How It Started
503Scouts is an official-sounding name for an unofficial group of Scout owners around Portland who occasionally gather at a coffee shop to kick the tires and consume some coffee and compliments.
Jason is the guy who seems to know every Scout owner in SW Portland. He’s also the guy who did an LS swap on his Scout II and inspired me to look into one for mine. Jason introduced me to Tim, the owner of BackRowed Garage.
The photo below was taken outside Tim’s shop. Tim can do it all: rebuild an engine, fabricate metal, design and 3D print parts, and paint at a perfectionist level. Anyone who knows him is inspired by his can-do-anything attitude and talent. I’m grateful he took on my project and cared for my Scout as if it were his own.
After the 1993 paint job, the only upgrade to the Scout was front disc brakes. Cosmetically it was in OK shape, but by 2025 the engine was on the verge of needing a rebuild.
I mentioned to my wife that when I retired or came into a windfall of cash, I wanted to refurbish the Scout. She responded, “Why wait? You’re just missing years of enjoyment.” That’s one of many examples of how I married well.
I reached out to Tim at BackRowed Garage and got on his calendar.
The first step in the refurb was finding a donor vehicle with a 5.3L LS motor. Tim found this 2000 GM half-ton on Facebook Marketplace. Unfortunately for the seller, his son had totaled the truck by putting it in a ditch. Fortunately for us, the engine was in good shape.
“One man’s trash, that’s another man’s come-up.”
Before I knew the breadth of Tim’s skill set, I worked with Stephen at Vulture Metalworks in Vancouver on the grille. He was also easy to deal with and did great work.
