Aspen/Volare

[Drache]

Well I got the ok to go buy the volare once its been personally inspected by me. Course that means a 6 hour road trip to Kamloops to look at it! 

One thing that has me stumped and a little worried is that in the ad, the guy lists the car as a '76 Dodge Aspen. Upon closer inspection though, it appears to have Plymouth Volare taillights, headlights, grille, and both bumpers. I posted about this on a aspen/volare forum and they confirmed it.

So... does anyone know the starting VIN sequence of a Aspen compared to a Volare so I know what it is exactly?

[bull]

  Better go back to the aspen/volare forum for that.

[Drache]

Better go back to the aspen/volare forum for that.

I have it posted there but it seems there are only 10 members sometimes! 

[ramit]

An Aspen VIN should start with an N and a Volare VIN should start with an H.  I don't know how you tell the bumpers and headlight apart from each other but I thought the tailights were easily interchanged. In my opinion the Volare tailights look nicer anyways.   I also noticed that from the picture that the hood looks like it has been replaced with a Volare hood and in that case I think you have to put a Volare grille in the car.  I hope that helps.

[bordin34]

Do you have any pictures of the car. I really like the Super Coupes and Aspen R/Ts.

[Drache]

Do you have any pictures of the car. I really like the Super Coupes and Aspen R/Ts.

I had made a post asking for a Kamloops member to go look at it for me but I posted pictures as well:

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,42224.0.html


Now I have learned a few things since posting the car on the aspen/volare forum:

The car has volare tail lights and headlights, and the grille IS from a volare but from a much sought after 78/79 grille! Infact Ive already had offers to sell the grille. The hood as well is from a Volare. (If you use a volare hood you need a volare grille)

SO the car MIGHT be a aspen with volare parts or a volare with a few newer parts. Either way a nice little rat rod!

[ramit]

What is the difference in the headlights?

[Drache]

What is the difference in the headlights?

no clue, Im just going by what I was told at the aspen/volare forums....

[TruckDriver]

What is the difference in the headlights?

no clue, Im just going by what I was told at the aspen/volare forums....

Nothing til 1980. In 1980, they had rectangluar headlights. The front turn signals were different though. '76 were in the front bumper. '77-'80 they were next to the headlights in the grille. But depending wheater it was a Roadrunner, or a Aspen R/T, the turn signal lenses were either a open clear square if it was a Plymouth, or it had slot type lenses if it was a Dodge.

The pics below are...

1976 R/T
1977 Roadrunner
1978 R/T
1979 R/T

[TruckDriver]

This is a 1980 Volare Roadrunner that has beed modified a little. Those are '76/'77 louvers, the '80 models did not have the front spoiler and wheel well flare option. And someone did a good job on making the hood like a '69.

[Drache]

beautiful cars indeed! Sadly the guy has stopped all communication with me now it seems 

I have someone who can look at the car sunday and I can be there tuesday to pick it up, sooner even....

UPDATE: No sooner had I posted than the guy email me! 

The car has slight rust issues on the very bottom of the quarter panels but no biggie, hell this is canada! The only way a car doesn't have rust here is if its made out of fiberglass! The car is also currently insured and driving!

[Chatt69chgr]

That 76 R/T is a really nice looking car.

[Drache]

well unless the car sells before sunday I'll be picking the car up! 

[Khyron]

That 76 R/T is a really nice looking car.

76 Aspens where always my favorate. 

[Drache]

ITS MINE! $1200 CDN! I pick it up tomorrow, 6 hours down, 6 hours back! 

[89MOPAR]

 
  Congratulations - nice score !!

But of course i'm biased 

[ramit]

Congrats!!! Post some pics when you get it.  I am looking for a 77-79 volare roadrunner or Aspen R/T.  I hope I can snag one before the prices go up on those too.

[Drache]

Ok got the car home yesterday, pretty much. It needs some work but what do you get for $1200 CDN nowadays. Driving the car home was a blast although not so nice to my wallet! 

