Road Runner Station Wagon?
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- čas přidán 17. 06. 2023
- As the Smog Seventies choked the horsepower out of every car, adding a 2-barrel carburetor to the anemic Slant Six unleashed new levels of performance - and economy. But did Plymouth really offer a station wagon version of the spunky Volare Road Runner? Watch and see!
- Auta a dopravní prostředky
Katy is the Vanna White of the Junkyard Crawl.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Hope she doesn’t retire. 🤷♂️
She is! I got a chance to pet her once I met Dale.
@@seiph80 dig it! Your brush with greatness!
Steve who?!
We had the Dodge version of this when I was in my teens. My sister had a Volare 4 door sedan. both were slant 6 cars. Rust took over the Volare first and my sister inherited the Aspen wagon which she never checked the oil and resulted in engine failure. So at the age of 14, my buddy and I did our first engine swap in the backyard by pulling the engine out of the Volare and putting it in the Aspen. We had a very sketchy scaffold with a chain fall, but we pulled it off. we did get it together and running and yard driving, but the car never saw the road again. It was an awesome learning experience and have been messing with machines ever since.
Wish kids still did this stuff today at 14. I did my first swap at 16.
Yes the Aspen nice car's.
I’m calling BS. You can’t blow up a slant 6. When The Bomb goes off, you’ll see Keith Richards driving a Slant 6 in the aftermath. 😅
Your sister must have "worked HARD" to kill a "slant 6"! These motors were IRON TOUGH!
@@12yearssober Cars are more reliable today. Everyone knew and could talk shop if they owned a car before the 80s. Its the bad thing about making things better. People don't learn or practice skills if they don't need them.
The CB radio in the Load Runner mule reminds me of the days when that was our only electronic social medium.
Steve and Katie are the comedic duo we never knew we needed! What a great channel! We learn we love we laugh lol.
She is a mean scene STEALER! Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
What happened to the dog statue?
Looks like Katie is joining the episodes again. She is one very, very friendly dog. You can tell she is well treated and friendly. I wouldn't mind her in all of the episodes.
Yes, correct, the Super Six had the BBD (Ball and Ball two barrel) and the regular Slant would have a Holley one barrel. Both were wretched carburetors and notorious stallers. My friend had two of these cars, both Aspens. The first was a 1979 with a 318 V8 and the second was a 1978 with a Super Six. Both were four doors.
We got the VIN, we win: H for Plymouth Volare, L for low price class, 45 for two seat station wagon, D for 225 CID Slant Six with two-barrel, aka "Super Six" aka "Leaning Tower of Power", 8 for 1978 model year, F for Newark, DE assembly and the rest is the production sequence. The plant opened in 1938 as a parts depot, then it produced military equipment for a time and by 1957 it was producing vehicles. It closed in 2008. This one was made on Monday April 3, 1978 at about the 12th hour. No tag, can't brag, but possible code PY1 Jasmine Yellow exterior paint.
Correct, many of those test vehicles were "wringers" and they had some tricks and adjustments made that may not have been done when it left the assembly plant. The '79 Trans Am 400/4 speed car used for test articles from back in the day was rumored to be a "wringer" and had been warmed over a bit before testing it. I think what they wanted to show was what could still be done with some tuning.
Yes, those fenders were rot boxes and ruined the reputation of the car. My uncle had a 1976 Aspen and by 1978 the fenders were rotted. They were fixed by the dealer with a bit of a fight, and my uncle never bought an American car after that. He was a WWII veteran and actually bought Hondas for the rest of his life. His brother-in- law, my other uncle fought in the Korean War and he also stopped buying American made vehicles and bought a Hyundai as his last vehicle. I worked on both of their last cars and both said, "Won't buy an American car again. Too many problems". As you noted, Chrysler was in big trouble by 1978-1979 and the lack of quality in their vehicles showed.
Unfortunately, it's often said that cars of this era made import buyers for life.
