Guess I have a truck now...

[gadget73]

2.2 was the usual motor, 2.5 was the "big" motor. Essentially the same engine. Head gaskets were a bit of an issue on them but it wasn't exactly a hard job.

[jaywish]

Then it was a 2.2L "Custom" No it wasn't a particularly hard repair. Might not have even happened but I loaned the car out to my cousin for a month. Came back with a leaky water pump, a blown head gasket and wet interior as he left the driver window down and the car parked on the street after he picked up his new car.

I no longer talk to that cousin.

[knucklehead0202]

Just had an epiphany: Neon srt-4 swap into that weirdass turd! I've hated the neon since the day it came into existence but i have to admit the srt was one of the only 4-banger cars i've ever heard that didn't sound like total shit, and they're pretty damn fast. May crap all over the reliability standpoint but sure would be cool. I could dig the same swap in an Omni. Not sure why i kinda like those things but there's something just funky enough about them to almost be cool. They're only slightly more stylish than a chevy citation...

[knucklehead0202]

Well I had a 84 Aries K "Custom" 2.4L? auto, no power anything. It had been totaled twice and had 60K miles on it before I bought it in 86. It was the best automotive buy I ever made. It cost me $500 or so to buy it & fix it including a Chrysler audio system I swapped in, plug and play. I sold it in 2000 for $500 after I bought and made road worthy the 89 wagon. The new owner put on heavy tints a booming sound system and used it as a NYC clubbing car.

Aside from a head gasket leak I never put a dime in it except for maintenance & wear items. When I sold it it ran like the day I bought it, well in this case the day I got it running. It was a trapezoidal shape when you looked at it straight on and the rear tracked a few inches to the right of the front but with good shocks and tires it was a fun car to drive on the twistys and it never got me stuck once. 2bbl carb never gave me a bit of trouble. I think that is the only carb I can say that about.

Frightens me that you own a marauder but speak fondly about driving an aries through "twisties". Pretty sure a good wheelbarrow handles about the same.

[jaywish]

A few years in, the aries got premium struts, air shocks and tires. It made a tremendous difference over factory mush. With one or two people in it it just hung right in there. With 4 people it didn't have enough power to pull out of turns properly. Being a Custom it was as light as could be and the fact that it was a wagon gave it a good balance.

I would say it beat the heck out of the 4spd Pinto wagon it replaced and 89 Colony Park that was its successor. Though the wagon did also improve drastically over time with tires and suspension work.

[gadget73]

yeah they weren't as horrible as you would expect them to be. It was definitely better than your average shitbox from that era. I don't think anyone has ever lamented the handling of the Ford Escort or Chevy Celebrity. I think Chrysler having basically one platform for everything in the 80s, they did a lot of work to make it work well for their sportier cars. Kinda like Ford did with the Fox platform. The only reason any of them work well is because the Mustang uses it and the other models benefit from the development and aftermarket.

[jaywish]

I hope the Rampage turns out to be a fun reliable car.

[knucklehead0202]

Put the lowering springs and wheels/tires from my mustang on my zephyr. That turd handled like it was on rails! Slow as all fuck though, lol. Poor old 200 had like 280,000 miles. Whole drivetrain was untouched. Never had to change the oil though. It leaked from everywhere so was always fresh!

[SeanP]

Hoping she's not a total dog. Seems to be a lot of performance improvement options out there for these cars... Some easier to find than others. I'll be hopefully doing some work in the coming weeks to see how well she actually runs. I'll post more pics when i get home.

[79lincolnlover]

I hope that you'll be able to find parts easily.

[SeanP]

I hope that you'll be able to find parts easily.

Not as easy as a panther. Probably would have been easy about 20 years ago though.

They no longer make the sea-leg shocks for the back end... nor leaf springs. Weather stripping like the door seals are a no can do item as well. Also, truck specific stuff is difficult to come by. Luckily she's pretty solid, so I won't need any body panels or the like. And I've found some alternatives to the shocks and door seals. Not OEM, but work well.

And now, some more pics:

[knucklehead0202]

Egads! Looks like those rear shocks need to go! Still weird to see a truck without a driven rear axle too. That thing is just, well, a dodge rampage i guess. Weird...