Vehicle Description
Despite its high-visibility paint and stripes, the guy who built
this 1972 Plymouth Scamp didn't want to tell everyone all his
secrets up front, and it is, indeed, more than meets the eye. This
is a fun street cruiser with a lot of smart upgrades, all designed
to make it both a joy to drive and to show.
Chrysler engineers were clever guys and they knew that to keep
performance alive, they had to downsize the cars to match the
downsized engines. That's the idea behind this cool little Scamp,
because taking weight out is the same as putting horsepower in. The
good news is that this car was treated to a restoration that's all
out of line with its modest price tag. TheThe fresh Rallye Red
paint sure isn't subtle, but is the original color to the car, and
it give the car a tough look that's pure Mopar tradition, right
down to the bumblebee stripe around the tail. Fit and finish on the
original body panels are pretty darned good and those black stripes
were painted on and buried under the clear, so it really has a
slick look. Nice chrome and stainless trim accentuates the bright
red paint, so it looks like the factory intended, and the black
vinyl hardtop gives it an upscale look that belies its price tag.
Add in a few whimsical Scamp badges that were all part of Mopar's
fun marketing and you get a car that gets just about everything
right.
They did a pretty good job of disguising the Scamp's economy car
roots inside, where you'll find a bench seat doing a decent
impression of buckets, with two high backrests with their own
headrests. Remarkably, the vinyl upholstery is almost entirely
original except the dash pad, and it's in remarkably good shape
considering that it's more than 40 years old. The factory gauges
give you a remarkably good look at the engine's vitals and the
original woodgrained dash is in good condition with minimal fading.
The original AM radio is still in the dash, and it's probably due
for an upgrade, and this car carries factory A/C under the dash,
which is always a nice find in a modestly priced car like this (the
system needs to be serviced). Heavy-duty floor mats protect the
carpets, which are probably a bit too nice to be original, and the
trunk is outfitted with original mats plus a red and black mat for
a little extra detail.
Most Scamps came with a slant-6, but this one sports a 318 cubic
inch V8 that's been heavily fortified with the good stuff. At a
glance, it might look pretty stock, but under that open-element air
cleaner there's a 4-barrel carburetor on an Edelbrock intake
manifold, electronic ignition, and a mild street cam inside gives
it a bit of an intimidating idle. Stock exhaust manifolds feed a
great-sounding Flowmaster dual exhaust system, so there's no hiding
that this car has got some horsepower. The 3-speed automatic
transmission feeds the stock rear end, so it's friendly on the
highway and pretty good on fuel, too. The stance is exactly right,
too, featuring handsome Rallye wheels carrying 215/60/14 front and
245/60/14 rear BFGoodrich T/A radials.
Affordable performance defined the Scamp then and now, and this one
packs one heck of a lot of go for not a lot of dough. Call now!