Great points all! And speaking of "press ringer cars" remember when Pontiac supplied Car and Driver with a 421 powered '64 GTO? And in '65 a full size 2+2 that ran 0-60 in 3.9 seconds!!! It had 4.30 gears and probably a bunch of tail ballast. Gotta love the "product planning" guys and their tricks! Every car maker did this stuff to varying degrees. Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
My first new car was an ‘89 Plymouth Acclaim LX that I believe was built at the Newark plant? I always thought it was odd that a manufacturer would locate a plant on the coast since it would severely limit the normal shipping radius of the facility. However, maybe the markets on the East Coast were big enough that the economics of locating it there still worked out, along with having easier port access for shipping vehicles overseas…….????
@@ddellwo Yes, either Newark, DE or Toluca, Mexico. The first digit of the VIN would tell you. A "1" is US made, a "3" is Mexican made. Back in the day, the automakers had plants on various coasts/sides of the country which would (in theory) service a given area.
@@SteveMagnante Even during the emission era, you can "see" the same basic engines through all of the emission controls. The manufacturers couldn't do it, but many in the aftermarket did with the caveat of "off road use only". Never really happened that way.
Katie is a sweetheart and I wouldn't mind seeing more of her either.
As for the leaning tower of power, back in the seventies, I helped a friend move from, Naperville,Illinois to Texarkana Arkansas, in a four door ,1967 Dodge Dart,225 slant six, in the summer time, pulling a double axle, u-haul trailer, packed with all his worldly treasures! We went screaming down, I-55 to St Louis, got on, I-44 west bound, that old slant six never missed a beat, of course, when we hit the mountains, we had to crack the hood open, and run the heater full blast, to try to keep her cool!
Then, we got on highway, 71, up ,and down, and more curves, than Farrah in her bathing suit!
That old car, which was nine years old at the time, didn’t miss a lick,it ran like a Swiss watch! The transmission held up too, it made a believer out of me!
The Good ole days!
Dennis Weaver dual comes to mind😅
GREAT CARS!
Couldn't beat 6banger 3 SPD machines😮😂❤❤good mileage, easy to work on 😂people see 6z and immediately want to bolt some kinda 8 b.s. in it. I would love to have another one
Dating yourself with that Farrah reference 🤣🤣🤣
Steve That Dog Love's Your Attention, You must have a Good Heart, God Bless Steve
We're all pulling for you Steve. Hope to see you soon
Fantasy Island approves of this Video! 😃
Oh God, I remember those!! I always liked the wheels on those chopped wagons.
Looks like Katie's doing the junkyard roll🤣
A dear departed friend of mine owned a mopar dealer in western New York during this time period. He told me they ordered replacement Volare/Aspen fenders for their parts department by the gross.
My early childhood car memories are all in a Volare station wagon. Black with red Vinyl interior. Summer months in MA were painful if my mother didn’t put towels down on the seats after an afternoon at the lake. Many times I burned my backside. It got passed down to my Aunt who delivered Want Ads all over the Merrimack Valley. It died with over 200k. We have lots of photos of camping in NH with the hatch open and I remember Rock 101 was always playing on the radio.
Try living in QLD, it's summer pretty much all year round except for 6 weeks of the year, always got a nice belt buckle branding and burnt arse on the brown vinyl seats of our old Holden as kid back then. Lol
My mom had a '78 Volare wagon. It was silver with rallye wheels, and a red plaid interior. It had the leaning tower of no power under the hood. I got my first driver's license in that car, got my first ticket in that car (86 in a 50, after having that thing going 110 mph on the freeway.)
My mom got rid of it when she raced a kid on a bicycle across an intersection and lost.
These cars MOVED!
Incredible show today presach steve
My parents ordered a wagon with a 318 & 4 speed. Had it about 3 years. It's a shame you can`t order what you want now.
