30th Jan 2004, 09:48

Dang! I was about to jump on a plane to Canada to grab that highly desirable Arrow pickup if you had only disclosed where it was. Not. They aren't very common in the US either, mainly because they were built by Mitsubishi and so most have long since reverted to iron oxide, aka rust.

The "other" Plymouth pickup from the 1980's, the 1983 Scamp, while also rare, is a much nicer looking and more durable vehicle, and more fun to drive.

21st Feb 2004, 10:01

I have an '81 Arrow truck with a utility body on it. It's a great little truck and with the stake sides on, it holds more than a full sized truck with a full sized bed.

I got the truck 3 years ago with 63k miles on it and it now has 113k on the 2.0 liter with 4 speed. The large rubber bumper guards were great when I had to push my Chevy Suburban home nine miles in hilly country!

The AC still blows cold air and everything works, except the windshield washers.

I only get about 20 mpg with it on the highway though. I would like to find a different rear axle ratio, or an overdrive unit to lower RPM's to make freeway driving a little less intense.

18th Mar 2004, 08:47

I too have a 1980 Plymouth Arrow. It was my first truck, bought in 1981 with only 1,200 miles on it. It now has 105,000 miles on it. I have made many changes to the truck over the years and am planning on doing a full frame up re-build on it. The truck has always run very good and I am well pleased with it.

27th Mar 2004, 20:15

To the person that suggested that the SCAMP is a better truck; can you stuff a 318 into it? I put one into one of my D-50's.

1st Apr 2004, 09:53

I am going to rebuild my '80 Arrow and would like to contact anyone with information on these trucks. Is there a Plymouth Arrow web site, or way to make contact with other people with this truck?

12th Apr 2004, 12:28

The Plymouth Arrow pickup was the same thing as a Dodge D-50/Mitsubishi Mighty Max, the only differences were grille/headlights, body striping and of course, nameplates. The Arrow was actually closer to the Mitsubishi Mighty Max than the D-50 was in terms of front end appearance. So any sites covering the D-50 or Mighty Max would also benefit the Arrow owner.

A typical example of late 70's-early 80's "Imported for Chrysler" badge-engineering.

21st Oct 2004, 17:27

We have a 1980 Dodge D50 Sports model with 122,000 miles on it. The original owner, from whom we purchased the truck, converted it to a 4x4 with $3,900 worth of parts alone!!!

He made a steel cage front bumper with hidden Warn winch, used a Low Manufacturing Jeep front end, Novak transfer case, Selectro hubs, etc. Black on Black. Just had to replace the entire windshield wiper transmission assembly, posts, etc. Got the last factory new set from the other side of the USA.

What a truck!! A real head turner on it's 32" tires.

9th Nov 2004, 11:05

Why would someone go to all that trouble to convert a D50 to 4WD when you could get one that already has 4WD as original equipment?

6th Mar 2005, 20:30

I just bought an 86 Dodge D50 with 70,000 true miles on it and in near mint condition. Thus far it seem to be a real nice little ride for my daughter. However it does have a little flat spot around 60 mph. I think it is the Minuki Carb. I'm considering the Weber conversion kit. I've done some looking around, but can't seem to find one under $300.00. Any ideas where I might look.

23rd Nov 2005, 11:53

Well to all of you that have the 1980 arrow truck that's great, but I have a 1979 arrow truck. I am working on putting a new clutch into it. coming up soon. The truck is great.

9th Apr 2006, 22:42

I'm proud to own a 1980 Plymouth Arrow Truck. I picked it up about 3 years ago from the original owner for $600. It is bright orange with yellow stripes and I have nicknamed it "Fast Orange" aka "Pepe".

It has been very little trouble to maintain. The computer module for the distributor had to be replace after I owned it for two years which cost another $100. It hasn't needed anything else besides the regular maintenance. Hopefully I'll never have to give up this truck. It was a steal!

26th Oct 2006, 21:18

I too, am the proud owner of a ’79 D50 sport, the orange and black model. The truck was given to me by a relative about 12 years ago, in fair condition as I was temporarily between vehicles. I figured I would just drive the truck until it died, then get another vehicle. Ha! 12 years later, only 2 or 3 oil changes, and more abuse than any vehicle should legally endure, it was still running.

Needless to say, I was so impressed with the truck, that when the timing chain finally wore out this spring, I decided to rebuild the entire drive train. I pulled the engine and tranny (2.6L/ 5speed) from an ’86, had it completely redone, put a header and weber carb on, and put it back in the truck. Mine had previously been a 2.6L/automatic. The truck now runs ‘better than a new dodge”, as the expression goes.

I next intend to do a frame off restoration and have intense respect for this amazingly simple, rugged, and reliable little piece of transportation.

BTW, the Ram 50 club at yahoo is extremely helpful for anyone looking for info on these great little workhorses.

11th Sep 2007, 15:08

I am the original owner of a 1980 Plymouth Arrow Pick up truck. I drove it for 20 years before throwing a rod. I had the Baby 409 auto trans rebuilt and purchased a crate 2.0 engine and gave it to my youngest son. I told him to put them together and back in the truck, and he would have something to drive. He did and it is still running, although it sits in my back yard most of the time.

It is still a reliable truck. He is partial to his 2005 Canyon now.

16th Jan 2008, 11:16

Hello.

I own a 1980 d50. I haven't had any problems except recently...

So, I've narrowed it to a spark problem. The truck starts when cold, runs for about 2-3 minutes and then dies, unable to start again. When doing a spark test, the truck gets plenty of spark when it is cold, however after it runs and dies - there is NO spark... what do you think this is?

Please advise at your convenience.

Thank you,

Adam.