8.10.04

We just got the greatest score! My Bro-in-law Jimmy wanted a daily driver like my Valiant or Duster, with a slant Six, to replace his Acura Integra, which is expensive to maintain, and beginning to fall apart. I found an ad for a Plymouth Scamp with a 318 for $100, and we went to go look at them. We planned to swap the 318 into my Duster (BTW, which I also got for free a few weeks ago), along with some goodies, and the slant six into his Scamp.

Well, the guy, who turns out to be a Mopar guy himself, building a '69 Coronet, emails me telling me the Scamp is free if I get it out of there, so we grab a trailer, and go up to get the Scamp. Its in excellent condition, with the exception of a missing bumper, grill, and fender. Its rust free and was originally painted Petty Blue, which is still on it. Disc brakes. Black interior in excellent condition, once you clean out the spider webs. The 318 hasn't run in years, but its all there, and still turns. We got it home yesterday night, and Jimmy has really taken a liking to the thing, even mentioned putting a beefy drivetrain in it and racing it once he doesn't have to commute from Tracy to Sacramento everyday! Woo Hoo!!

Next to it was a Chevy pick-up, which the guy offered to us for free if we wanted it. Now, I don't have a pick-up but I really needed one, so I called in sick today and we went and grabbed it. Its a '73 C-10 stepside shortbed in rough condition, but its all there, with some good options like a "Posi" rearend with towing gears, standard issue Chevy 350 automatic, some other crap, and it ran a while ago. Haven't tried to get them started, because its late, but plan to do that tommorrow. All the paperwork was there, and I noticed on the original sales reciept, the owner used a '68 Charger for a trade-in on the truck for $735 in 1973. Funny, and ironic, because I'm about to sell my '68 Charger to fund the Challenger....

Two running vehicles for FREE is amazing! I'll get a smog-exempt pick'em up truck, not a Mopar, but can't beat free, with excellent parts availability, and a V8 drivetrain for my Duster for free, plus I'm turning one of my friends onto the "better" line of cars! I still can't believe my good luck! We're the second owners of these vehicles, too! I'm running out of room for this stuff!

8.11.04 UPDATE
With a little fiddling, we got the Scamp running, and moving. Woo Hoo!!! One down, one to go!

The 318 runs poorly, but after sitting for 10+ years, still amazingly strong. Needs cap/rotor/wires/plugs and a carb rebuild, and thats it for now. When we swap it around with the six in the Duster, it'll get headers, and the leftover 360 4 barrel intake and 360 heads, along with headers and dual exhaust. With this swap done, I'll have about $300 into the Duster, and that'll include swapping in a V8, exhaust, engine mods, some suspension and a Hellwig swaybar!

...I love the friends I have gathered together on this thin raft
We have constructed pyramids in honor of our escaping...
-from The Wasp, by Jim Morrison and The Doors

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