We had the same set up. As a kid my seat was between my parents in the front seat and I had to watch out for 4th gear because the shifter would slam me in the balls. I learned to drive in that car, she shifted like a truck.
My neighbor had one, 6 banger, 4 SPD. I thought it was a cool car actually 😮😂
First of all, I want to tell Steve that you are in my thoughts and prayers. Hoping you get through this illness quickly!
Also wanted to say, your knowledge on everything automotive, is priceless, and you always impress me with all the facts! My mom had a '77 Aspen wagon with the Super Six 225c.i. slant six. My dad worked for Chrysler, so hers was special ordered, and loaded up with options, including the am/fm radio with factory CB and microphone! I loved that radio!
Thanks Steve, for the license plate information, the tidbits we get from your videos are much appreciated-
Katie is enjoying the show too!
I had a girlfriend in the early 80s, that had a 4 door Aspen with the Supersix and a 4 spd. She loaned it to me when my car was in the shop. I was impressed that it was pretty peppy in town and run down the highway well. She took good care of it. Many an Aspen wagon became carpenter cars, then wood haulers with panels flapping in the wind.
Load Runner would be fun to create
Mr. B. Here ! ☕️☕️🍩 Morning Mags ! Happy Father’s Day guys ! Wow that wagon is still in one . Just don’t see them , if that vehicle can be saved clean up small block & trans set up make a sleeper ! 🧰🔨🔧⚒️🪛🛠️ 🚗 🤯🤯😂😂
Happy Father’s Day!
I guess you could make a sleeper out of it! The hard work is done already, with those super stock, bolt on spring rigidity add on’s! Just think how hard she’d launch!
@@jeffreycarleton1535 👍🤣👍🤣👍🤣 and you too !
I had a dodge Aries station wagon. It had 318 I loved that old car my uncle give it to me when I was 12 I worked for him at his Amaco station pumping gas and changing tires. I live on the family farm so I could drive everywhere the road won't paved 😂
Steve you are the auto- nerd! Only the white tape between the lens is missing, great wealth of infromation from this gentleman!
The videos are just that much better with Queen Katie in them Steve. Thanks for all of the hard work and awesome information. We truly appreciate it.
I dig the Volare / Aspen Wagon platform. I have a 78 Aspen Wagon with the Super 6 and a factory 4 in the floor.
I totally forgot to mention the nifty 4-speed Overdrive A833 option. Yes, they add a bunch of "cool" to any Volare / Aspen (or B-van). I used to spot them and grab them in California Pick-A-Part junkyards. Some were cast iron, some were aluminum. The iron ones were preferred by the 360 guys for their (likely) added resistance to "case separation" with 300 ft/lbs or more and hard shifts. Thanks for the reminder. We did do a Junkyard Crawl on a late 1970's Dodge B-Van that was a 4-speed OD unit, so we have covered it at least once. Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
Git the milkbones for the dog. She is the best.
Dog Treat love, Great de-escalation Steve M💪✔️
Or, a Marrow Bone.
What a treat!!
If that was a '76, I could have put the left rear door on during second shift at Dodge Main
We never get to say THANK YOU to the unsung workers who assembled our beloved classic cars - and even the common cars. I often wish I could spend a month as an assembly line worker in Detroit BEFORE the age of automation. I hear stories about Dodge Main and the crazy antics folks got into (on-site PIMPS? Why would an auto factory need a pimp? Ohhhhh....I get it). No doubt repeating the same set of tasks day in, day out, month after month could drive some folks a little crazy. I encourage everyone who worked / worked in auto assembly to share their experiences online! Thanks again, Steve Magnante
There was a 150mph speedometer in a ‘79 Volare police special we had for many years. Great car, didn’t rust out like the ‘77 Aspen wagon we had before it. I was told the Specials had a different steel alloy and frame stiffener sections.
