The other evening I was reading Paul’s post about the 1983 Dodge Rampage he ran across and the apparent rebirth of the small truck market. In that post he mentioned that the already short-lived Rampage had a corporate Doppelgänger, the Plymouth Scamp, that was offered for one year only. And then he said good luck finding one of those….Well! My digital archives run deep, so deep they put…eh, never mind that, anyway, in the depths of my archives is in fact a Plymouth Scamp I found a while back which I texted him pictures of, and it was the even rarer GT version to boot. Since it had already poked its little head up, let’s just give it its day in the morning sun for everyone to enjoy.
I came across this little nugget in the northeastern plains area of Colorado and considering the production numbers it was likely the only one for hundreds of miles around even when new. The Scamp, which was only offered for 1983 (as opposed to its corporate cousin that rampaged across the country Dodge dealerships from 1982-1984) only sold a total number of 3564 times (so less than ten sold nationwide every day of the model year) and of those, about a third (1380) were GT models.
The Scamp name obviously has history as a sportier version of the Plymouth Valiant, and I suppose Plymouth decided that it was as good a name as any to use for its version of the Dodge Rampage. The GT is at its root more of a tape stripe job rather than adding any real performance but hey, why not, if the people want to spend more, let them.
I won’t rehash the whole Rampage story, but of course the truck is based on the Omnirizon twins, and more specifically their sportier off-shoots, the Dodge Omni 024 and Charger, as well as the Plymouth TC3 and Turismo; Mopar wasn’t content to just change names between generations, at that time they did it DURING a generation even. Some pride and commitment there, eh?
The cars/trucks were all front wheel drive with a transverse engine, but the Scamp GT did get that sign of automotive virility, the hood scoop. This one here seems to have unfortunately gotten the Lorena Bobbitt treatment, and while I looked for the missing member near the car’s surroundings, I came up emptyhanded. Still, look at that semi-virginal paintwork compared to the rest of the hood, while the scoop didn’t actually bring any air to the engine, it did at least attempt to drape itself over as much hood as possible.
294 Scamp GTs were painted Formal Black like this one, making it the second most common color after Crimson Red (706) and ahead of Charcoal Gray (194) and Silver Crystal (160). Undercoating was only applied to 179 GTs, so if that’s the “TruCoat”, then perhaps they DO indeed put that on at the factory but it does appear to have been optional. Oh, and two people skipped the tape stripes!
Underhood is the in this case standard 2.2l inline four, same as the biggest option in the passenger cars, producing somewhere between 85 and 99hp (the brochure doesn’t seem to mention it and the ratings bounced around a bit in those years). The AC was an option chosen by 620 Scamp GT buyers, a higher percentage than of Scamps in general.
I find myself a bigger fan of the Omnirizon these days than back then, and I know I looked down on my first college roommate’s Plymouth Turismo (or was it an Omni 024?) in 1987 (oh, I was a snob!), but time heals some wounds, and perhaps fosters some forgiveness as well. I still don’t think I would have stumped up for a Scamp (or a Rampage) back then though but then again I didn’t enjoy El Caminos and Rancheros either until more recently. Still, if it were my money I’d have headed to Toyota or Nissan (or perhaps Mazda or Mitsubishi?) for a more traditional little truck.
This one does sport the relatively rare alloy wheel package, chosen 308 times for the GT and a mere 59 times on the Scamp. Were these used anywhere else? Mighty rare if not. And the 14″ Goodyear Invicta GA tires show that someone was at least buying a decent name brand tire for their car towards the end.
The downside of a low bedside with a shallow 15″ depth is of course that any passerby can see what’s in there and avail themselves of it if they are so inclined, so a topper like this was a worthy investment, I suppose. The higher roof helps create more load space too.
All the better to preserve dirt, wood chips and apparently dozens of pounds of mouse turds. The bed doesn’t look rusted through though, and the upper tailgate edge shows that there were clearly lots of loads going in and out over its time on the road. Box length is a little over five feet so not super capacious in that regard, but payload is a generous 1100 pounds, so a genuine half-tonner.
But enough of the dirty bits, let’s check out the accommodations! Yes, again pretty much the same as its progenitors, and more indications that this was a pretty loaded up example. Only 175 GTs got the black and silver seats, the rest were black and red, and there are some other goodies in here as well.
At least the Scamp has a little bit of an extended cab design, allowing the seats to recline somewhat into the shallow space behind. The highbacks look a little marshmallowy for “sporty” intentions, but it could be far worse, there doesn’t seem to be any Iacocca influence whatsoever.
Here’s behind the seats, a handy little storage shelf, surprisingly plush carpeting, and perhaps enough space to maybe jam a small kid or two back there for trips lasting no more than a few hours. Hey, it was a different time, ask anybody who was a kid in a Beetle owning family what their favorite space in the car was!
