Moparts
Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's?
Posted By: Sidewinder
Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 02:30 AM
I'm thinking of buying a Rampage and was wondering what and were to look for problems these trucks might have?Like were to look for the bad hard to fix rust points on them?How are the motors and trannys in them?Is there a place that sells any of the body panels or the floor pans for them?I'd appreciate any help.
Posted By: chrisf
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 02:34 AM
psssssst...its a K car
Posted By: Rollin Hand
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 03:49 AM
You can shag in the bed.
Posted By: Sublime69
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 03:54 AM
The only thing I can add is most I believe are the 2.2 motors, which I've heard are hard on head gaskets...
On the bright side, a 2.2 turbo would be pretty cool in one, but I like all Mopars, especially the different ones
Posted By: Stanton
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 03:59 AM
I had one that was pretty much problem-free 'till it blew the clutch. I had a 2.2 in a van and did head gaskets twice.
Posted By: RichV
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 05:07 AM
Quote:
psssssst...its a K car
Sorry it is not a K car its a L body.
Posted By: Jim_Lusk
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 05:15 AM
The ONLY downside is the carburetor. The rest is pretty much bullet-proof. Get a manual trans version, throw a clutch at it and new bearings in the transmission.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 05:42 AM
Posted By: Jim_Lusk
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 05:48 AM
Quote:
Quote:
psssssst...its a K car
Sorry it is not a K car its a L body.
And, there's nothing wrong with K-cars, either....
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 05:56 AM
Posted By: tmef
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 07:35 AM
The first place to look for unrepairable rot is where the front leaf spring hangers meet the frame. That is usually the first place to let go.
I have rust free and straight fenders, doors, hood (1984 with 4 headlights) and a whole bunch of other parts if you need something.
The carbs can be difficult at times. A Weber 32/36 DGEV takes care of that.
They are a blast to own and drive!!
Posted By: Rug_Trucker
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 11:29 PM
Quote:
The carbs can be difficult at times. A Weber 32/36 DGEV takes care of that.
I've got one of those!
Posted By: rockerbob
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 11:49 PM
I had one a decade ago as a daily driver. It was a great little truck...er car. It was not a truck. I picked up a 273 engine & put in the back & it nearly draged the bumper off on the trip home. At 22 mpg with the 2.2 auto it was a neat little run about back & forth to work. Toped out at 85 mph. I bought mine for $400.00 from a customer who said he was tired of fixing stuff on it. I drove it 2 years & never no problems till one morning I went out to drive it & it over heated. Rad fan died. I pulled it behind the shop & forgot about it, till it was too far gone to mess with. Sold it to a brave local guy who said he was going to get it running again. Have not seen him ot the truck since...RIP. I wish I had not let it fall into disrepair.
Posted By: Rug_Trucker
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/23/09 11:57 PM
Quote:
Quote:
The carbs can be difficult at times. A Weber 32/36 DGEV takes care of that.
I've got one of those!
Actually it is a 32/36 DGAV 3381 30-6A Whatever that means! I bought it to try on a slant.
Posted By: GwaiiEagle
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/24/09 12:24 AM
Squint a whole lot and there's a real resemblence here.
Posted By: DaytonaTurbo
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/24/09 06:51 AM
Check out the floors under the drivers and passengers feet. This is the first area to rot out on these things. Also check out the lower 1/4 panels behind the rear tires are well as the rear wheel openings in the 1/4's. There is NO reproduction sheet metal out there for these vehicles so starting with a rotten one is a bad idea.
Motors and transmissions are pretty good, I've never had to do a head gasket on one, and I overheated one pretty good and suffered no ill-effects. I find they run well, but like said the stock carbs tend to be an issue. Weber makes a nice carb 32/36 or something like that. It's been a while. Actually the stock holley carb is a licensed weber design modded for emissions.
Biggest con is in stock form neither the motor nor transmission have any performance potential. The DC supercharger kit like the one pictured are very hard to find and pricey, plus they don't put out much power. Their auto and manual transmissions won't take much abuse at terribly higher than stock hp levels and require a shifter mod to make a later 80's daytona/other turbo car transmission work. If you want to go turbo you have to find an engine wiring harness from a 87 or prior turbo L body charger or omni. The later years use a different bulkhead connector and IIRC 88 was the changeover year, although the later harness will work if the later dash harness is also swapped in.