Always wanted a police special wagon, best of both of them.
the steel was the same but it recieve a better rust protection, for your information, on these Volare, the innner panels were left to bare metal from the factory, this explant why they became rust buckets
at the beginning of the '80 s, I've bought a Volvo 240, I never returned to american cars after that.
It is sad the way they lost the market, it is a question of work phylosophy at all levels of the idustry.
@@jacquespoirier9071 maybe a little "planned obsolescence"?
@@kenttalsma7906 to a point that they lost the market, only the humans are sufficiently intelligent to saw the branch where they are sat on !
My parents bought a 1976 Volare Premier wagon in late 1975 right off the showroom floor. It was very similar to this car, although it was white with the wood and it had a 318 in it. The lean burn system was a real problem as most of my memories with this car involve us being stuck somewhere because the car would continue to stall and then wouldn't start at all. It also had terrible rust in the lower quarters, dogleg and under the quarter panel windows....and this was all before the car was 10years old, as that is when it was destroyed in an accident. Great to see this car still in existence. It has less rust at 45 years old than ours had at 7.
The 318 did not have lean burn in 1976. The first-year lean-burn came out they were only on 400s, the next year only on 4-barrel engines. I don't believe they were on any f-body car until at least 79, at least in Michigan. The wack jobs in California always had different emissions standards.
Clearly , the Load Runner is intended to compete with the Wagon Queen Antarctic Blue Super Sports model with the CB radio and optional rally fun pack !
Get well soon Steve. We all miss your genius very much. Thanks for all the great knowledge..
I used to have a '77 Volare Road Runner, Orange, T-top, 360, Automatic. That thing was a lot of fun.
Your right about the rust. My parents bought a 77 Volare station wagon brand new. About 6 years later we had a large rust hole on the drivers side floor pan. I had to cover the rust hole with a sheet of plywood.
If they bought a 77 Camaro, the whole quarter panel would have disintegrated in 6 years.
That Carter bbd was known for a lag when you stepped on it. Adjusting metering rods fixed it
This one made me smile on Father's day. My dad gave me his Volare wagon when he bought his new Horizon. The car looked exactly like this one. My memories of the car were not good. By this point it wasn't very reliable. Though, it was much more reliable than my mid 70's Hornet.
I owned a pea-green ‘77 Plymouth Volare with the Super Six for several years back in the early 90’s as “winter beater”. I was still living in the Twin Cities at the time and as some of you may know, in the Midwest it is common for “car guys” to own a separate vehicle for use during the winter months when copious amounts of salt are dumped onto the roads for ice control. Oddly enough, despite the reputation this car had corrosion it was amazingly rust-free - especially when you considered that by the time I owned it it had endured well over a decade’s worth of Minnesota winters! The thing leaked oil like crazy, but was rock solid reliable and I actually ended up selling it to some guy on a whim for $250 as he was driving by my parent’s country place, saw it parked at the end of the driveway, and stopped to ask if it was for sale!
I always thought the “Road Runner” versions of this car were hokey and painfully overdone with needless exterior design details in classic mid-70’s fashion. However, I think a wagon version of the Road Runner would have actually been kind of cool - perhaps because since it was a wagon some of the pretensions about performance would have already been set aside? If you could find a nice, clean, 318 version of a wagon today (do they still exist?) it might actually be a fun but cheap vehicle for bopping down to Home Depot on the weekends!
So many cars - so little storage space………☹
Minneapolis winter forecast: 1/2” of snow, 2” of salt!
In Iowa you're lucky if they "only" salt the roads. They usually put down brine, which I hear is 7x more corrosive than salt.
These basic "Mopars" were GREAT, CHEAP transportation! I WISH I could say ANYTHING like this about "modern" CRAPSKATES!
I had a 77 Volare Wagon slant six with the 4 speed and it consistently got 25-30 mpg. Was a great car. Paid $200 for it and drove the heck out of it and then sold it to a little Mexican lady that drove the wheels off of it. I saw her driving that thing for years.
