A lot of us have lamented the fact that there isn’t a really small pickup available anymore, at least in the US. Most of us don’t need a full-sized pickup, just something small to haul a few supplies or landscaping materials or whatever. Most of us aren’t hauling 4×8 sheets of plywood on a daily basis. This 1983 Dodge Rampage is a perfect size pickup for me. It’s located in Vancouver, Washington and it can be found here on craigslist with an asking price of $3,950.
It seems as if most full-sized pickup buyers don’t even need a full-sized truck bed anymore as a lot of them have four doors and a small bed in the back. They’re more of a commuter vehicle to see above other traffic rather than a day-to-day sheetrock hauling machine. Unless a person is hauling things for a living with their pickup, most of us could make good use of a smaller car-based pickup such as this Rampage or the related Plymouth Scamp.
The Dodge Rampage was made from 1982 to 1984 and the Plymouth Scamp came along for the 1983 model year only, so if you see one of those for sale, grab it. I was parking and washing cars in a medical building parking garage after high school and one of the doctors, a plastic surgeon who wore jeans every day and had a big goatee and looked like he was ready for Sturgis, not your typical plastic surgeon, bought a new Dodge Rampage and I thought it was the coolest thing.
This particular Rampage looks like it’s in great condition and I’m surprised at the seemingly low’ish asking price. The driver’s seat is pretty grimy but otherwise the interior looks good. Although, I’m not sure what the wires and extra switches are for on the left side of the steering column and on the dash? Nitrous oxide maybe? Kidding, although, this car looks good with the hood scoop and scoops on the front fenders, in my opinion. It looks like there may be a couple of cracks in the dash which is surprising to see with a northwest car.
The engine needs to be cleaned up and detailed to match the great appearance of the rest of the car (other than the driver’s seat) but that shouldn’t be more than a weekend’s worth of work. This is Dodge’s 2.2L inline-four which had just under 100 horsepower. The seller says that it has been sitting but they don’t say for how long, and they got it from the second owner two years ago and had planned to restore it. I’m not sure what needs restoring, it looks fantastic from the photos. Have any of you owned a Rampage or other car-based pickup?
Always wanted a el camino and one of these
No Ranchero??
Heres mine…73 with 351 C
How are the floors ?
We don’t salt the roads here. You should try it and maybe you wouldn’t have to ask this. 🤦🏻♂️
WOW, what a grumpy reply!
Yeah, the nerve of somebody to ask a question!!!
No wonder he needs max headroom !
No wonder he needs max headroom !
I’ve had two of these over the years. Both were 2.2 five speeds. They were fun trucks.
I hate to see any add for a Rampage because it reminds me of the minty 5 speed Scamp i passed up….asking price 1300.00. :(
Cute idea, but not really big enough for general purpose hauling. When this was new, a standard Omni or 024 with a hatchback would have hauled just as much and been more practical. What we really need is a true small pick up, like a late 70s Toyota or Mazda. Big enough to haul lumber or trash to the dump. This would be okay for small bags of mulch or fertilizer from Home Depot, but again, your standard hatchback would have done that well. That is how I see these not making it in the market. Might have been okay to fit a small dirt bike back in the day, but that is about it. Limited market due to limited utility. They were good looking, though, I will give them that.
But a hatch can’t carry a dirtbike. I think these could, and with a low bed floor, even better.
cheers,
bt
“Limited utility” was more a matter of perception with these than reality. They had true half-ton payload capacity, with rear leaf springs and “sea legs” angled shocks for stability. Sure, the bed wasn’t a full 8′ long, but it was a full 4′ wide, and with a stack of plywood or drywall resting in the front lower corner of the bed and on top of the closed tailgate, the wheel wells were perfectly aligned to support the middle.
My dad had an ’83 Rampage for several years, did all the hauling he needed for homeowner and volunteer church groundskeeper duty — including appliances, furniture, and full bedfulls of lumber and mulch you’d be hard-pressed to haul in any hatchback or wagon easily — meanwhile serving as a sharp-looking and -handling economical work commuter and second vehicle for the family.
Check. For. Rust.
Mine only lasted a few years.
would buy in a minute if it was in il.
Scratching my head on the claimed mileage. My 2006 Mitsubishi Raider @90K looks way fresher. Also see the spray on liner, toggle switches, worn seat belt..
Love the Rampages but maybe not this one.
Also can’t unsee the 💩stain on the driver seat base.
Or they just spilled coffee in their lap a time or two.
My first brand new car was a 1984 Rampage. I was less than impressed, as it was burning almost a quart of oil between changes in the first year. Dealer said it was “normal” and wouldn’t do a thing. Went back to buying mostly used cars.
