The Scout Traveltop from International Harvester
was aimed at buyers of four-wheel-drive vehicles
who wanted the power and comfort of the enormous
Scout Traveler but without the size and weight of
the top-of-the-line vehicle in the Scout range.
The
short wheelbase iteration carried over almost identical
mechanicals, although purists thought the styling
of the SWB iteration was less than beautiful when
compared to the LWB versions.
Despite any misgivings
Scout fans may have had, the Traveltop quickly showed
the doubters that it had considerable qualities of
its own, particularly when considering the smaller
lighter Traveltop carried over the 5.6 liter V8 engine.
The turning circle was smaller, the carrying capacity
only slightly compromised, the steering was a little
more precise an, thanks to its narrower girth, it
was better suited to navigating narrow trails and
Aussie scrub.
Like the rest of the Scout range, the
Traveltop used a fully boxed girder-type chassis frame
on which the two live axles were suspended by leaf
springs at both ends. It was a design built for ruggedness,
yet it still offered a degree of comfort a step above
almost all other 4x4’s of the day – Range
Rover excluded.
The interior appointments were also
on par with the Traveler, although obviously there
was not the room available to allow sleeping accommodation
in the rear compartment.
While only one engine was on
offer, there were 3 transmissions from which to choose,
the standard 3 speed manual, optional 4 speed manual
and Chrysler TorqueFlite automatic.
The shorter wheelbase
made the Traveltop slightly choppier than the LWB
Traveler over corrugations and undulations, but it
more than made up for this with better city manners,
making it a much better day-to-day proposition for
those who used the Scout as a “weekender”.
The
overall height of the Traveltop was kept as low as
possible, it measuring up to 104mm lower than the Range
Rover and 152mm lower than the Toyota Land Cruiser
Wagon. The down-side was the enormous size of the transmission
tunnel, it encroaching noticeably on interior space.