Among half cars/half pickups, what our friends down under refer to as a “ute”, there has been the Ford Ranchero, Chevrolet El Camino, Subaru Brat, VW Rabbit Sports Truck, Dodge Rampage, and the Plymouth Scamp. And the Scamp, though basically a rebadged Rampage, is the rarest of the group as it was just a one year wonder. With that thought in mind, let’s take a look at this recently discovered 1983 example. It is located in Farmington, New Hampshire and is available here on eBay for a current bid of $3,750, reserve not yet met.
The “Scamp” name was originally used on a version of the Plymouth Valiant and then resurrected in ’83 for Plymouth’s version of the Rampage – a peculiar move as it was only for one year and not appreciably different than the Rampage. But that said, there was a standard Scamp and a Scamp “GT” and fortunately, this find is the less commonly seen GT model. The total ’83 Scamp production volume was a scant 3,500 units.
So, what does the GT designation get you? Mostly appearance items/graphics or standard features that were optional on the standard Scamp, things like a five-speed manual transmission and 14″ wheels. This Scamp presents itself well as the seller advises that this, originally from San Jose, California vehicle, has not seen winters, has been stored indoors, and has been well maintained. In spite of its 89K miles, the body, finish, and stripes look better than one would expect a 37-year-old vehicle to look. It’s hardly perfect but it has held up well. As for the cargo bed, it is in sound shape and is showing no evidence of corrosion or sizable dents.
The seller claims, “This scamp runs, drives, and stops as it should. It drives very well down the road” and that would be courtesy of its 2.2 liter, in-line-four-cylinder, 96 HP engine. And as noted earlier, this Scamp is equipped with the standard five-speed manual transaxle, though a three-speed automatic was available as an option. In spite of its modest 2,400 lb. curb weight, the Scamp was rated with a half-ton carrying capacity.
The interior of this Plymouth has replacement “newer” seats but the seller doesn’t mention if they are newer Scamp seats or from some other vehicle. From what can be seen, they look fine and fit well with the general character of this diminutive ute. Beyond that, the interior looks about how one would expect it to look, early ’80s Omni/Horizon standard fare.
While the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon were wildly popular cars in their day and did wonders to help stabilize ChryCo’s dire financial situation, they are generally not considered collectible or valuable cars. The sportier and turb0charged versions made news but mostly the vehicles were consigned to the everyday world of transporting their occupants among various regular points. The Rampage, and this Scamp, put a different twist on the matter by combining functionality with a fun factor. The reserve is unknown for this Plymouth, but assuming that it is reasonable, this Scamp GT could prove to be a worthwhile acquisition. So tell us, has anyone had any experience with a Scamp or its Dodge sibling?
Love the graphics on this. I’d source the drivetrain from an Omni GLH, swap it in, and build the factory performance ute Mopar didn’t
I have seen at least one turbo swapped on the internet and some maybe just the GLH wheels and front air dam from an 024 Omni.
I would do it like Mike did:
https://bangshift.com/bangshiftapex/sema-2019-arrington-performances-1984-dodge-rampage-all-the-stops-gone/
I remember reading about this! That might be one of the best vehicles to drop a Gen 3 Hemi in. A couple of months ago I saw a 1984 Rampage with a Gen 1 331 Hemi swapped in
I was present for the unveiling of Mike’s Rampage at SEMA last year; it drew quite a crowd. My ’65 Barracuda was on display a few cars over from Mike’s:
https://forgeline.com/customer-gallery/will-irby
Okay, now I’m just bragging.
Cute truck. Too bad they don’t make them anymore.
I recall a Chrysler executive being quoted as saying something along the lines of, once every swimming pool cleaner had one, there was no more market.
My Rampage was the best/worst vehicle I’ve ever owned.
Seats look like original-style Mopar L-body units. Can’t be that much newer since the all-vinyl option went away after 1986 and I don’t remember black being on offer much beyond ’83-4. Chrysler went big on two-tone interiors in the mid/late ’80s and the achromatic option was very light gray for seats, headliner and door cards with darker gray dash, console and carpets.
The Scamp decal is still in the 70’s font
$8885 on the windshield in one picture. Good luck with that.
My dad had an ’83 Rampage for several years, looked sharp in black with red pinstripe, machined-face turbine-style alloys, bed rails like those seen here, and a black vinyl tonneau cover. Did all the hauling duty he ever needed as a homeowner and volunteer church groundskeeper, meanwhile serving as a reasonably peppy and efficient, sharp-looking and -handling daily work commuter and household second vehicle.
If you are going to advertise a vehicle for sale, the very least you can do is make sure the images are correctly orientated. Why make a perspective buyer crane their neck in several directions to see the images? Pure laziness. C’mon, man!!
I’ve only ever seen one of these in the wild – And Plymouth was still an entity at the time. Add to it that I’ve always had a soft-spot for these, the rarity of Plymouth, the fantastic condition, and the fact that it is less than an hour from home base, and it makes a for a mighty-tempting carrot. Great write-up! Great Find!!
Only original once and these are seldom seen…hope the buyer does not take away that originality.
When i was in high school i was the lot boy at a local Dodge dealership and these, well the Dodge version and loads of the coupes where washed everyday.
They were incredibly cheap feeling as a brand new car i can only imagine the scarcity of survivors.
Why does the seller show a photo of the footwells revealing not one but TWO pedals missing their rubber faces? Hey pal, do a quick search on fleaBay and buy some cheap knockoff Chinese pads to bring that cockpit up a grade higher! It’ll do wonders for the next driver when they have their rain boots on.
Getting a little steep with the reserve still not met at 5100
You forgot the GMC Caballero. :-)
I had a 1984 Plymouth Turismo with 2.2 liter, 5 speed in it. Was a fun car to drive. Was called Spice brown with tan interior. Traded it on an 86 Horizon ( needed 4 doors) with the same set up. Also a pretty fun car to drive. The Horizon was Garnet with red interior. Another Plymouth that I had was an 81 Champ with the twin stick manual. For such a little car, it could scoot along really well. My brother said it reminded him of his old MGB. That little Champ got 44 MPG on a trip to Ohio to visit family. Good memories with them! I like this little Scamp– pretty cool and don’t see them around. Would be fun to take to a cruise night!
An early 80’s Champ is what my parents’ lawn guy drove. When I came home from college sometime in that period the fella threw me in the passenger seat and “showed me what it could do!” That was my first experience with a torquey FWD small car and it impressed me, having been stuck with clunky ‘Murican RWD cars up to that point. It took me another 30 years to get my first MG and I agree that’s the feeling I get with them, minus the torque-steer. Cheers.
We did indeed have one! Mechanically identical to this example. Did valiant duty as a daily driver and occasional hauler. Clutch cable broke once, and the computer had to be replaced, but we loved the thing. It did beautifully in the snow. We went from central Iowa to Kansas City and back in the middle of a serious Midwestern snowstorm once, and the baby truck never missed a step. We pretty much wore the thing out, and the rust demons did their share of damage along the way.
one of my faves. Like it as much as the Brat & 60s ranchero, FWD is the icing, the Omni might have been the 1st world car (that nominclature just coined) as tey were all over europe (different manafacturers) & even Japan (VW & Mutsu). Might go for the 2.2L in there tho…and as an exurbanite like the (4 speed) slushbx…
I just picked up a Scamp, 5 speed, with 119k miles (but, remember, the speedometer only has the ability to go to 99,999 miles). It does handle surprisingly well. And, doesn’t struggle with any hills. I do get a lot of questions due to its rarity.