The Good:
Bodywork done 7 years ago
No rust to be seen (no bubbling either)
Brand new Edelbrock 4bbl Performance series carb
Almost everything lol

The Bad:
Car needs front shocks badly
ATF is leaking
needs new dash
bad on gas lol
no fender tag
cracked grille
floats when going over 90kmh lol
brakes are soft
needs tailpipes badly lol
linkage?
Needs dash
too powerful? 
speedo doesn't work properly (most likely do to 3:55 rear end and 14" wheels?)

The reason the car is at my uncles and not my driveway is thus; I pulled the car into his driveway to show him, put the car in park and turned off the key. Realized the car was rolling backways a little. Somehow it seems the linkage or SOMETHING went haywire. The car won't start because you can't shift it into park NOR neutral. I tried holding the key on while moving the shifter all the back to 1st and back up to park and the car didn't make a noise. Get to deal with this first of all.

Sounds like the linkage came undone. This is my first thing to be fixed, then the front end, speedo, tailpipes, etc.

[Drache]

Well here are the few pics I took:

[TruckDriver]

From what I see in the pics....

'76 Aspen with a '77 & up front bumper
'78 Volare grille
'78 & up side window lovers.
Missing the fan shroud
Interour stuff is typical. Especially the consol door.

From what you said....

The "floating" is normal for them at high speeds. Never bothered me though
The "speedo" being off was a problem on all my F bodys. Mine were always off by 1 to 6 mph. The V8s were the worst.

Good parts cars are are "M" bodys. The M body platform was used for several models, the Dodge Diplomat, the 1982 - '89, Chrysler New Yorker and Fifth Avenue, the 1977 - '81 Chrysler LeBaron, and the 1982 & up Plymouth Gran Fury. The under hood and under bodys are the same. The police 9-1/4 sure-grip rear ends bolt right in, heavy duty springs and all. I did a swap myself in 2 hours with no help. If you find any Cordoba's that have the digital clocks in them, they work in the F bodys too.Although, '76 & '77 had a dial clock. But they both fit in the same holes. Also, if you have or find a Tuff wheel adapter, you can install one too. If you get lucky enough to find a old Aspen or Volare cop car for parts, the speedos are a higher reading. Like, in the U.S. the Aspens were only 100mph from the factory. But the police got 120mph. "F" bodys are extremely easy to work on. Just keep a eye on your front fenders as they are rust prone. In '77, they even recalled them because they rusted out so fast. If your ambitious, take the fenders off, and rust proof them before it's to late. Man, I wish I kept my '78 Aspen R/T

[Magnumcharger]

Funny how this thread is happening right now.
My buddy Dave up here in Edmonton just purchased this really neat F-Body.
One of 42 with a T-top, apparently.

[TruckDriver]

 

That's a rare car. They only produced only 494 Volare Super Coupes, and only 531 Aspen Super Coupes.

[daytonalo]

HEY , MY GRANDMOM  DROVE ONE ! IS IT FOR SALE I WANT TO BUY HER A GIFT !!

[NMike]

this one is for sale in the lowermainland.. factory E58 cop car.

[Magnumcharger]

HEY , MY DROVE ONE ! IS IT FOR SALE I WANT TO BUY HER A GIFT !!

Huh?

[Drache]

From what I see in the pics....

'76 Aspen with a '77 & up front bumper
'78 Volare grille
'78 & up side window lovers.
Missing the fan shroud
Interour stuff is typical. Especially the consol door.

From what you said....

The "floating" is normal for them at high speeds. Never bothered me though
The "speedo" being off was a problem on all my F bodys. Mine were always off by 1 to 6 mph. The V8s were the worst.

