Hi from Phoenix AZ! Picked up a non-running 1974 Plymouth Valiant Scamp
After a long day driving, renting a trailer, loading and unloading in the AZ summer heat, I've got a 1974 Plymouth Valiant Scamp /6 auto in my garage. The seller claimed he bought it from a salvage yard he worked at a few years ago with the intention of a Hemi engine swap, but it sat. He believes the engine was rebuilt around 2013, but never started up. It appears the engine was painted while disassembled, and there's a mostly empty full engine gasket set box in the car, so it seems plausible. I tried turning the engine by had with the fan, but it is currently stuck. I plan to pull the plugs, spray some penetrant in there, pull the starter, and see if I can slowly get it to move. I'm also going to see if I can get my hands on a borescope and take a look inside the cylinders. The VIN says it came with a 198, but the stamp on the block says 3W225. I could not find a vin stamp on the rear of the block. It is a factory AC car, which I eventually would love to convert to R134a and get it working. I was surprised to see it's got 4-wheel drum brakes. I figured by 1974, front discs would have been standard. I guess not. Front disc brake conversion is almost assured if/when I get this running and driving.
I'm in my mid 50s and have been wrenching on cars since I was a teenager. I've owned a '67 Mustang, '69 GTO, '73 Monte Carlo, '69 Skylark in the past. I've pulled engines, transmissions, did a disc brake conversion on the Skylark and in general have some experience. I'm hoping I don't need to pull the engine on this, but if it comes to that, oh well.
After a long day driving, renting a trailer, loading and unloading in the AZ summer heat, I've got a 1974 Plymouth Valiant Scamp /6 auto in my garage. The seller claimed he bought it from a salvage yard he worked at a few years ago with the intention of a Hemi engine swap, but it sat. He believes the engine was rebuilt around 2013, but never started up. It appears the engine was painted while disassembled, and there's a mostly empty full engine gasket set box in the car, so it seems plausible. I tried turning the engine by had with the fan, but it is currently stuck. I plan to pull the plugs, spray some penetrant in there, pull the starter, and see if I can slowly get it to move. I'm also going to see if I can get my hands on a borescope and take a look inside the cylinders. The VIN says it came with a 198, but the stamp on the block says 3W225. I could not find a vin stamp on the rear of the block. It is a factory AC car, which I eventually would love to convert to R134a and get it working. I was surprised to see it's got 4-wheel drum brakes. I figured by 1974, front discs would have been standard. I guess not. Front disc brake conversion is almost assured if/when I get this running and driving.
I'm in my mid 50s and have been wrenching on cars since I was a teenager. I've owned a '67 Mustang, '69 GTO, '73 Monte Carlo, '69 Skylark in the past. I've pulled engines, transmissions, did a disc brake conversion on the Skylark and in general have some experience. I'm hoping I don't need to pull the engine on this, but if it comes to that, oh well.