The GT got a standard tachometer whose numerals almost mirror those of the speedometer which is a bit unfortunate and probably confused at least several urban cowboys after one too many Michelobs. It’s nice to have a clock too, very Mercedes-esque there (foreshadowing the merger of equals?), but while there’s an ammeter of all things and what must be the fuel gauge sort of hidden to the upper left of the clock, there seems to be nary a temperature gauge nor an oil pressure gauge of any sort, both items I’d be looking for in anything marked (or marketed) as a “GT”.
The shift knob creates a bit of a mystery as the regular Scamp could be had with a four speed, however the GT was either a three speed automatic OR a five speed manual. I didn’t row through the box to find out what this actually was, so it’ll remain a mystery I suppose, still, it’s an odd fly in the ointment. In any case, the manual was chosen over the automatic about 3:1 on the GT.
That’s the fancy radio too, with the cassette player, only chosen by 254 GT buyers, with the others choosing one of the other three radio-only options, the blanking plate without any radio was only offered to regular Scampers of whom almost half chose to go without!
And look, it even had the original documentation and manual still in the car.
So there you go, Paul, a Scamp (and a GT at that) just for you, take a close look at the rear, because while this one was there for me to find I too doubt that there’ll be more opportunities to do so going forward!
(And a special thanks to TurbineCar.com for compiling and making available the production number information.)
Related Reading:
Junkyard Classic: 1983 Dodge Rampage – It Can Haul 1145 Pounds Of Hantavirus
Only 36000 miles? And given the pristine nature of the manual and documentation package, I believe that. This Scamp must have suffered some kind of calamity. Low miles, but clearly parked out in the elements for many years.
I can’t say that I’ve ever seen one of these on the road. Particularly with that oh-so-80s cap, this is kind of endearing.
More likely 136k miles? Or even 236k miles? We shall never know.
Are those taillights melted?
Interesting.
Sounds quite rare, but it didnt survive something, it does appear to be fairly complete, I’ll never see another thats for sure.
In 1983 I was quite enamoured with the Rampage. I must admit I’ve not heard of the Scamp before today.
In my 16 year old mind it was perfect, with the cap on the back I could live in there and inexpensively travel all over North America. Like most of my teenage plans that went nowhere but I still have a soft spot for these. Very low miles and decent condition, perhaps some calamity happened to the owner rather than the vehicle and it was parked for a long time.
One detail that still bugs me is the wide arm for the clutch pedal, looks very odd next to the slim brake pedal.
The wide arm on the clutch pedal houses the clutch cable adjuster mechanism.
The Gilmore’s Mopar show had a particularly good turnout of L bodies in 2015, including this Scamp.
I remember when these were new. As an owner of a 1971 Scamp at the time, I of course paid attention. I also noticed that Chrysler had recycled the Scamp nameplate on the tailgate from the 1973-76 Valiant-based version. I was always kind of jealous of that metal Scamp badge, because those of us with the 1971-72 cars had to make do with a decal. Who knows, did Chrysler have a bunch of badges stacked up in a warehouse somewhere and came up with this variant of the Rampage as a way to get rid of them?
My mother owned a 1980 Horizon sedan at the time, and I always thought that the TC3/024 version of the car was a nicely done runabout – far, far nicer than a Chevette or Pinto that were still the options at the high-volume dealers.
Here it is!
I have never seen one with my eyes, but it looks pleasing enough. Perhaps the market for small 2 seat ‘utes just wasn’t there? A Ford Ranger or a Chevy S-10 had similar starting prices and were more “truck” even though not bigger, and of course there were the Japanese as well
Much rather have an El Camino and all the a-body/g-body goodness. Since it was an old design from the 70s it was from back when GM still knew how to make a good car. Im sure an El Camino was a lot more $$$$ though. And Toyota had a new truck for 1984 as well, the extra cab was a new option.
Lots of competition in that segment, even Chrysler would sell you a
Mitsubishi truck at the same dealer
I would make a big hole (pass-tru) between the cabin and the topper without remorse, to make myself a vehicle as reliable as a Promaster City… almost as.
I bought my first pickup in 1983 and briefly considered one of these (though more likely a Rampage) before buying a used Datsun. The extended cab and 4wd tipped the Datsun in my favor. Plus my wallet wasn’t quite up for a new vehicle. Over 40 years later I’m still driving a long roof Japanese BOF 4WD pickup and I still find these, Rabbit pickups and El Camino’s very appealing.
I should have known; is there anything that hasn’t appeared in this mythical outdoor museum of automotive obscurities? And a GT at that, and with the mysterious 4-speed delete option too. You’re a scamp!
Not surprisingly, those alloy wheels were also available on the Plymouth Turismo.
Now how about a Renault 12?
