What fun is this! Why drive around in a Ranchero or an El Camino when you could drive a Dodge Rampage! The Rampage is a coupe utility – the vehicular equivalent of a Centaur, with a car up front and a truck behind. But this Dodge is no Greek myth; in fact, Chrysler let Plymouth have its own version, called the Scamp. Both versions are rare, with the Rampage in production for just three years (1982 – 1984), and the Scamp made only in 1983. Survivors are even rarer, and survivors in good condition are nearly unheard of. This one-owner 1983 Rampage is offered here on facebook Marketplace for $15,000. The original owner has passed away, thus the sale; it’s currently garaged at Beautiful Buds Bait Shop in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Thanks to Sam61 for the tip – keep them coming!
The Rampage shared Chrysler’s compact L platform with the Omni and Charger – lengthened by a few inches to accommodate the pickup bed. It’s an honest half-ton truck, capable of hauling about 1145 lbs – slowly. Powered by a 90 hp 2.2 liter four-cylinder, the Rampage wasn’t really up to rampaging anywhere, particularly when equipped with the automatic transmission. But gas mileage wasn’t obnoxious – an important factor since our economy was recovering from a nasty recession in 1982 – and the little truck’s dual nature was appreciated by at least 37k souls who ponied up the $7000 sticker price back in the day. Those sales figures, by the way, were less than half the number of El Caminos leaving showrooms.
The Prospector package got you decals, wheel trim, and special upholstery. The Rampage was a full-featured offering, with cruise control, air conditioning, a power mirror, and bucket seats. Its size sat between the gas-guzzling El Camino (favored in the market despite its profligate ways), and the Subaru Brat. Despite this truck’s 103,400 miles, it’s been well-kept.
The owner ticked a bunch of option boxes when he ordered his Rampage, opting for the faux hood scoop and “fender exhausters” on each front fender. The chunky wheels are original. This survivor is in impressive condition, but is it worth the price? As much as I’m a fan of orphans, it’s hard to accept a mid-teens price tag on a Dodge Rampage, even in survivor condition. This driver-quality example found a new home for just $3350 a few months ago – and it’s a four-speed. Have any of you owned a Rampage? Let us know in the comments section.
Love this model. Always have.
Same here. I’ve always wanted one with a stick. I thought Chrysler did a good job designing them and never really understood why they didn’t sell more.
It’s a cool looking car/truck, great graphics is the highlight. Price is probably aggressive, if the seller wants to get paid why didn’t he put it on lift clearly visible sitting next to it in the last picture?
Steve R
I can concour Steve R, If you can ask for the five figures, lift the skirt up.
Beautiful Bud’s Bait Shop sounds quirkier than the Rampage….
15k with a dog auto ? 10k is more like it , I drove both a manual and auto version, stick made it enjoyable auto killed it , still a handy vehicle though,as long as you stay of the freeway
This is a car I never knew how much I would miss
In my youth in the mid to late 80’s and high gas prices here in Quebec they were decently popular along with the Volks version. To this day i still say Chrysler could have kept it on the line up even on a special order and slowly improved it. Efi was on the corner as was turbo. A 2.2 Turbo with a suspension derived from the Lazer/Daytona would have made it a killer on the sales chart.
Or find a torn up GLHS and do a drivetrain/suspension swap? 👍🏻
The seat covers in this are reminiscent of something British..
That’s kind of what I was thinking. A turbo engine at least, but the GLHS powertrain would be the pinnacle
Currently own one and I want what he’s smoking for that price. $3350 to $15000?
Nice write up. What a unicorn! Looks squeaky clean too! Emblematic automibile of the day. Steep on the ask IMO. Hope someone buys and cherishes this ‘lil gem.
I had the Scamp version, more specifically the Scamp GT – dark red with a stripe decor package. It was a four speed and I loved the darn thing. Hauled firewood and about anything I needed to. Sadly it was in the process of rusting to death when the transaxle imploded leaving me with a potential repair bill larger than I was willing or able to cough up. Oh well.
I consider the Rampage, with the 2.2l and 4-speed, one of the best end-of-the-world vehicles made. Commonplace drivetrain, reasonably frugal, able to be push-started, FWD, and capable of hauling a pretty decent load of food/materials.
This one looks like it’s in great shape, but the automatic transaxle (and exorbitant asking price) would prevent me from purchasing it, if it was near me. Nice vehicle, though, I’d love to drool over it at a show’n’shine.
I own one since 2020, ’83 Prospector Edition, imported from Pennsylvania to France !! Now in very good condition after a complete restoration, maybe the only one in France !!