That wagon! Sweeeeeeeet ! Can we say " SLEEPER "
Load Runner
In the late 70's I had a 77 Volare wagon with slant 6 and 3 speed overdrive trans, I ran that car for close to ten years. great car, that was my truck for most of the jobs I needed to do!!
Dukes of hazzard helper spring.
Had one of those too. The mighty Volare. Great auto for my buddies in the 80s.
I have been watching your older videos again because I really enjoy them. I pray for your recovery. Your a special person.
Steve…the knowledge you have about cars across the decades is staggering…I always knew a lot about cars, you sir are amazing. And love this channel!
My father had 2 Volare's back in the mid 80's and they were both manual transmissions. I forget whether they were 4 or 5 speeds because I was about 7 or 8 years old at the time. The first one that he bought at a used car dealer was a real lemon so he took it back and they gave him another Volare, just a different color. That one didn't last him but maybe 6 months because he had to get rid of that one to because it always gave him trouble. Neither of them liked to start in the rain and they both sucked. He eventually bought an 83 Buick Regal Limited, which he had for at least 10 years and gave him no problems at all. Chrysler products of the late 70's sucked in his opinion and they do in mine too. Thanks for the video Steve and the trip down memory lane.
Anybody remember on fantasy island they had a bunch of those wagons without doors and had a canopy instead of a roof to haul the guests and luggage around, as a kid I wanted one. At least one survived only to be blown up in one of the Charlie's angels movie.
I remember that.
De Plane! De Plane!!!! Thanks for the memory. I remember those open side Fantasy Island wagons! I'm sure there was no coincidence that Ricardo Montelban (spelling?) was a main star of Fantasy Island AND a Chrysler ad spokesperson at the same time. Remember "rich Corinthian leather"? -Steve Magnante
My first car was a ‘77 Volare’ 2 door. Had a 318 and bucket seats, console shifter. I loved that car.
Friends of mine had a red with the faux woodgrain trim wagon and i always liked the size of these too
She ought to be in pictures, Steve!😁 Great video!🔧
The first car I ever drove on public roads was a 1979 Plymouth Volare sedan. It was spring of 1983 and it was the driver’s education car. There was a auxiliary brake pedal in the passenger footwell that the driving instructor could use to stop the car if needed.
There were plenty of economical plastic/polyurethane front fenders available for the cars during the 70’s. I put a new front fender on my 71 Valiant myself, just bolted right on , very quick and easy, cost me $100.00 at the Auto parts store. These cars were easy to repair and maintain in a presentable condition.
When we moved grandma from Pomona to Duluth, Mn in 1980, I sort of “inherited” her ‘78 Volaré sedan with the Super Six, as she stopped driving then. After 2 years in Pomona, the blue paint was completely oxidized from the LA smog, but the car only had 13,000 miles. That car had super comfortable front seats, and with a set of Firestone Town&Country snowies on the back, it could handle all but the worst of our winters here.
My buddy used to have a SUPER clean Volare wagon with a 318 and those cool plaid seats. It was slow, but it sounded AWESOME with dual exhaust and Flowmaster 40s. We got rid of all the emissions equipment and that woke it up quite a bit, then put an old rebuilt Carter AFB and an Edelbrock intake on it, which also helped. I always thought it was a pretty good-looking car.
I CANNOT believe that you encountered a "slow 218" in these cars! I owned a (beaten, but FAST) '78 Aspen coupe! This was one of the MOST MOVING cars ever! I could tell so many FUN stories about this GREAT, CHEAP, FUN old car!
@@johnmaki3046 I mean slow compared to fast stuff. Even those doggy '70s V8s were torquey and pretty spunky in these sorta-kinda light old cars. But it was snail-like compared to '60s/early '70s stuff or modern V8s.
