By Tim Odell
“1978 Dodge Aspen” tightens no trousers and moistens no panties. But then again, starting with a 318 and four-on-the-floor, then applying a four-barrel intake, a pair of glasspacks and a 3.73:1 LSD rearend might quicken a few pulses. Today’s example has none of those things add-ons, but does have a three-digit high bid as I’m typing this.
The rest of the car is pure Malaise Era, Southwest-style: the paint’s been baked off the horizontal surfaces and all the polymer components have been reduced to chalk. To be honest, the the overall bodystyle isn’t bad by 1978 standards (compare it to the unfortunate “Colonnade” Chevies), but the condition of this one is rough. In particular, only about half the original interior plastic and vinyl remain. At this point, one might be better off gutting it, then coating the floor with high-end Lizard Skin or the like.
Given all that it’ll take to wake up this dessicated paradigm of mediocrity, do the factory-installed three pedals and floor shifter make it worth chasing down, or would you be better off swapping a manual into something cleaner and shinier? Anyway, bidding ends today.
1978 Dodge Aspen for sale – eBay Motors
Jeff Glucker
I always wanted to do a manual swap on a early eighties Cordoba or Mirada, as those only came with a 3 speed automatic. This aspen could be used for a manual swap, but it would probably be wiser just to swap in a manual from a 318 dodge truck.
I LIKE THE WAY YOU THINK.
This picture weirds me out because I’m pretty sure it’s exactly how my (now) six-year-old will look when he’s about…whatever age this kid is (13ish?)
The Aspen would already have everything you need for a bolt in Mirada swap. The truck would have the wrong tailshaft, wrong pedals, etc. The Aspen would have an overdrive transmission, while the truck may or may not have it.
http://www.moparwiki.com/images/thumb/6/65/Magnum1.jpg/350px-Magnum1.jpg
I am irrationally attracted to the O.G. Magnum, and as such, am also on board with the way you think.
On that note:
http://www.roadkill.com/24-hours-lemons-meet-project-regretmobile-dodge-magnum-xe/
Had a 79 Aspen wagon in the early 80s. It drove nicely enough, but the slant six always idled roughly and the interior was beginning to rip at the seams at just 20K miles. For the most part, it was junk. I say ‘to the crusher with this one. ASAP!’
The 318 was a pretty weak engine by this time. Now had this been a 360 we might have something worth rescuing.
5.2 Magnum swap should be pretty easy.
Yeah, but you’re still stuck with an Aspen. And just look at that interior. Not enough bleach in the world…
This specific car is the kind of automobile that would be a great platform for something like tearing around back roads or as a cheap, fun car for drag racing. Remove the interior, replace with a proper roll bar/cage, harnesses, and racing seats, remove anything unnecessary, and then build up the 318. Allpar has a good article on how to build a hot 318 here: http://www.allpar.com/mopar/4bbl.html Rattle-can it black, make sure the brakes work, and ta-da!
Unfortunate colonnade Chevies? Colonnade styling ended in 77 and looks 100x better than the aspen/volares. Maybe I’m jaded
Or maybe you should just get your eyes checked. Better yet, look upon neither the Colonnade nor the Aspen/Volare abominations.
Agreed, although “colonnade Chevies” can mean a lot of things from a Monte Carlo to a Laguna S3 to a base Malibu sedan or wagon. Some of those are much more attractive than others.
“…tightens no trousers and moistens no panties.” Aw, come on Tim, surely you’ve met Judge Phil/Murilee Martin. That statement would doubly apply to the Saucy Minx.
It is precisely interesting enough for me to say “Oh, it’s got a factory four-speed. That’s interesting.” If I saw it in person I would then most likely crane my neck in an attempt to see the pedals through the glass before nodding and walking away.
Rood is more the Malaise Mopar guy.
I should point him here for his Magnum.
Oops, wrong thread. Meant one up.
I suspected as much but decided both to accept the characterization and to approve the plan of action anyway.
I’d forgotten about the transverse torsion bars in the front. Weird.
Yeah, meant to bring that up.
WTF is going on there?
Looks like double sway bars, but is that actually the main spring?
“Cars with torsion beam front suspensions” could make for a good Encyclopedia Hoonatica article.
That’s not bad, but it’s no Aspen R/T Super Coupe.
http://hooniverse.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/mopp_0801_14+classic_mopar_project_cars+1978_plymouth_volare_super_coupe.jpg
Bitchin’
But no Camaro.
Aren’t the Aspen and Volare just the Duster/Valiant/etc wrought shitty? If they still looked as pleasant as the car I think they’re based on, this would seem like a decent deal. Unfortunately, even if you demalaise the mechanicals, you’ve still got to look at the thing, and that’s a little regrettable. But I get it.
Sold for $1200. The interior’s a mess, but the body seems mostly solid. Doesn’t seem bad for a V8 4 speed project car.
Kudos for the “ran when parked” cliche in the ad, plus them clarifying that it is not restored, because I was confused about that.
Perhaps it was “stored again”, hence “re-stored”. 😉