Benoit Dalla Gasperina
Had a 1983 scamp GT 4speed in the late eighties. Great little truck. I hauled a lot of stuff in it. Ran well looked sharp, had the hard factory bed cover. Sadly, I sold it for a different vehicle. Sold it back to original owner with 100K plus, still running and looking good.
I test drove a manual gear box version and liked it alot. BUT, I was planning on a move west and the bed would not haul enough. (Size wise) I’m a sucker for a good looking UTE (I own a Ford Durango) and would still like one of these. (Manual gear box only please)
I don’t think the Rampage offered power mirrors.
I’ve owned a lot of diffrent vehicles in my time. The best handling of them all was my 1983 Dodge Rampage 2.2, 4 speed. I drove between 80 & 100 mph on the highway all the time. Never slowed down for any kind of weather. It went through snow better than my Jeeps and my 4×4 pickup trucks. Mine was black and had a cap on the back. It looked a lot like a mini hearst.
Weak points? The shifter had cable to transmission linkage. So, no power shifting. The filler only accepted gas at a slow pace, so getting gas in winter was torture. It was fairly peppy but certainly no drag racer. It got 30 mph all the time even at 100 mph. I finally sold it when the A pillar rusted out in 1989.
Chrysler should have offered the L platform with a FI balanced 2.5. What a great car that would have been. The 2.2s were okay (esp after FI) but lacked the pull and smoothness of those 2.5s. A car like that would have never needed a turbo, esp with a 5 speed. (though I agree, the shift linkage was pretty horrible. Honda should have sold them those.)
Rod shift upgrade kit to replace cables was available.
I had a Plymouth Scamp, dark grey metallic paint with a red interior and the manual transmission. Loved the concept and design but the Chrysler poor quality control issues were too much. The engine electronics were constantly replaced, steering wheel would exfoliate, back glass would leak among other issues. Ha, I named the car after the dealer because it spent so much time there!
Worst vehicle ever made. That was Chrysler’s big mistake, especially with a VW powertrain made it even worse.
VW powertrain? I thought the 2.2l was home-grown, or Japanese. Wasn’t Chrysler in cahoots with, I think, Mitsubishi at the time, to claw it’s way back to solvency?
Yup, all of these (including the ’83-only Scamp variant) came with the Chrysler 2.2L they developed in-house for the K-cars. Only the ’78-83 Omnirizons offered the 1.7L VW mill.
In fact, for a year or two the base came with a French 1.6 liter. Fitting I guess, as the L platform was a French design. PZ, an awful lot of people would not agree with you. In the 80s and 90s, they were everywhere. A cheap reliable car with good MPG. Sometimes you are only looking for transportation.
A couple of weeks ago, I saw this vehicle’s contemporary on I20, just west of Atlanta.
It was a Volkswagen Rabbit pickup truck – and a diesel to boot! He was tooling along okay in it, but you get a good idea how small and low these actually are when compared to the super trucks and SUVs on the highway today.
Thats a very true statement @ PRA4SNW. Heck you park a true 1 ton pick up from the 70s next to one built today and its totally dwarfed. But back then, they were large pickups for their time. The pickups from VW and these and even the old Toyotas Datsuns and Mitsubishis are rather small for todays vehicles on the roads now.
My daily driver is a Ford Expedition which I always think of as huge, but yesterday it was parked next to a new Dodge Ram truck and it looked like a bugeye next to a Rolls Royce. I kind of can’t believe how big trucks have become these days.
Heck, today’s “midsize” pickups are closer in dimensions to ’70s full-size pickups than to the original midsize Dakota and Comanche.
I too owned a Scamp. Gold with a 2.2 and 4speed. Got 30 miles per gallon no matter how you abused it. Later, after the four-speed got stuck in reverse I replaced it with a five speed from an Omni horizon. Junkyard didnt know the difference as 5th was little bump on end of tranny. Best $75 I ever spent. Now it would fly. Beds were galvanized. Got yelled at when hauling landscape stone when I had a ton in back. Pre load on scale 2200 pounds. Exiting 4200 on scale. Front wheels were light on pavement. I’d pay 4-5k for this one max. Then find 5 speed
why did you replace the 4 speed with a 5 speed, could you have fixed the 4 speed ?
We had one–a Scamp– and loved it until the computer and carburetor started acting up all the time. While we had it, we put many miles on it, some of them in heavy Midwestern snow. We did enjoy the 4-speed!
I have a 82 charger 2.2 that is a project that I am thinking of selling for $900 has a clear title 30K and is a Arizona car NO RUST, any interest contact me,