The 76-77s were known to rust out on the tops of the fenders, as well as inside the cowl area leading to structural issues that could not be fixed. I've seen these literally rusted in half at the cowl. A couple of the things Chrysler did for 78 and 79 was adding drains to the front inner fender wells, as well as used galvanized coatings to inner front fenders and outside door panels. For 80, they added plastic splash shields over the metal front fender liners. It's interesting to me that as badly as these cars rotted, by 82 Chrysler had the issues under control for their M cars, which were essentially the old F sedans. I had several 5th Aves that were all Chicago cars, and rust was never an issue ( though everything else was ;) )
Two barrel memory: Added a two barrel onto my 1969 232 Rebel and it made huge difference, cheers Steve!
It was a 4-door sedan, but my 2nd wife and I once owned a '77 Volare.
Beige color.
Slant six.
It was well-worn by the time we bought it.
But the $300 purchase price was worth it, even though we only got about 3 years of use out of it before the engine finally expired.
Wow! Great to see you do a video on an F body wagon! I have owned a '78 Aspen wagon for 12 years now and it only has just over 30K original miles on it. I'm the second owner. It is a slant Super Six with the four-speed overdrive transmission, dark tan plaid seats and door panels, and is the same color as this one in the video, but no fake wood sides. This was a one-year-only color for 1978 called "Classic Creme." I found mine online after looking literally for years for a well preserved one, bought it immediately sight unseen, and flew out from PA to Pueblo Colorado to pick it up and then drove it home with no problems. It has zero rust, being a high desert car for it's entire life, but it does have a few small hail dents in its original paint. It also has the rare optional AM/FM/CB transceiver with the original microphone and the one-year-only power antenna. I love these F body Aspen and Volare's and they are becoming quite unusual and difficult to find. It's a lot of fun to drive around shifting gears and it gets a lot of thumbs up and comments.
We're Praying for ya Steve!!! While Still Supporting Ya!!!❤
Grandfather had one 318 and manual trans, used to let us take it around the block had to go a few blocks away so he wouldn’t hear us doing burnouts.
This wagon isn't in bad looking shape. Looks like it could be saved. Thanks for sharing with us Steve.
Thank you professor Steve for another great video
I had a maroon 79 wagon in high school and fit 14 people in it and 14 skateboards driving around to different places to skate in the mid 90’s
Let's all hope steve gets well soon that man is awesome
Went cross country in 1991 in the exact model and color volare.
From Washington state to north Carolina.
And drove all the way back on a cracked block.
Overheated the whole time.
Had to fill our cooler and jugs at about every rest area. It was so stressful.. one of the most memorable times of my life.
I’ve met Katy! The sweetest junkyard dog ever…I even threw that spitty nasty plush toy for her a bunch of times because she was such a good dog.
Love the dog being part of the show!
I had a '78 wagon VIP, factory bucket seats and a locking rear, excellent in deep snow.
I dated a girl that had a '78 Dodge Aspen 2 door coupe with a 318 V8. Her Dad drilled holes at the bottoms of the fenders for water drains, because he saw other people's Aspens/Volares rusting out there.
I haven't had the time to watch all of your videos Steve, but if you haven't done so, I'd like to see one on the newly re-designed 1994 Dodge Ram trucks - like the white one behind you.
The white Dodge looked like it had nice rust free doors & fenders! Hard to find here in Wisconsin
Steve, you're giving me Flashbacks. My Grandfather had a 1977 Slant Six, Automatic White Volare Wagon with Blue Interior.
My Stepdad had the 1979 Chrysler Town & Country Woodie. He called me broken down with 2 flat rear tires. I brought him a pair of G50 Pro-Trac's mounted on Solid Centerline Rims I just took off my Charger. RACECAR Wagon.
Wish I had pictures of it.
I delivered a number of Volare/Aspen vehicles back in the summer of 1976 when I worked for M&G Convoy out of Detroit, MI. Solid little cars for the era, but had all the manufacturing faults common to all the Big Three back then. I bought a new B100 (Dodge Van) in 1977 that had the 318 and 4spd overdrive manual (A-833), which I believe was available in both the Volare and Aspen models.
