Engine swaps have been in the rage in hot rodding since the first visionary dropped a Ford flathead V8 into a 1923 T-bucket. But a twin-turbo Coyote swap in a ’76 International Scout? That’s one we’ve never seen before.

Today, cool cars with engine transplants are everywhere — and most of them seem to be of the Chevy LS variety. Don’t let that fool you, though. Third-gen Mopar HEMIs and Godzillas from Ford are making a major impact on street and strip. And the Coyote swap? You see more of them every day.

If you are a Ford lover, nothing makes you puke faster than seeing an LS under the hood of an early Mustang or other Blue Oval vehicle. Even though this feature vehicle is not of the Blue Oval variety, we can’t think of a single reason anyone would dislike it.

Twin turbos feed a 5.0-liter Coyote built to take 60 psi of boost, though it runs nowhere near that on the street. (Photo by Tom Gartman)

Kansan Tom Gartman could have done the “me-to” thing and used an LS when he renovated this 1976 International Scout. Instead, he transplanted this sparkling example of a twin-turbo, four-valve Coyote V8 into it. It looks pretty radical —and we suppose with four-digit horsepower it is — but it cruises with air conditioning, it’s street-legal, and he drives it everywhere.

Gartman has a number of interesting vehicles in his shop, including a 2,000-horsepower Ford F-150. But this one? It makes that truck seem tame. The Scout has run a best of 7.83 at 172 mph in the quarter, and that’s with the engine somewhat detuned.

He asked us not to reveal the actual power output. Let’s just say it’s north of five stock Boss 429s, is capable of a whole lot more, and the owner expects to improve on his best elapsed time this year.

Its Former Life

When Gartman picked up the Scout, it had been campaigned as a bracket racing vehicle for 20-plus years with a big-block, big tires and nitrous. But he had other ideas.

“I fell in love with the truck and gave her some TLC,” Gartman explained.

The Scout looked similar to how it does here. He removed years of old stickers and some paint correction. The real fun was making it his own.

The Coyote still displaces 5-liters, but that’s about the only thing left from its production days. It’s a max-effort Gen-3 Coyote short-block built by L&M Engines in Hatboro, Pennsylvania. TKM Performance of Denton, North Carolina, worked its magic on a set of GT350 cylinder heads. A sheetmetal Hogan race intake with a built-in intercooler tops it off.

Why a Coyote?

“I like the cam setup and the way the heads breathe,” said Gartman.

Pressure comes from a pair of VS Racing 76/75 turbos. Fuel is E85. Boost is 38 psi at the track, but the engine was built with the ability to withstand 60 psi.

A Roessler Turbo 400 with an M&M air shifter transfers all that power to a Ford 9-inch rear with 3.73 gears.

Making It Livable On The Street

Electric power steering, comfortable aftermarket seats, and a bed-mounted air conditioner make it more pleasurable when it is eating up miles on the street. And it sees many miles of road use each year. This September, Gartman plans on participating in the Redwood Rally in Oregon, the first drag-and-drive-style event on the West Coast. It will pull a small trailer between stops, though to be 100 percent transparent, he will tow the Scott the 1,800 miles from his home to the Rally.

To be legal on the street, all the Scout’s lights are functional and it has turn signals. The body is getting new doors with glass as I type this to further distance it from its days as a full race vehicle.

All the lights function and there is a license plate for street driving. (Photo by Caecey Killian)

Drag-and-drive style events are all the rage these days. People love the idea of hopping in their street muscle machines and proving what they can do. The days of sick looking cars and trucks posing as high-performance vehicles have been put to rest by people who are willing to put their potential on the line in front of God and social media.

People like Tom Gartman and his twin-turbo, Coyote-swapped International Scout.