My brother's got one he's been slowly fixing up. Bit of a pain in the butt to work on being so tight under the hood.
In all honesty if I ever wanted one, I would get one with a manual trans, put a shelby charger 2.2HO carb spark computer in it and a weber carb and drive it and a fun little economical cruiser instead of doing the whole efi/turbo conversion.
Posted By: Sidewinder
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/26/09 03:07 AM
The floor boards in the Rampage I'm looking at are toast.The rest of it is pretty solid except for the rear bottom fenders which are showing rust.The rest of the body even the bed are in good shape.Are the floor pans very hard to replace if I can find a donor car floor pans?What other cars floor pans is the same as the Rampage other than the Charger and Omni?Thanks to everyone who has given there info. here.
Posted By: 8T2TOP
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/26/09 04:59 AM
I saw this one at the hotel in g'vegas at the springsteen show!!
Posted By: DaytonaTurbo
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/26/09 05:43 AM
Quote:
The floor boards in the Rampage I'm looking at are toast.The rest of it is pretty solid except for the rear bottom fenders which are showing rust.The rest of the body even the bed are in good shape.Are the floor pans very hard to replace if I can find a donor car floor pans?What other cars floor pans is the same as the Rampage other than the Charger and Omni?Thanks to everyone who has given there info. here.
Floor pans are not the easiest to replace and there are no repros out there. Donor cars include charger/turismo/omni/horizon/scamp gt.
FWIW, if you look on ebay, solid, rust-free, good running daily driver rampages can be had for 1-2k all day. Not worth the time/effort to save a few bucks by buying a fixer upper when the good ones aren't worth anything.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/11/09 01:01 PM
I have an 83 Rampage, std trans. I found an 89 LeBaron GTS w/auto w/a 2.2L turbo as a donor car. What issues would I have to face besides swapping out the engine? I have to deal w/California emissions. O2 sensor, pressurized fuel, is my current exhaust system adequate after the swap, wiring, cooling system w/radiator and fan, adding the brain box are all things that I am concerned about.
Posted By: OzHemi
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/11/09 04:25 PM
Quote:
I have to deal w/California emissions
There is going to be your hard part. You will have to go through a referee and what not...best to check with the DMV to see what is needed before going much further..
Posted By: RodStRace
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/11/09 05:09 PM
dodgebarger, PM nicksgarage here and ask him about this. He's done the later model swap and knows a bit about the smog issues.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/11/09 05:09 PM
I know with CA emissions that I will have to comply w/the yr of the engine I put in. So I will have to conform w/1989 emissions. I am wondering what I need to do as far as the whole project.
Posted By: DaytonaTurbo
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/11/09 11:04 PM
Quote:
I have an 83 Rampage, std trans. I found an 89 LeBaron GTS w/auto w/a 2.2L turbo as a donor car. What issues would I have to face besides swapping out the engine? I have to deal w/California emissions. O2 sensor, pressurized fuel, is my current exhaust system adequate after the swap, wiring, cooling system w/radiator and fan, adding the brain box are all things that I am concerned about.
Motor and trans will swap right in. You will need to change to axles from a 89+ auto trans dodge omni. There was an axle shaft change, the inner splines on the axles changed so your 89 trans will not work with your 83 axles.
For fuel system you will either need to add a walbro 255 in-line universal fuel pump or switch to a pickup assembely from a fuel injected omni/shelby charger. However if you do this you will still be missing the in-tank fuel sump the efi models had, unless you buy a new tank at that time.
Rad/fan will be fine. Your existing exhaust system will be adequate, although not great for performance. I don't know what you can get away with there, but the fwd vendors sell 3" exhaust systems w/ cat converter.
