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Lemons Entry: 1979 Plymouth Fire Arrow GT

1979 Plymouth Fire Arrow Gt

This budget beater may make a great entry to the 24 Hours of Lemons or maybe just a fun driver. It is based on the Mitsubishi Lancer Celeste, but was sold in the States as a Plymouth Fire Arrow GT. It is listed for sale in Portland Oregon here on craigslist with a firm asking price of $400.

Plymouth Fire Arrow Racing

The GT is the top of the model range and includes a 2.6 liter four cylinder connected five speed transmission with rear wheel drive. A few of these were raced in SCCA when new and they had one of the best power to weight ratios at the time so it might actually be fun to drive. The seller claims that the car has the factory paint and that it drives well. The title is missing, but the seller says that they have the paperwork filled out to get a new one. We would want to inspect the car for rust, but with an asking price of $400 you can’t be too picky.

Comments

  1. Avatar E

    Hi there, I actually know the owner of this car and she has it for sale still.It does run and drive but it leaks oil and does burn some as well. The exterior is not too bad at all and the interior does have wear and tear from many years of faithful service. She sent some additional photos which i would be happy to share and she would like to get $600 out of the car.The mileage counter is only 5 digits but she is guessing it has rolled over twice.If someone is looking for an excellent parts car or bringing this one back to its original glory, the price is definitely right.If interested send an email to firearrow1979@hotmail.comThanks

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  2. Avatar E

    It looks like the car has sold. Hopefully the new owner appreciates it as the last ones did. :-)

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  3. Avatar Mike

    I had one of these cars for about 2 years. I loved that little car and it pains me to think I sold it. Trying to find one is next to impossible. The 2.6 litre was one hell of an engine. I would love to be able to find one and restore it.

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  4. Avatar Pat Calhoun

    I had one and it was a blast to drive fast. Some idiot flew into my yard drunk and totaled it so I stuffed the motor in a Plymouth Champ with the dual range tranny and that little sucker made me alot of money…. :)

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  5. Avatar Cal

    There’s more to the story. I bought an identical car from a gal for $300 about 17 years ago. She had lost the title and after hassling her for six months to apply for a replacement I gave up. The car was nice-looking on the outside and the interior was in okay shape, but the engine had serious compression issues and kept fouling one of the cylinders. I ended selling it for $500 as-is.

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  6. Avatar Mike

    Too Bad, I would have bought it from you. See my tears?

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  7. Avatar joe haynes

    Yes. I had a standard Plymouth Arrow. I was restoring mine in 1983 when a drunk plowed into it. Before that I had blown the engine. I had mistakenly bought a replacement engine from Japan. (Steering wheel on the wrong side) The parts dude was wonderful. He replaced it with a 2.8. When they put that in they cracked the tranny bell. They replaced the tranny. Then of course they had to change the exhaust system and headers to accomodate the bigger engine. It WAS a BEAST before it got nailed by an uninsured driver.

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  8. Avatar PETE

    It’s funny, I bought a fire arrow a few months ago, I replaced the battery the alternater and the starter, and now it runs like a champ. Thought id check online for some info and it turns out the pictures at the top of this page are of the EXACT car I bought for $320. Happy days. I know this because of the aftermarket carb and air filter…that is my car :-)

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  9. Avatar Barn Finds

    Thanks for sharing Pete! Please create a thread on the forum to keep us all updated on the car’s progress.

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  10. Avatar rex

    My parents had a blue and white arrow gt in 79. I drove it for a few years after. Might sound silly but I would love have another one. I remember the day I got the keys the drove home in a new arrow truck that looked like a bumble bee

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  11. Avatar rex

    I’m now officially looking to buy one. The closer to Ohio the better I have no idea how to buy long distance or how to arrange shipping so any help would be greatly appreciated.

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  12. Avatar David meichelbock77

    Too cool my mom bought an aero GS she called it her grandma’s scotter it was a good little car the paint was terrible do I took spray cans &repainted it it was a cool car I would tease her that I was going to drop a 340 six pack in it she would look at me and say not in my grandma’s scooter you won’t lol

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  13. Avatar Mike

    I had a brand new 1979 Fire Arrow…needed to blow off my brothers 1978 Dodge Challenger, also with the 2.6 four banger but the Fire Arrow was a lot lighter and left him in the dust…that’s all i got to say about that….

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  14. Avatar Marc

    That car 54 in the picture is mine. We circle tracked Arrows and Fire Arrows for over 10 years .

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  15. Avatar JAX

    I had a 78 Arrow Jet I bought new. That one got stolen in NYC February of 1980. A number of years later I spotted an 80 Arrow coupe on a dealer lot. Light blue, 1600 cc like new condition .. I think it had 13k miles on it … snatched that one up for $3600. Had it 4 years and traded it in on an 88 Chevy Beretta. Dealer gave me $3300 for the trade. That car was still in like new condition. If I had known how rare those cars would become there’s no way I would have traded the second one. Today … I’d trade my 2014 Silverado LTZ for either one of those cars .. Provided they were still in like new codition :) Absolutely love those Arrows!

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  16. Avatar Gary

    Wow this brings back memories. I had a ’79 Fire Arrow, bought it around ’86 for $950. It was my main transportation for a few years. It finally began to have too many issues to deal with and think I sold it for $300, it was still running but I should have held on to it along with a few of my previous cars, 67′ Firebird 400, 66 Lemans convertible, 69 fastback Barracuda. I bought a 82 Dodge Challenger the imported model after I sold the arrow with what I can remember it had a 1.4 or 1.6 Liter engine. 0-60 in about 5 minutes wow what a crappy car. Only if we knew and wise enough to keep the old ones.

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  17. Avatar JL

    I have a 77 Arrow GT. My wife bought it from the original owner for $650 with 28,000 original miles on it and we drove it home. Its a beautiful car. It has the 1.6 with a 5 speed and handles like a go cart. We have been offered $6000 for it by a collector that had one for a first car. We’ll never sell it. I’m too young to remember the originals but I know what we have. It is impossible to find parts for though so we bought an old Mustang to cruise around in and parked the Arrow.

    Like 2
  18. Avatar Paul kirby

    Hello my name’s Paul how just going to looking at some old cars and found this arrow here which I happen to have an old when my self and was curious if you still had it and might have it for sale or if you know who does have it now I if yet any info for me can to me back a text or email thank you sir

    Like 0

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