Good parts cars are are "M" bodys. The M body platform was used for several models, the Dodge Diplomat, the 1982 - '89, Chrysler New Yorker and Fifth Avenue, the 1977 - '81 Chrysler LeBaron, and the 1982 & up Plymouth Gran Fury. The under hood and under bodys are the same. The police 9-1/4 sure-grip rear ends bolt right in, heavy duty springs and all. I did a swap myself in 2 hours with no help. If you find any Cordoba's that have the digital clocks in them, they work in the F bodys too.Although, '76 & '77 had a dial clock. But they both fit in the same holes. Also, if you have or find a Tuff wheel adapter, you can install one too. If you get lucky enough to find a old Aspen or Volare cop car for parts, the speedos are a higher reading. Like, in the U.S. the Aspens were only 100mph from the factory. But the police got 120mph. "F" bodys are extremely easy to work on. Just keep a eye on your front fenders as they are rust prone. In '77, they even recalled them because they rusted out so fast. If your ambitious, take the fenders off, and rust proof them before it's to late. Man, I wish I kept my '78 Aspen R/T

The car is a '76 Dodge Aspen with a '76 Volare rear clip (says plymouth on the chrome between the taillights), the grille is from a 77/78 Volare, the hood is thus from a volare (volare hoods wont work with aspen grilles), both bumpers are also from a volare, as for the louvers, I dont mind as its not the first aspen Ive seen with that year of louvers. In fact there is a picture on google images of a red 76 aspen with the same black louvers!

This car is not meant to be perfect, she's my ratrod! 

The speedo is off 50kmh not 1-6  (Stanard 100mph speedo)

The VIN Reads as an Aspen Custom (NH)

But I knew all of this before buying the car anyways! Also the car was dismantled and supposedly rust proofed and painted 7 years ago. The paint has chipped a few places where rocks have hit it and has faded but the car, especially the very bottoms of the quarter panels are rock solid!

[Ghoste]

I worked at a Dodge dealer in the late 70's and can distinctly remember an Aspen coming off the truck and having half Volare trim on it so who knows, it could even be the same car.

[Drache]

Sadly the fender tag was missing from when they restored the car.....

Also; What size of tires should be on the car? Right now there are 14"'s and they seem small....

[Ghoste]

14's were standard on them.

[TruckDriver]

P205x70x14 was standard the R/T & Roadrunner. Or back then, that would of been about a "E" or "F" size tire. I always used P215x70x14s on mine.

I'm curious, what forum are you going to for Aspens/Volares? The registry link I had says the site is gone

[Drache]

P205x70x14 was standard the R/T & Roadrunner. Or back then, that would of been about a "E" or "F" size tire. I always used P215x70x14s on mine.

I'm curious, what forum are you going to for Aspens/Volares? The registry link I had says the site is gone

I just started going to the allpar.com aspen/volare section of their forums

[Drache]

Well anyone have suggestions?

As for engine, headers are already on the car as well as an edelbrock performance series 600cfm 4bbl carb and electronic ignition, the air cleaner will be changed to an elite edelbrock air cleaner, a performer airgap manifold, and edelbrock elite valve covers.

The car's timing has already been advanced 4 degrees to give it better bottom end performance and add to that the 3:55 suregrip.

As for bodywork, add a duster style dual hood scoop and an aspen style rear spoiler.

For exhaust, the car runs the headers almost straight into dual cherry bombs and ends there. I'll also be adding dual tailpipes.

The 727 automatic transmission is fine as is although it needs what appears to be a new rear seal as I have slight leaking.

[ramit]

I would rip out the V8 and install a hybrid engine.

[TruckDriver]

Well anyone have suggestions?

As for engine, headers are already on the car as well as an edelbrock performance series 600cfm 4bbl carb and electronic ignition, the air cleaner will be changed to an elite edelbrock air cleaner, a performer airgap manifold, and edelbrock elite valve covers.
That's pretty good right there. But if you can, find a good set of E58 (360ci 4bbl) heads. That will boost the performance a little too.

The car's timing has already been advanced 4 degrees to give it better bottom end performance and add to that the 3:55 suregrip.
I did that too with mine. I'd say good.

As for bodywork, add a duster style dual hood scoop and an aspen style rear spoiler.
Perfect There used to be a place in Slidell, La. that used to reproduce those parts, but for the life of me, I can't remember their name. Personally, I'd try to find the wheel well flairs and a front spoiler too. I loved how that looked. But it's your car.