They were. A buddy had a 77 Aspen RT with the overdrive four speed.
Those slant 6 Volares stalled more in the cold than a shotgun proposal.
Thank you for that!
I wish I could go to a dealer today (and even back then) and buy me a brand new 1978 Load Runner exactly as pictured.
I remember riding in wagons with the rear window down in the summer. Primarily when the AC quit and all the other windows were also down. Never thought about exhaust gasses.
Katy is a much different dog than most junk yard dogs!!! She’s a sweety❤
steve, missing you and your "junk yard dog" car presentations......praying for you for a complete recovery. Get well and we look for you soon.
Hope you recover from your medical issue . Uncle Tony's Garage sent me here . Good info for a Chevy guy that always admired the Volari wagons. I for years envisioned a cool Dragging Wagon Hot Rod just begging to get out. If you throw some big + little tires + a flat black hood tint those back side windows + hatch window, you'll see what I mean .
Took my behind the wheel test in freshman HS 1978 in a baby blue ans spankin' new '78 Volare.. Great work as always Steve. Get well soon! Prayers for a speedy recovery.
Our first "modern" car was a 77 Volare coupe that my dad bought in 1981 to replace the 64 Valiant convertible that my mom was driving. The Volare had the recall-replacement fenders in it because they were still in primer. Super Six, automatic, silver with a black gut. It eventually got passed on to me. An idiot in a 84 Camaro totaled it for me when he thought he could make a left turn from the middle lane when someone was passing him.
My dad and I found a mint 79 Volare 4 door to replace it. We stripped the 77 for spare parts and junked the body. Drove the 79 until it rotted from underneath itself and made its last trip to the junkyard.
I remember our 77 being much more sprightly than the 79. Not sure if it was because it was lighter or perhaps the gearing, but both were super sixes and yet the 79 was a slug no matter how much dad and I tuned on it.
A friend of mine had a 76 Volare Premier coupe with a built 318. That thing was a sleeper. Surprised many a poser street racer with that beast.
Steve, our 1st car when we were married was a used 1977 Volare station wagon. Gold color, slant 6 and 3 speed with OD manual transmission. Cold AC, we live in central Texas so its a must, roomy car. We drove that car for 3 years until it died with 200K+ miles.
My Aunt had a late 70's Volare couple that she bought new. The interior was black with red accents in those picnic table clothe seat inserts. Looking back now, those were some pretty cool seats.
My not be the popular option but ,
I've always appreciate these , Volare & Aspens 🙏
A high school classmate had one ,
With 5 speed manual on the floor
Just get the , Rusty Jones coating ,
In the salt belt .
I bet , those Volare Road Runners would have sold well
Gotta have a side kick Steve .
Might as well be , Katie 💖🐶
My Grandparents got the Rusty Jones treatment on thier new 78 Horizon
I worked at a service station ( as a teenager ) they offered that treatment on vehicles .
I watched the service manager apply it to new vehicles brought it .
It was messy but , covered well
I worked with a guy that inherited a Volare wagon from his father in law. It had the optional 360. It ran pretty good, had an aftermarket exhaust system and sounded pretty good too. Being in Florida, we watched this car dissolve before our eyes. If anybody told him how good it sounded, he'd say, "yeah, you can still hear it.... rusting". I'd always answer "ahhh, just take 2 Aspen, call me in the morning". I swear, those things were made from Corinthian pre-oxidized steel! 😎
Years ago, my uncle told me that Florida could ROT ANYTHING...INCLUDING PEOPLE!
My parents had a low mileage 76' or 77' Aspen wagon w/318. I was still a tiny tott when they traded it on a brand new Celebrity wagon in 85'. My one uncle had a coupe that had all those fun rust issues lol
My dad had @ 78 wagon with what was effectively the Police Package. All the running gear was heavy duty it had a 360 with a 4-barrel it had a transmission cooler, it was set up. At one point in time they even had power steering coolers. Lol. It was Tan on tan.
