1978 International Biodiesel Scout In The Mountains
After searching online for his target vehicle, Frank found an '80 Scout Traveler diesel in Tennessee and got himself a plane ticket. He was surprised to find out the Tennessee definition of "some rust" is much different than the Southern California definition, but decided to buy the truck anyway (and later swapped in a new body tub to fix the problem). The Scout had everything he wanted: four-wheel drive, a removable hardtop, and a Nissan SD633T turbodiesel engine.

After Frank drove the Scout more than 2,000 miles home, he was ready for more power from the engine that was originally rated at about 100 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque. He tried a few tricks, but the stock 3.3L inline six-cylinder turbodiesel couldn't make the power needed to turn 35-inch tires while off-roading.

1978 International Biodiesel Scout In The Mountains
GM 6.5L Turbodiesel Swap
About the same time Frank was giving up on the Scout's stock diesel engine, he found a GM 6.5L V-8 for a really good price. He bought it with plans to swap the 6.5L into his '99 Suburban, but the Scout had become the driveway favorite, so the 'Burb would have to wait for another powerplant.