We have our absurd CAFE regulatory scheme to blame for the disappearance of truly compact pickup trucks and affordable wagons from the US market:
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/10/how-cafe-killed-compact-trucks-and-station-wagons/
I wanted one for years, like Scotty sez, just as a personal commuter with a box. These could be had with a neat topper, so covered space was greatly increased, but limited anything tall. These really were the answer to the question nobody asked. Regular mini-pickups were all the rage in the 80’s and this didn’t have a chance. Obviously, in a mountain situation, it wouldn’t cut it, but today, in another situation, I’d love to have it. I had, or dealt with many of this era Chrysler vehicles, and I can’t remember a bad one. The Rampage/Scamp remains to this day as the only all US front-drive pickup made in America besides VW.
As a young car alarm installer for mobile lottery salesman , i drove these cars and half trucks and i could never adapt to the sooo cheap interior and fugly steering wheel !
Whit a lot of work one can upgrade the malaise engine/trans , upgrade brakes but can the dash/steering be upgraded ?
Reckon the dash could be swapped to a later Charger/Turismo version, not that it would be much better. Hard to tell if this one has just the base big-speedo gauge cluster, but if so a 3-scoop gauge cluster with tach can be swapped in.
The steering wheel’s an unusual deep-dish design, but if aftermarket hub bosses are still available for the L-platform cars (Omni/Horizon/024/TC3/Charger/Turismo) that would present a potential for improvement. Might need to adopt an Italian driving style (using the lower half of the wheel to steer, shuffling hand-to-hand) if the boss isn’t deep enough to make up for the stock deep dish with a flatter wheel.
ahem* sorry if youre going to get a trucklet get a subaru brat man, low range? 4wd? that’s what i thought and the just look a little better.;)
my boy worked for a guy that had one of these did yard work he beet the living he// out of it could not kill it over 150,000 mi and kept going
for get its a truck I looked for one of these to replace my 1984 charger , why for the weight loss. I drag race my 2.2 five speed, started in 1987 running 22 seconds motor and head work it now runs 13.20 Best ever time 12.90 three times the same night. There is so much you can do to a 2.2 and it is affordable fun. You could haul your drag tires and jack to the track, unplug the header and have fun
Love these Rampages and wish they still sold vehciles like these.
However, the statement “I’m surprised at the seemingly low’ish asking price.” in this writeup caught my eye more than anything else.
Has the value of $1 let alone $1000 or $5000 become that diminished in the past few years?
How many hours does it take you or the average person to earn $100? To earn $1000? To earn $3950?
And is that amount of time and money worth spending to meet the asking price on this soon to be 40 year old basic vehicle?
Maybe it is time to get back to reality money rather than “silly money” fueled by speculation and pent up cabin-fever induced pandemic spending pushed higher with unearned stimulus money.
1983 Dodge Rampage ACCORDING to NADA guide
Original MSRP: $6,683
Current Low Retail: $1,075
Current Average Retail: $1,825
Current High Retail: $2,475
@Erik: I couldn’t agree more. It seems that now that everything ever made is a collectible, people have money growing on trees in their yard. I am glad that I’m not the only person left on Earth who does the price divided by hourly-rate thing.
I saw one of those new Jeep Gladiator pick-ups recently and for fun I did a Build & Price on it. I chose the most basic (but not basic enough for my tastes) version with a manual transmission, only adding a hardtop (for the security), the tow package and all-terrain tires… I was greeted with a payment of just under $700 PER MONTH FOR EIGHT YEARS! I honestly don’t see how any new cars are sold these days when the most basic Jeep pick-up costs that much.
But I digress….
Cool Rampage. 😎
MoPhil we are not alone. Many people are sadly living on “low and easy credit” (some eith poor credit are paying frighteningly high APRs despite low bank rates) and only think about “can I fit it in my monthly income” rather than how much time and work it takes to earn the money, what would happen if they suddenly end up unemployed or some other unexpected expense comes along, don’t figure what will be their return on investment for spending that money, would they get their money back if had to sell it sooner than later, and more importantly what would happen if they were told by a doctor the horrible news of “Get your affairs in order”.
Lastly, right with you on the Gladiator! Stopped to check the sticker on the the one at Jeep Dealer and almost choked then got back my own vehicle and laughed as I drove away.
w/tastes similar to Scotty a “Yes” for me and being in the NE us of a, a taneau or topper like HA suggests. FWD, auto? just even better as DD. Love the ’60s ranchero, this, the brat, etc. Went 1 step better’n got an ‘early bronk’ in the 80s (had it for 38 yrs now) but that was a wrk vehicle that needed 4WD.
Don’t think the seat can suffice. Not sure if the pattern is around any more. I’ve covered (oem ‘covers’ available for some vehicles) old seats (hog rings, pad or cushion, etc). Would not hire out to have one made, just out of budget. I’d use it till thread bare & try again in 5+ yrs, clean up under hood now, drive and assess/repair/maintain (search out an OD auto or manual)…
I’ve had two of the 2.2’s. An 81 Omni 4 speed and a 85 Caravan 5 speed. Great vehicles. I like small pickups, had 75 Courier and a 61 Ranchero. Now have a 2019 Ranger. There is a rumor Ford is looking at a smaller pickup than my Ranger.