I should have known; is there anything that hasn’t appeared in this mythical outdoor museum of automotive obscurities? And a GT at that, and with the mysterious 4-speed delete option too.
Paul, I’m not sure if you are referring to the junkyard in the OP, or the Gilmore.
Now how about a Renault 12?
Coincidentally, the Gilmore did have a French car owner’s meetup a couple weeks ago. Only one Renault, an 87 Alliance covert. No Pugs. But 6 Citroens. I don’t recall now why Ben didn’t bring his Dyane.there.
But, Michigan does not come up entirely empty in your quest for an R12. This Dacia is currently on offer in Ypsilani. Ypsilanti is where we visited the small Hudson/Kaiser/Corvair museum, during the meetup in 2017.
I love this! And the production number information is terrific.
I don’t know how many other Omnirizons had that dashboard configuration, but those gauges sure look odd – between the unusual graphics, and the tach marked off in tens… sure looks weird.
I’ve seen those wheels on a Dodge 600. Interchange says also Chrysler Lebaron.
Fit a small child back there. Reminds me of 1979 when my parents, 3 year old me, and my baby sister went from Michigan to Colorado and back in an El Camino. Different times back then.
Good call on the wheels. Looks like they’re all there and in good shape, so would make a nice find for someone wanting to keep their 1st gen Lebaron survivor all OEM.
Another thing I thought of, is these wheels seem to have a similar vibe to those on VWs of the time. Considering the Omnirizon/Scrampage similarities and competition to VW, I wonder if this is more than coincidence.
The wheels were used on the 600ES or E-Class sedans too.
The thing I remember most about the Rampage (and, by extension, the short-lived Scamp) is they came out at the same time as the Rabbit pickup, which would seem to have been the only competition. It might have been a good idea during the high run-up of gas prices in the early eighties, but once that subsided, well, no one wanted a tiny, uncomfortable, subcompact, ersatz pickup. Kind of strange, considering how the way more conventional Ranger and S-10 did quite well in comparison. I guess RWD just trumped better fuel mileage FWD.
The truly fascinating thing is how history is soon to repeat itself (maybe?) with the upcoming, small, regular cab Slate EV pickup. I have my doubts as to whether it will be anymore successful, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
I bought my 1989 Omni with no radio, but that wasn’t because I didn’t want some tunes. Back in those days, one could get a much better radio than OEM from the likes of Pioneer or Kenwood for less money than the factory radios. Lots of folks bought cars and trucks with no radio, entirely with the intention of installing something better.
Those places are still around, but they seem to now be focused on those damn, extreme bass subwoofers and speakers you can hear from blocks away, along with branching out into other automotive frou-frou like wraps, window tint, running boards, double-dub wheels, etc.
You-knee-CORN! Just, wow. No wonder someone had held onto it for so long before it ended up here.
It’s interesting to read that Crimson Red was the most popular color, as it’s the one I most associate with these little Chrysler L-body trucklets.
I’m glad this one got some time in the annals of CC!
Nice find .
Yes, the taillights melted .
I don’t see any rust out, maybe this one was in Eastern Colorado .
-Nate
I wonder if it was like the interior lamp in my Ramcharger. The contacts got real dirty and I had the rear hatch open for a while, working on a friend’s car and it started to melt the lamp cover from the heat.
Handy, fun and unique little vehicles. My ‘83 Rampage has 28,000 original miles, has a Mopar Direct Connection supercharger and serves regular pickup duties.
My Volare based 88? Fifth Ave also had a lone voltage gauge in the four round mini pods to the left of the larger fuel and speed dials. It was in the lower half without a warning light thus useless, until you finally looked at only when the battery died. The upper two were oil and temp warning lights and a switch was inserted in the remaining lower one for the rear defrost (I think- maybe power antenna.)
Other Mopars for seeming decades had the lone amp guage sans temp or oil guages sometimes, often placed anywhere randomly I recall. My Fifth Ave was loaded, so I doubt there was a proper full guage package offered.
I have always loved these little trucks. Interestingly, I mentioned them to a coworker and his father briefly owned one. His dad (A union factory supervisor) I gather, had a bad habit of impulse buying expensive things thanks to dirt cheap loans from the union only credit union. After the gas shortage of 79 he had bought a VW caddy pickup, but a few years later being a Mopar guy he bought a Scamp on his way home from work one night (a scamp because they offered a better trade in on the VW than the Dodge dealer). My coworker was slightly annoyed by this because he had wanted the VW as he was a teenager at the time. Apparently, his Dad liked the Scamp even less than the VW because he traded it in a 2wd slant six full size ram a year later. I gather the Ram stayed for a while as he had owed quite a bit on the scamp over what they gave him on trade. But he kept buying new cars somewhat at random for the rest of his life.