Guys,

I found this today on craigslist and I'm kinda attracted by it. Burkburnett, TX is 25min south and I feel like going there next week. What do you think so far? Wasn't the 340 the max. factory engine for this car? Kinda looks like a Dart Swinger to me...

Anyone had one here as youngster? Any known problem zones?



1971 PLYMOUTH SCAMP 2DR

I appreciate you guys

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Jorge

my high school history teacher had one of those,we all thought it was kinda a whimpy little car till he blew the socks off of some of our hot rodders

I see you can drive this one with handcuffs pedro!

318, 340, and 360 is all the same block size. I don't recall those coming with a 360...but I could be wrong on that. After all these years, somebody could have swapped the engine out. Good looking car though, at least from that picture.

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'Merica!

"Any known problem zones?" Other than it's a Plymouth?? and it's called a Scamp?? Find a Duster logo and put that on it,

Actually I like it also.

A friend in HS, his Dad owned a Chrysler dealership and that rotten kid got a new demo car like every other week We go to ride in all of them. I like the Duster and of course the hotter Chargers, Challengers etc.

I bet the Scamp scoots with that engine, pictures looks nice but can never tell until you are up close with a magnet.

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Still Running Against the Wind

All Dodge and Plymouth "A Bodies" Tend to rust out under the vinyl where the roof is attached. I think it was the bondo they used as apposed to lead.

Most parts are interchangeable. For example, I got an AC out of a Dart for my '69 Barracuda.

Fun little cars with a Small Block. 318 340 360. 340 being the best because of the heads. These days you can get aftermarket heads and really wake any one of them up.

That one looks clean from your pic. Check the B pillar from the trunk to see if its been redone. If it has don't bother with it.

One more thing, As you know I live in Fl. and the humidity rots them from the inside out. If its an orig. Tx car it might stand a better chance.

I really loved that little B-Cuda.

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Dum vivo cano

Hell hath no Fury like a second hand Plymouth.

225 slant six, a peppy 318 V8, and a peppier 340 V8. I had the Dodge version with a 225 slant six. It had very little power and was not very efficient. The 340 came with beefed up suspension, graphics and some other stuff that made it fun to drive. I'm guessing the one pictured is a slant six or 318.

The 360 was the smog engine that came out later but is still an LA series. Bigger cubes but the worst heads.

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Dum vivo cano

I was never a Mopar man, but 1971 was pretty much the last year before the government emasculated them. If this has the original engine my expectation is it would have high compression and a big cam. This could be a fun muscle car at an affordable price. IMHO it is worth more if the engine is an original engine than if it was someone's budget econocar that later had a big engine transplanted.

According to Wikipedia, they never put the 360 in a 1971 Scamp, so this was probably someone's "go fast toy"

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Luke 22:36

My Dad had a '70 Dart that I hoped to inherit;unfortunately my older sister got there first. I ended up with a "66 Falcon as my first car. It was light on gas, though. It had these weird vacuum operated or assisted windshield wipers...the faster you went, the faster the wipers cycled.

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Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

I had the Dodge Dart version of that car with the 340 Magnum, back in the day.

Yours is listed with a 360, but I don't think they came with a 360 in '71.

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Death? Smile back...

had a 69 dart swinger with a 340,4speed,sure grip with 4.11 gears. was a fun car, but would break down on thursday night and then no car for the weekend. had it less than a year. ran great when it ran.

If it has an early smog engine I would run away. Those first systems were a nightmare. The sure only way around it is to do a "restification" with a modern motor with fuel injection.

Thanks for all your answers so far guys, I appreciate it.

Would you please be a bit more specific? What is the issue with the heads?


Yeah, I don't think so. I thought it might be a nice ride for the sunny weekends for that budget. I certainly don't want to invest a bunch of $ in that kind of vehicle.

I still plan on building my idea of MAKO1 which is supposed to get a fuel injected engine.

Perhaps I just pass on any extra (or luxury) item and put the money in the MAKO1 pot... dangit... I don't know...

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Jorge

1971 Plymouth Valiant | Hagerty ? Classic Car Price Guide

Now I do know squat about the engines and years but FIW Wik shows the biggest engine for that year as the 340, which I recall in the Duster.

Plymouth Valiant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Still Running Against the Wind

Two things,

They lowered the compression and reduced the flow in an effort to appease. It's still the same block. They can be turned to beast but you're gonna have to do a little more work. Honestly, If it's a 360 and it hasn't been messed with it ought to scoot along pretty well.