Wiring will be your biggest hurdle. You have several options. First option is to splice and dice the harness from the lebaron together with your rampage harness. I have done this before, it works but I do not recommend it. It takes a lot of time and knowledge of the chrysler efi system and overall is just a pain in the rear. Your second option would be to find an engine harness from a 87 or earlier shelby charger or turbo omni, those are the only plug and play harnesses to fit your vehicle. Although you will need to cut a hole in your firewall for the wires to the computer. A 88+ shelby charger harness will work, but the bulkhead connector changed its layout so you'd need to either rewire that to your bulkhead connector or change your dash harness to the 88+. Also if you have an 88+ dash harness, an engine wiring harness from a turbo minivan will plug right in if you move two wires on it, for the wiper system. Hope that's about as clear as mud for you, lol.
Posted By: NicksGarage
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 12:01 AM
Quote:
dodgebarger, PM nicksgarage here and ask him about this. He's done the later model swap and knows a bit about the smog issues.
Sorry, mine was registered in a rural area and didn't have to be smogged after I bought it. I did look into it though and others have done it.
My conversion was done from an '87 Shelby Charger and then from an '87 GLHS. The first time I had the two vehicles side by side and gutted out the Rampage and then transfered everything over. It helped that the donor only had 9000 miles.
Posted By: Challenger 1
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 12:04 AM
We made the mistake to buy one in the 80s for a shop truck.
It wouldn't carry much, we sold it shortly there after.
I always hated front drive cars and trucks, have never owned another since then.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 03:31 AM
Wowsers! I guessed that the wiring harness would be the stickler. I was planning to keep the std. tranny in my Rampage and marry it to the 2.2L turbo. The donor car has a bad auto trans. I like having a stick anyway. There are about 5 mid-80's K-car LeBaron's w/2.2 turbo at the local junk yd. right now. Would any of there wiring harness work as long as they are pre-87?
Posted By: 8T2TOP
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 03:49 AM
MY YARD HAS 2 SHELBY CHARGERS 1 '84 NO TURBO 1 '85 W/TURBO,LET ME KNOW....
Posted By: R70RUNNER
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 04:28 AM
Had an '83 Shelby Charger once upon a time. Weak points on the 2.2.....Head gaskets, electrical, and transmission. Not a horrble little thing but wouldn't go too far to buy another. VERY easy to work on.., even swapped a head gasket in a couple hours by releasing the timing belt and removing the head bolts then jacking the whole head assembly (manifolds and all) up and slipping the old gasket out and sliding the new one in!
I had no time to get it done, and it worked fine
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 12:03 PM
Will do. I need to check out the donor car (LeBaron) this week. It is in south part of the county (San Diego) and I live in the north part.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 12:18 PM
Maybe that is what happened w/my original (2.2) engine. I have yet to take it apart. I bought it this past May and I noticed that it a new head in it and the Rampage had 160,000 mi on it. The engine did seemed noisy (tired), perhaps the rods. I am only a shade tree mechanic at best, and have yet to work on the inners of a block. Maybe it is time for me to do that.
Did you mill the head when you replaced the head gasket on it?
Posted By: DCI
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 01:47 PM
Pro - They make a cute LITTLE race car???!
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 02:52 PM
That is awesome!
Posted By: DaytonaTurbo
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 05:30 PM
Quote:
Wowsers! I guessed that the wiring harness would be the stickler. I was planning to keep the std. tranny in my Rampage and marry it to the 2.2L turbo. The donor car has a bad auto trans. I like having a stick anyway. There are about 5 mid-80's K-car LeBaron's w/2.2 turbo at the local junk yd. right now. Would any of there wiring harness work as long as they are pre-87?
Your rampage transmission will not take any amount of abuse. They were designed with 100hp in mind. IMO stock T1 power - 140hp/170ft-lbs would already be pushing on to it's max limit and/or beyond. The only harness that's going to be plug and play will be one from a 87 shelby charger. A 85-86 shelby charger harness can be made to work with a few wiring mods to change it from log intake T1 to T2.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 06:10 PM
Thank you for that valuable piece of info. Now I know where I stand. Besides the Rampage, I need an extra set of wheels, so I plan to check out the LeBaron GTS (which has a bad auto trans) and see if I could install a trans being advertised on Craigslist. The ad from Craigs list is a tranny from a 90 LeBaron convertible. Now my question is, will this tranny is from a the ad work? It says it is good for 87-90 LeBaron, Shadow, Acclaim etc. w/a 2.2 or 2.5. Since the LeBaron GTS w/a 2.2 turbo will this trans work or do I need to find out more about the engine on the 90 LeBaron to see if it would work in the 89 LeBaron?
