This Ultra-Rare Scout Came With One Of The Most Unbelievable Interiors You'll Ever See
The decade of the 1970s brought some incredible examples of pop culture, like "Star Wars" (1977) and "The Godfather" (1972), Apple computers (1976), disco music, and Space Invaders (1978). It also brought us some really horrible things, like a literal minefield of lousy television, eye-searing plaid suits, Three Mile Island (1979), disco music (yes, it can be both), and acres upon acres of shag carpeting.
International Harvester (IH), best known for its tractors and fleet vehicles, started making the Scout II in 1971. Between 1971 and 1980, it came with several different engine options (196ci I-4, 232ci I-6, 258ci I-6, 304ci V-8, Nissan I-6 diesel, SD-33T Nissan turbodiesel) mated to either a Chrysler TorqueFlite A727 three-speed automatic, or 4-speed manual transmission.
In the latter half of that decade, IH began kicking out a veritable cornucopia of "special edition" Scout II models; including four different red, white, and blue behemoths that celebrated the country's bicentennial and the U.S. Olympic Ski Team. So when the Harvester crew teamed up with the Midas Van Conversion Company of Elkhart, Indiana, in 1977 to create a unique Scout II — no one was surprised by the result. This particular Scout II featured all the things you'd find inside wild and crazy "Shag Wagons," also very popular at the time.
But what really sets this Scout apart from other editions is the interior.
Plaid and shag as far as the eye can see
The Midas Edition absolutely screamed "the 1970s." It took everything in its bag of van conversion tricks and threw it inside this very special Scout II. Both front seats were actually swiveling swing-out buckets with lifting armrests. Overhead, each side had its own tinted (purple) pop-up sunroof. Between the front seats was a digital clock and airplane-like reading lights. You could even get the dashboard trimmed in woodgrain instead of the standard reflective swirl design.
A handful of different exterior color combinations were available that included saffron yellow, metallic green, milk chocolate brown, root beer brown, and a special order Maroon Wine. More often than not, the outside rarely matched the interior color scheme that ranged from burnt orange, to gold, beige, dark brown, and green.
Those spectacularly resplendent tones were awash on everything from the shag carpet to the plaid seats, plaid headliner (yes, plaid headliner), and doors adorned with diamond tucked vinyl door inserts ... with plaid and shag panels. Midas even customized a Traveler model (basically a more extended version of the Scout) in the same manner.
In recent years, International Harvester vehicles have seen a spike in popularity. Three Bring a Trailer auctions over the last few years seem to exemplify that, with one selling for $64,000 in February 2021, another for $43,000 in August 2021, and a third selling for $44,000 in October 2022.