I'd worry more about the body. The power train can be done to any level you desire. New vinyl scares me.

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Dum vivo cano

My sister in law had one the same as in the photo and my mother drove a Dart Sport which is the same thing. The 340 with a four barrel was the largest engine in those. They were/are terrific cars and very reliable. Problems started in later models.

Fixed it for you.
I remember the vacuum wipers well.

I just saw the link. I'd pass at that price. Go find a stock one with a 318 and AC and build it to your specks. Even the 318 can be fast.

Did I mention AC? I was stationed at Ft.Sill.

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Dum vivo cano

Actually there was the Dart GTS with the 383 big block in it. A result of the legendary Mr. Norm and his minions at Grand Spaulding.
Chrysler said you couldn't put a big block in an A body, Mr. Norm responded,"My mechanics just did!" Photos were sent, Chetsler engineers came down and the rest was history!
Also there was a GSS with the 440 and the HEMI version, I forget the name.
A bodies are sleepers, and still affordable. There was a "Six Pack" version of the 340 as well and was available in the Dart Swinger and Demon. These are cool little Mopars! Dale

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"Long live the S&W 3rd. Gen.!"

The 318s and 340s made the Darts, Demons, and Dusters rev and run nicely. Most of the 360s found their way into AMCs, although I seem to recall an early '70s Satellite with a stock 360. If the body is solid, and you're not worried about originality, the car outfitted with a solid crate motor should be fun to tool around in.

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I'm with the banned ...

I had a '71 Dodge Dart Swinger with that wicked little 340 in it. It looked cool, the girls loved it an it was the fastest car I've ever owned.
But I also spent more time fixing it than I did driving it. Made me swear off Chrysler products forever.

Had a 70 Duster with the 340 and it was the worst vehicle I've ever owned.

This is completely irrelevant but i remember trying to talk my dad into getting me a 69 2dr convertible Bonneville. It had the original engine (forget the size) and the top and interior were redone. Could have benefited from a new paint job. Asking price was $3k. This was back in 98! Instead i got a 94 Chrysler Eagle Talon, a copy of the Mitsubishi Eclipse. Dont get me wrong i was just happy to have a car but those 60s and 70s cars always called to me!

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Here's a little on the LA history. Looks accurate enough to me.

Chrysler LA engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Dum vivo cano

I had a 71 Dart Swinger with a 318 and 2:73 gears. I would eat the local kids and their Mustang 5.0's alive. They would take off and spin while I wouldn't and by the time their tires caught I was long gone. It also cornered like a cat and someone factory ordered it with 10 inch drums all around so when you wanted to stop, you stopped. Check the torsion bars up front in the engine bay, when they went they would go right through the inner fenderwell. A little old lady had one with a slant 6 that did that. Mine was originally Plum Crazy with a black vinyl top and black stripe before the guy repainted it. One of the few cars I owned I want back. Some kid on a bike pulled out in front of me and I put it on its driver side and tore the unibody. I could not afford to fix that much damage. I would love another someday.

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Vaya con Dios

I seem to recall that the early 1970s Dodges wouldnt start when it rained...

The slant sixes had a high idle of around 3000rpm and wouldnt kick down until it was close to temperature. Many of those car would wear out the rear differential.

These were the generation of car that pretty much sunk Chrysler the first time.

So do I. Hmmm if I let off the gas the wipers will work. But, if I let off the gas on this hill I'll have to downshift and move to the "breakdown lane".

Darts must be OK. Al Bundy swore by them. (off subject buuut) Why did Al try to avoid romance with Peg? I thought she was hot!

The 360 didn't come around until '73 or '74.
I had a '74 'Cuda with a 360, and man, did that thing use a lot of gas. They are gas guzzlers, so beware.
You'd be much better off with a 318 or 340.
If you find one with the original motor, know that all car companies decreased compression in the motors in '71 to accept unleaded gas. If you buy any car with a motor before '71, you will probably need lead additive, unless the motor has hardened valves.

The Scamp/Duster the same behind the grill and badge. You could get a slant 6, 318 or 340. The 360 was used in trucks and large body Chrysler products after they dropped the big blocks, 383 and 440.

The 318/340/360 were not exactly the same block, The 340 had a shorter block height, it was made with a shorter stroke to REV quicker. Heads were interchangeable and one hot rod trick was to get a set of 360 truck heads made for a few years that had the largest valves one could get and put them on your 340 for even faster Revs. I have 1st hand experience with this one in my Cuda.