For exhaust, the car runs the headers almost straight into dual cherry bombs and ends there. I'll also be adding dual tailpipes.
The offset of the gas tank is such, that if you run the exhaust out the rear, you will have to go outside the leaf springs to do it. I had mine coming out in front of the rear wheels, but that was to damn loud with the headers and the loud turbos I had on mine

The 727 automatic transmission is fine as is although it needs what appears to be a new rear seal as I have slight leaking.
Ironically, mine had the same leak. But I'd install a street/strip shift kit. Mine would bark the tires on hot days going into second if I shifted it manually.

Another suggestion. When you mount the Duster style hood scoop, cut a hole in the hood under the scoop to let air in through it. It gets really hot under the hood like most cars with headers, but with the hole in the hood, it will run a lot cooler. It helped a lot on mine.

[Drache]

For exhaust, the car runs the headers almost straight into dual cherry bombs and ends there. I'll also be adding dual tailpipes.
The offset of the gas tank is such, that if you run the exhaust out the rear, you will have to go outside the leaf springs to do it. I had mine coming out in front of the rear wheels, but that was to damn loud with the headers and the loud turbos I had on mine

The 727 automatic transmission is fine as is although it needs what appears to be a new rear seal as I have slight leaking.
Ironically, mine had the same leak. But I'd install a street/strip shift kit. Mine would bark the tires on hot days going into second if I shifted it manually.

Another suggestion. When you mount the Duster style hood scoop, cut a hole in the hood under the scoop to let air in through it. It gets really hot under the hood like most cars with headers, but with the hole in the hood, it will run a lot cooler. It helped a lot on mine.

Thanks for the suggestions! I had heard that its hard to run dual tailpipes out the back and now I know why. I was thinking running them out before the rear wheels, the car is loud already without any sort of tailpipes.

I was also planning on the duster scoops being of use and not just for looks.

And as for the shift kit I will certainly look into it!

[TruckDriver]

{Picture 1} This was my R/T. It looked killer with the slots on it when I first got it.  Mine also had a Volare grille in it

{Picture 2} The later picture is just before I sold it with the hood scoop, the correct Aspen R/T grille with the R/T logo on the lower right. I had Ford 14x7 Magnums on it then. You can see my exhaust hanging down by the rear wheel

I owned it for 10 years. It is the longest to this day, I ever owned any car or truck I ever drove. I had around 210,000 miles on it when I sold it. It is the first Mopar I ever owned. And it is the car that got me "hooked". I sold it for $1,000. in 1996 with a unbelievable collection of parts for it(in fact I'm still finding odds and ends here and there for it). It was 1 of 628 Aspens made that had the "Spectrum Interiour" in it. (Matching body stripes on the seats and door panels). I sold it because the engine needed a rebuild, and I couldn't afford it. To this day, my now ex-wife still bitches at me for selling it   She loved the car. I've owned 5 other Aspens and Volares durring the time I owned this R/T too.

[TruckDriver]

By the way. The hood came of a '77 Volare Roadrunner, as the scoop was already mounted to it when I bought the parts car. I just painted it before mounting it. Anyway, to make it fit, in the front of the hood, by the chrome trim that goes around the grille, there was a "plug" on the front of the hood, that was easy to remove by just removing the bolts. That was the difference in the Aspen and Volare hoods. Then it fit right on. Yours should be the same way

[nh_mopar_fan]

This was my 78 T-Top Super Coupe.

I added headers and the duals exit out the back.

JC Whitney used to carry rear louvers too.

[Drache]

did dodge still put build sheets into the cars in '76? By the looks of the interior Im hoping its still there as the fender tag is missing....

[Ghoste]

Yes, there could still be one there.

[TruckDriver]

Yes. I found mine on top of the glove box. You have to go under the dash and reach up front behind to check. Careful with the wires.

[TruckDriver]

Hey Drache, interested in these for your Aspen? Let me know. These are left from the spare parts I had for my Aspens over the years. The wirering should already be on your car for these just short of the radiator support. There will be wires running down the front of both fenders with female recepters. All you would have to do is drill the holes to mount them.