Posted By: DaytonaTurbo
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 06:23 PM
Lebaron wheels won't work. Lebaron uses 5-bolt, your rampage is a 4-bolt.
Is the trans in question a stick or an auto? Auto can be made to work, however to get a later year manual trans to work, there are mods you need to do to get the shifter to work.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 06:52 PM
Since you answered my question re: the Rampage, I will pursue fixing that later. Right now since I could use a daily driver, I am asking if I get this 89 LeBaron GTS (2.2 turbo) and get the 90 LeBaron convertible trans. will it work? Or do you need more info on the type of engine that the 90 LeBaron convertible had to say I could swap out the trannys?
Posted By: 474218
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 07:11 PM
Quote:
Since you answered my question re: the Rampage, I will pursue fixing that later. Right now since I could use a daily driver, I am asking if I get this 89 LeBaron GTS (2.2 turbo) and get the 90 LeBaron convertible trans. will it work? Or do you need more info on the type of engine that the 90 LeBaron convertible had to say I could swap out the trannys?
All the transmissions used with the 2.2 (and 2.5) engines will interchange. However, there is differences in the shifters. L-bodies, like the Rampage used shift rods. The G-bodies, like the Lebaron, used shift cable.
You need to get a copy of the MOPAR 2.2/2.5 FWD Book. Part No. P5007162. It provides all the answers.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/12/09 07:31 PM
Thanks, I will check both the car and the trans this week. You have been a great help. I will post any progress on this topic.
Posted By: DCI
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/13/09 12:03 PM
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/13/09 12:34 PM
I am not sure if you are referring to my swapping out the trannys in the 89 LeBaron GTS that has a 2.2 turbo that has a bad trans and get a trans that came from a 90 LeBaron convertible. But, no I have not. However according to the discussion, it should work. I plan to look at the car and the trans this wk. As for the Rampage, it is not my daily driver and I can wait to fix it. Unfortunately, a low budget is ditacting all of this.
Posted By: DaytonaTurbo
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/13/09 05:52 PM
Quote:
swapping out the trannys in the 89 LeBaron GTS that has a 2.2 turbo that has a bad trans and get a trans that came from a 90 LeBaron convertible.
Yes this will swap fine if both are 4cyl cars. However the turbo automatics were a little more stout than their non-turbo counterparts. Also the turbo automatics did not get the lockup torq converter that the non-turbo auto's got.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 10/13/09 05:58 PM
Quote:
Pro - They make a cute LITTLE race car???!
Posted By: Yellow Fever
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/20/16 07:17 AM
Still going strong with the blower!
Posted By: gdonovan
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/20/16 11:12 PM
All the transmissions used with the 2.2 (and 2.5) engines will interchange. However, there is differences in the shifters. L-bodies, like the Rampage used shift rods. The G-bodies, like the Lebaron, used shift cable.
Not 100% correct.
Axles have interchange issues.
My wife owns one, turbocharged.
Posted By: rumblebee4232
Re: Pros and cons of the Dodge Rampage's? - 09/22/16 06:47 PM
I had an 84 model back in the early 90's that I swapped a turbo II engine from a Le Baron that had been T boned into.. The biggest hurdles at the time was the wiring and the axles.. At the time there were very few references for wiring diagrams so I spent a lot of time figuring out which wires on the turbo harness needed 12 volts for the engine to run and which ones in the original harness I could use to supply it..I also eliminated everything that was needed for the A/C since my Rampage did not have A/C.. IIRC I only ended up needing to splice 6 or 8 wires of course that was 20+ years ago so my memory could be a little fuzzy.. the Le Baron had pretty nice aluminum wheels on it that I liked so I swapped the hubs/ spindles so I could use them..I do not remember what the axles I used were for but I do remember spending a large part of the day at the auto parts store going over the books and making phone calls till we found some that would work.. surprised a lot of people a lot of people with how fast it was till they found out it had a turbo engine and Ma Mopars upgraded turbo computer..