I don't remember anyone having breakdown issues unless they had abused something or missed a shift.

Best story from the old days on a Duster, every area has many guys who can buy or get a car to perform better than factory, but there is always one guy who can tear down, rebuild and make his much more superior than any other car. Two brothers owned a garage, one was a master wrench guy. His Duster, I think it was a 79 or 80, was the fastest car in that part of the planet. One day a fella with a rusty 55 Chevy pulled into a gas station, younger set a gas station was a place where folks worked in a garage, changed oil, talked hot rods etc. and hot rodders might hang out talking about hot rods. This out of town guy with the 55 asked if there was anyone in town who might run for money or pink slips, he was broke and had to take a chance or leave it all parked on the road. He fired it up and it sounded sicker than sick.

One guy called King Duster and said I have some easy money for you, explained it and they agreed to meet at the 1/4 mile, a long straight stretch on old Route 66. Some guys painted the lines on a regular basis so traffic wouldn't wear them off.

They met and a few hundred dollars were bet by each, one fella held the money. Mr 55 Chevy backed the sick car off the trailer, lifted the hood and put 2 spark plug wires back on the plugs. I will tell you that a built for the races 427 Chevy blows a built 340 away so bad that King Duster did not want to go double or nothing for a 2nd race. King Duster then proceeded to chew on his buddy who found the sucker in the 55. The rest of us got a huge laugh.

If it's a 360 it's about 99.99% not right. It needed to be a 318 and most were or a 340 for the V8.

Mopar won't go far.

Remember "Two Lane Blacktop" with James Taylor and Dennis Wilson?

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I'm with the banned ...

I had a '70 doge Dart with 318 engine. Drove that car everywhere and when I sold it 15 years later it was still running. I'm almost reasonabley sure the 340 six pack was the largest engine put in there by the factory. Loved that dart. Same color too. Thanks for the memories. Frank

Ny first car was the 72 Dodge dart with the 225...great engine and very reliable. Same color and black vinyl roof as in the OP.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Aloha,

In my younger days, I was a Chrysler guy.

Had a 65 New Yorker, 68 Satellite, 69 4 dr Dart, 74 Plymouth Blues moblie

a Real ex-cop car. Had a 400 4bbl instead of the 440. For a 5,000 pound

car, it Handled well and was relatively fast. Ended up with a 78 Dodge

Power Wagon. I had fun with all of them.

The Dart had a 273 V-8. The smallest of the LA engines. It ran very well

and managed to surprise a few "sporty cars". The only problem with the LA

series of engines I recall was the nylon timeing gear would strip if you ran

the engine too hard.

I prefer the 4 door. If I could afford one, I'd put a factory 360 crate motor

with about 300 honest HP, rebuild the running gear and have fun with it.

BTW, there were Dart Police cars with either the 318 and maybe some with

the 360.

In 1971 the top small block Chrysler was the 340, so that 360 is a replacement. IMO the biggest issue is the asking price, IMO that is much too high. I wouldn't offer more than 3500 for a Scamp, they don't see nearly as much demand as the Duster.

Thank you all for your responses

Please feel free to post pictures of your past/current Mopars, I really would like seeing them

As to the Scamp, I think I'll pass and rather invest the money in MAKO1.

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Jorge

So, What is a MAKO1?

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Dum vivo cano

That car is really a Valiant. Plymouth never made a performance Valiant. Instead they just made the Barracuda from the Valiant platform. Unlike Dodge, which used the Dart as it's performance small car until they came out with the 1970 Challenger. The biggest motor ever put in a factory Valiant is the 318 2bbl.

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Wayne
Torn & Frayed

If you get it and it has the ceramic resistor on the firewall, keep a couple of spares in the glove box. You will need them.

The most beautiful picture of that car is the engine bay. See the lack of computers and electronics?

.

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Kirk / Spock 2020

You guys can't see the picture above?

This is MAKO1

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Jorge

My brother had a Duster with the 318, we rebuilt it and put the 340 heads on it so it would breath better. 3 speed on the floor, and it was a hotrod! Another friend had a Demon with the 340 and he built about 600 ponies into it. Man that one was fast! I had a '74 Cuda with the 340 and 4 speed, I loved that car!

Watch for rust, look in the sharp corners of the body and under the wheelwells.....

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Even older, even crankier....