The Scout.

My International Scout is one of 2500 built in 1976 as part of a series called "the Spirit of 76."  Because it is red, white, and blue, the locals call it "The Mail Truck."

Duty. I paid $750US duty on it, mostly because it has a big 345 cu. in. V8 engine.  The engine and tranny have been rebuilt.

Safety. It is so disreputable looking that nobody has ever even opened it up to see what might be inside that's worth stealing.  It scares people to death when they see it coming because it looks like I wouldn't care if I ran into something with it.  

Washing. It is not a target for the crack heads who carry a bucket around and wash your car and then ask for money.  "Don't wash it", I say, "It would be like polishing a turd!"  In fact, my neighbor Mary washes it every week, inside and out. 

Reliability.  It had a lot of trouble starting when we first got here.  The vehicle had been struck by lightning (if I'd known I never would have bought it) and the replacement wiring harness was just installed with twisted wire connections wrapped with electrical tape.  I replaced all of these with butt connectors, put in new battery connectors and a new battery, and rewired the ignition wires with larger gauge wires.  It starts every time now.  

Traction.  The Scout is too heavy for the 235/75x15 tires it has on it.  It needs larger tires, with bigger deeper treads, to get though any serious mud.  But it does ok on the road to Copper Bank, and that's all that matters!  (It would cost at least $400 US for new tires and wheels.)

Interior.  The seats were a mess when we brought it down here, with cheap woven seat covers that were disintegrating from age.  We bought $30 worth of fabric in Chetumal and had Kent, a local upholsterer, redo the seats.  He did a beautiful job, as you can see, and charged us $200 dollah.

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