The New Ranger uses the full size F 150 frame….I heard Ford is coming out with a smaller truck and might be resurrecting the Courior name.
I don’t think my 2019 Ranger is on an F150 frame.
The new small Ford pickup is the Maverick. Based on the new Bronco frame.
https://www.caranddriver.com/ford/maverick
Why oh why , if ford only wants to sale trucks , SUVs and Mustang s here, will they not bring back the Ranchero , or at least a REAL compact truck. Which the new Ranger ain’t in my opinion. Yes it’s smaller than the current breed. But it’s still about the same size as my old 70s F-100. Learned to drive a stick in a 81 courier. Now that was the perfect size.
Indeed, today’s “midsize” trucks are about the same size in every dimension as a ’70s full-size F-series or GM squarebody, nowhere near as small as the OG midsize Dakota.
I had a customer bring me one of these when it was brand new. I couldn’t understand why he would bring it to my shop when it was under warranty. He explained that he wanted the problem with car fixed and if he took it to the dealer they would replace the carb with another that would have the same problem. He was right. The power valve and the piston that actuated it were both convex at the contact point and the pilot diameters were loose enough that they would slip past each other and get jammed. A little dent in the end of the piston fixed it.
I agree it’s not AS big as a f-150 but close. In my opinion. Had not heard about the “maverick ” compact. Good name. Look forward to seeing it. Always said they should have named my focus either falcon or maverick. Love the car, but focus is a dumb name. Not as bad as probe , which sounds kinda dirty. Haha
Ouch, looks like the plastic surgeon did a really bad nose job on a Subaru brat !
And what’s with that brown💩stain on the base of the drivers seat ?
Buy this for $3950, store it for 10 years, and then it’ll be worth $3975.
icle These vehicles were pricey for he time. As mentioned by someone previously Volkswagen built a little Pick up based upon the Rabbit Platform. With this Rampage no mention as to whether the Head Gasket has been replaced nor the status of the Clutch and Pressure Plate. If Stellantis the new name for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was creative they would come up with a Pick Up vehicle based upon the the current Jeep Compass Platform, add 18 inches of space behind the front seat, attach a small pick up truck box, offer two wheel drive and Four wheel drive options and the customer would wind up with a sweet vehicle. .This is an alternative to offering a 2 Door Jeep Wrangler/Gladiator to give the customer a choice instead of the currrent Gladiator which is too long and has the Pick up box sticking out to next COUNTY. Again, this vehicle should be offered as a Two Wheel Drive option which would allow for easier handling in City Parking lots, grocery stores, etc
Nice exterior, but the inside and engine compartment looks like it has over 100k miles, Should look super clean with that many miles.
The steering wheel is out of a newer L-body and the nose has been repainted but otherwise appears largely original.
Always been a fan of these, Google the Direct-Connection edition for the coolest version. And no, there was never a production Shelby Rampage… or a turbo. Too bad.
To: MoPhil: It is called TWO or THREE Year Lease and try to get 12,000 miles per year not standard 10,000 mile allowance.
Leases only make sense for a business. For a regular person to take on a five-figure liability without ownership of the asset is madness.
MoPhil, I don’t know how leasing is now, but it used to be a quick way to get a new car w/o a down payment.
We had a lot of fun with our Scamp–despite the never-ending problems with the computer and the snapped clutch cable. There was a particularly memorable journey from central Iowa to Kansas City in a raging snowstorm. The little truck never missed a beat. We remember it fondly.
They should have made one out of the Magnum.
I like this. I have owned several classic 4 bangers. Slow, yeah, but they got me around mostly. I’ve never owned a full size truck, but have had the itch to own one at times. My first small truck was an 84 Chevrolet S-10 extended cab with a 6 cylinder and automatic trans back in the 90s. The transmission went out, and I had it rebuilt before selling eventually. My second small truck, believe it or not, was a 81 Ford Durango conversion (formerly Fairmont) 3.3L, auto. I picked up from a guy who acquired it at an estate sale. Due to the lack of living space/storage in track homes, I don’t have the luxury to keep vehicles in a barn so I sold it because of some attention that it needed. My current is a 81 El Camino, 350ci, th350. It runs good, and I have enjoyed it. The crazy thing about the 81 Ford Durango is a warning sticker on the door jam saying not to drive with tailgate in down position due to the lights not being visible! True. I bought a pull up machine, and had to haul it in my El Camino with the tailgate down due to the length. I wouldn’t be able to do that in the 81 Ford Durango without not having taillights visible! But other than that the 81 Ford Durango was a cool truck.
I had a 83 Charger 5 speed & loved it I would definitely drive that to car shows its cool & you do not see to many in that good of shape . Great unique car .
Take a good look at that engine, more like 248,000 miles!