During the Malaise era, automakers struggled to churn out decent cars; everything for Chargers and Mustangs, to sportier specimens like Corvettes suffered as a result. Big V8s were extremely down on power, too, marking the near end of the muscle car. As a result, even sedans were immune to the power cuts. Ford had the Fairmont/Zephyr twins, GM had its Nova/Apollo/Ventura/Omega quadreuplets, and Chrysler was responsible for its lackluster offerings, the Plymouth Volare and Dodge Aspen.
Offered in sedan, wagon, and coupe forms, the Volare/Apsen were available with a variety of engine choices, and trimlines to suit a wide spectrum of prospective car buyers. Engines ranged from the trusty 225 slant six, and two V8s, a 318 and 360 respectively.
Unfortunately, like many cars of this lackluster era in automotive history, the Aspen and Volare were plagued with rust problems. Lee Iaccoca even went as far as saying that the 1976 first-year cars were rushed into the market too soon.
As far as roadgoing examples go, this particular four door is one of only a handful I've seen in my 22 years of existence, and my first one in Minnesota. As with all 1970s/1980s cars, the paint has stood the test of time pretty well. No obvious pitting, no deep gashes in the metal, and the trim seems to be intact. Surprisingly, this example seemed to be relatively rust-free.
Unsurprisingly, this example is free of hubcaps, which to be honest, adds an honest feel to this almost-forgotten Mopar sedan. Id likely keep it hubcap free and do some mods to the 360 likely underhood. If not, I'd toss one in, throw on some inset Cragar SS' or Ansen wheels and rake up the rear end a little bit. 1970s "highschool hot rod" anyone?
No comments:
Post a Comment