fro between welding and bolting it so elected to do both

[robertwa]

Got an EPAS steering column out of a hyundai, stripped it down, and got it mounted under the dash. Verified it works in failsafe mode

[robertwa]

LS600H transmission going in!

Modifying the rear Lexus mount

Welded new brackets to chassis front and rear

Finally mounted

[robertwa]

Mounted a ibooster from a Chevy Volt. The master cylinder has a large bore size - perhaps 9/8". Having a hard time stepping down the fittings from the M14 inverted flare female on the master to regular 3/16" for rest of the car. Still need to replumb the whole car.

[robertwa]

Stripped down the B250e battery pack and starting to work on the battery box

The box will be pretty long (40"). Packaging is proving hard on this short wheel base truck with a long transmission and long batteries. Still I think I can do it and be able to keep all batteries together in one box. I will need to move this front chassis cross member so picked up a piece of 3x3 to weld in a bit further forward, and I'll chop the old one out. I can't drop the box too low as I have a live front axle and front propshaft to compete with. In all the box will be 20x20x40 inches.

[Jacobsmess]

Have you spin up the ls600H transmission yet? Is it identical to the GS450H bar the transfer box?
I like the look of that Hyundai EPAS, it looks way more compact than the Corsa options that are commonly used.

[crasbe]

Mounted a ibooster from a Chevy Volt. The master cylinder has a large bore size - perhaps 9/8". Having a hard time stepping down the fittings from the M14 inverted flare female on the master to regular 3/8" for rest of the car. Still need to replumb the whole car.
20231011_172058.jpg
20231025_145719_1.jpg

With the drum brakes, you might need a pressure retention valve or residual pressure valve for a proper function with the newer style master cylinder.
I'm not sure about the Scout, but some cars with drum brakes need to have a static pressure in the system even when the brake pedal is not depressed to avoid the pads moving away too far from the brake drum. Usually the residual pressure valve is part of the master cylinder, but as it is not needed with disc brakes, your new master cylinder does not have that feature.