Comments: 1-15, 16-24
I replaced the starter at 280,000 miles; recently clogged gas lines have caused the truck to repeatedly stall and fail.
Clogged gas lines caused massive problems with fuel delivery to the electronic carburetor at 280,000 miles. At first I thought it was the engine, when the usual fuel line fix tricks didn't work, but engine compression was strong.
After much sleuthing, it was discovered that there were fuel filters at the base of the gas tank (packed with 22 years' worth of metal shavings and mud), and a fuel screen inside the gas tank, as well as the regular fuel filter near the carburetor.
After limping around on a bad carburetor for months (it threatened to go out for years, but we were able to partially rebuild it at home), I finally had the carburetor professionally rebuilt at 210,000 miles; it was hard to find a mechanic who could do the work. A Mercedes mechanic was able to do the work.
I had some electrical wiring problems at 210,000 miles. It was very exciting: first, a blinker light went out, then the dash light, and of course, one dark and stormy night on a back road, the entire rear lights went out.
Truck is on its fourth clutch (there was an oil leak that ruined the asbestos on two clutch plates). So that makes it really two clutches in 20 years and I'm a hard country road driver.
At 260,000 miles, the gear shift came up in my hand; I'd literally worn it through. I temporarily lost first gear. We merely popped in a new shifter and all is fine.
The truck's code name is Lazarus because it keeps on going and going and going.
I had 15+ years worth of absolutely trouble-free driving on it - though it's hard to find a mechanic to work on it as it's extremely quirky, and parts are hard to come by. The catalog manuals always list the wrong parts, even for dinky fuel filters.
The engine is extremely zippy to this day (it has oil leaks) ; I can still beat most cars out at the stop sign, but I'm now kinder, gentler to my elderly truck. After all, it's still on the road 300,000 later. It must be some kind of record.
Great comfy bucket seats.
Am I the only person in North America still driving a 1980 Plymouth Arrow? The later predecessor, the Mighty Max, is a poor, poor copy of my truck.
Alas, I won't make it to 400,000 miles as someone just sideswiped it, and so its days are numbered because I can't replace the entire side of a truck... but it still runs fine.
Hey, you don't have the only arrow on the road. I've got a 80 arrow although its the car, praticaly the same thing. I've got 196,000+ miles on it and it still doesn't leak oil. I paid 400 for it a couple of months ago with 194,000. it's a strong little car. its very reliable and somewhat fast once you learn how to drive it right. oh and if your going to get rid of your arrow, let me know.
I own two 79 Dodge D-50 pickups and am looking at purchasing a 80 Plymouth Arrow Pickup that has 60k on the odometer. This Plymouth truck is the Sport model with 2.6L engine & 5spd.
I am looking forward to owning this vehicle because it is the only Plymouth Arrow Pickup that I have ever seen in my life. The reason I've never seen one before is that I live in Canada and the Plymouth Arrow Pickup is a U.S. only vehicle.
I regret that I cannot give out the exact location of this vehicle because someone might buy it out from under me.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Hey I just bought a 1980 plymouth arrow pickup and it needs a lot of work I'm wondering if any one knows where I can find a repair manual and if theres a special website for parts?
The arrow pickup is mechanically identical to the mitsubishi pickup so repair manual for that is as close as your nearest book store...
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.
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?
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.
Well to all of you that have the 1980 arrow tuck that's great, but I have a 1979 arrow truck. I am working on putting a new clutch into it. coming up soon. The tuck is great.
I have an 86 D50 with a 2.6 liter. I changed the Mikuni to a Weber and it runs better. I have a Mikuni now if you still need one.