My '71 ain't a '71...or is it?

[Righty Tighty]

Hey all, just as the title says, I don't think my '71 Scamp is actually a '71. Here's the backstory:

I bought this 1971 Plymouth Scamp last summer with hopes to learn the world of Mopar, restore it some, and of course turn some heads. The gentleman I bought it from on Craigslist was very nice, had a VERY nice GTX in his garage, and the story he told was that he was basically downsizing and only had room for one classic car. The title had matching numbers to the car, all indicating that the car was indeed a '71.

Long story short, I wrecked the motor and in the process of rebuilding it, learned that the block was a '73. Okay fine. Someone probably swapped the slant 6 at one point for a 318LA. Which made sense because the car has the 904 trans (I think those were more for 6 cylinders and not V8?? I'm still learning here.)

Moving on, when replacing the heater core and foam seals on the heater box, the kit I got (68-72) didn't match AT ALL. The instructions said in '73 the heater boxes changed. Another clue.

So, here's my theory. I think someone had two cars. A '73 without a title, and a junk '71 (or at least a fender tag from a '71 that ended up on my car). Opinions???

 

[gdrill]

Tail lights? Inner door panels? Doors themselves? Gauge cluster? All different between 71 and 73. The tail light panel would be a job to change out. Many things interchange. It could just have 73 parts on it. There is body numbers stamped at the rear somewhere.

Oh ya, 71 Scamps rock!!

 

[Righty Tighty]

Tail lights? Inner door panels? Doors themselves? Gauge cluster? All different between 71 and 73. The tail light panel would be a job to change out. Many things interchange. It could just have 73 parts on it. There is body numbers stamped at the rear somewhere.

Those are good points, I'll take a look and post some pictures. I've read that they removed the wing windows in '73, and mine does have them. Maybe when they put the 73 engine in, it had the factory A/C so they just brought all the HVAC components over as well?

 

[barbee6043]

Maybe someone changed out the old heart box,.. maybe the heater core you bought is not correct for a 71?? I would not fret!

 

[Tinmannz]

Was it in 73' that they started to put them funky rubber bumper guards on?

 

[Deceus]

Just for your Mopar knowledge bank: Slant 6 904s and 318 904s aren't interchangeable. Different bolt pattern and plenty of smallblocks came with 904s.

Extra credit: a lotta people such as myself actually keep the 904 even with a high performance build because they can be built to handle plenty of horsepower (650+) and rob significantly less power than a 727.

 

[4spdragtop]

Vin?

 

[H22A4]

Post some photos if you can. Also what are the first 5 letters/numbers of the VIN and does it match what the VIN is on the fender tag. Chrysler did a major refresh on the A bodies in ‘73 so it would be easy to figure out what your car started out as.

Also, don’t believe anything the seller told you unless it can be proved. Keep in mind the sellers goal is to unload the car and the easiest way to do that is to be nice. If you don’t know much about Mopars it would have been even easier to sell the car to you. All he had to be was polite, pretend he was knowledagble about the car and make you feel good about your purchase. And the GTX in his garage might not even been his but a friends car he borrowed to help with the nice guy story.

 

[j par]

Here's the easiest way. On the radiator support on the driver side there is a sequence of about 5 to 7 numbers that sequence needs to be in the the number on the fender tag on the dashboard and on your title...

 

[A56]

Vin?

and pictures and more pictures

 

[A56]

and on the trunk rail like this

 

[A56]

and on the trunk rail like this

View attachment 1715469540

also found this on mine

 

[diymirage]

what brake and bolt pattern do you have?

Vin?

doenst matter if he is right about the PO switching VINs on it (except of course for the numbers on the rad support and trunk, as mentioned above

 

[lilfontleroy]

Tail lights? Inner door panels? Doors themselves? Gauge cluster? All different between 71 and 73. The tail light panel would be a job to change out. Many things interchange. It could just have 73 parts on it. There is body numbers stamped at the rear somewhere.

Oh ya, 71 Scamps rock!!

sorry, wrong.. tail lights are the same 71,72,73.. they changed in 74

 

[toolmanmike]

Lots of comments here but no information from the owner. Where's that crystal ball?

 

[diymirage]

Lots of comments here but no information from the owner. Where's that crystal ball?

no help here, mine are brass

 

[Righty Tighty]

Lots of comments here but no information from the owner. Where's that crystal ball?

Sorry, had to walk the dogs. Lugs are small bolt pattern, and I might need some more coaching as to what I’m looking for in the brakes. I have drums all around, no booster. Here are some photos:

 

[toolmanmike]

Looks like a 71 from here.

 

[Righty Tighty]

I decoded the VIN, and the VIN is indeed for a 71 that had a 318. I’m thinking barbee was right and that the car just has some 73 parts.

 

[diymirage]

Sorry, had to walk the dogs. Lugs are small bolt pattern, and I might need some more coaching as to what I’m looking for in the brakes. I have drums all around, no booster. Here are some photos:

the small bolt and drum brakes are a good indication it is a 71, though not exclusive to that year
if you had said "big bolt discs" i would have called it a 73

 

[lilfontleroy]

Body Type: V = Plymouth Valiant / Duster
Price Class: H = High
Body Type: 23 = 2 Door Hardtop
Engine: C = 225 145HP 1-1BBL 6 CYL
Year: 1 = 1971
Sequence Number: 253391 = 153391st Vehicle Built

 

[toolmanmike]

I decoded the VIN, and the VIN is indeed for a 71 that had a 318. I’m thinking barbee was right and that the car just has some 73 parts.

Nope, slant 6 car. Engine code "C". (5th. digit)

EDIT: 318 car. VIN tag cleaned up.

 

[lilfontleroy]

I decoded the VIN, and the VIN is indeed for a 71 that had a 318. I’m thinking barbee was right and that the car just has some 73 parts.

no, it is an engine swap car, and it does seem to have some 73 parts such as the engine

 

[Righty Tighty]

Nope, slant 6 car. Engine code "C". (5th. digit)

That is actually a G, though it’s hard to tell in the pic.

 

[toolmanmike]

That is actually a G, though it’s hard to tell in the pic.

You are right. E44 on the fender tag is a 318.

 

[Righty Tighty]

I cleaned it up a little, might be easier to read now.