My grandma had one like the one on the video. I was 11 in 1978 and remember sitting in the very back.
She's a great dog Steve and I believe that you already know that though. Get well soon and we are all praying for you and your family Steve. God bless you all and enjoy your Tuesday and get well soon 🙏
I worked at a small,independent used car lot in Langhorne, PA in the early 80's. At one point I came very close to buying a black/woodgrain Volare wagon with a 318/4-speed drivetrain. It had a very plush interior, so I'm pretty sure it was a Premier. The 4-speed really threw me. Who would order a fully loaded luxury style station wagon with a 4-speed stick? But that's what drew me to it! But being a Chevy guy from birth, I bought a '73 Chevelle Laguna wagon there instead. That one had a very strong, and not nearly stock 350 hooked up to a Turbo 350 with a moderately high stall converter and a shift kit. I made a couple of passes at Maple Grove at a "Test 'n' Tune" day in the mid-13's with it... with a pair of child seats strapped into the back seat! I don't think the Volare would have been as quick, stick or no stick!
Lets remember that the 4-speed was a fuel economy measure in the panicked days of the post-OPEC auto industry. Those Aspen / Volare 4-speeds were actually equipped with an overdrive top gear that had a .76:1 ratio to drop engine revs - and fuel intake - versus the traditional 1.00:1 top gear ratio of a pre-'76 A833 Chrysler 4-speed manual transmission. The good part of the Overdrive A833 Chrysler 4-speed was how First Gear went from 2.64:1 to a nifty 3.06:1 which gave a harder launch off the line. BUT the downside was the W-I-D-E spacing of 2nd, 3rd and Overdrive. Shifting through the gears with this extra wide gear ratio spread forced engine rpms to drop more than usual which dulled full bore acceleration a BUNCH. On the upshift from 3rd to overdrive you almost have to peel your face off the inside of the windshield due to the sudden fall off of acceleration at full throttle. But for saving gas and general quiet cruising with minimal shifting chores, the A833 Overdrive 4-speed was a good solution for the time - and a bunch cheaper than actually tooling a proper 5-speed overdrive manual gearbox from scratch. And YES it is always cool to see a stick shift in any wagon or 4-door! Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
I had the Military Wagon. Blue,slant 6 w 4 speed. No a/c no power options. Awesome driver
Lol my mom bought a new volarie wagon, i pushed it all the time to start it. Brand new pos, she took it to the dealership several times and it never got fixed, while grandpa bought a new newport that run fine. Dealer wouldn't take back the volare, so she traded it in at another, 70 coronet 2 door 440. Drove that car all around the country , i was truly bummed where her friend wrapped it around a tree n totaled it.
Yeah, I think Katie has figured out what you're doing and is determined to steal the show, she's trying to be a star like you Steve.
In the late '80s I had a 4 door Volare sedan with the 318. It was a police package car, but not an interceptor. At one point it needed a full brake job including rotors and drums. Regular Volare brake parts wouldn't fit, so I found another police car in a junkyard, made a deal, then parked beside it and swapped all the parts over.
In the early 80's I was working at a LIncoln-Mercury dealer and someone traded in a 77ish Volare/Aspen wagon with a 318, 4spd, bench seat and wood sides. My Mopar friend was looking for a car so I drove it home for him to look at. He didn't bite. He ultimately ended up buying an 80 Volare coupe with slant six 1bbl and 3spd bench seat car! You couldn't kill that car!!
Front end body parts fit perfectly on the M body Diplomat platform. The 1981 Darts in Mexico had the Diplomat rear end and 1980 Dodge Aspen front end.
I had a 77 Volare wagon when I was a teen and it was a 4 speed manual with a slant 6 and it hauled ass. I wish I would have never got rid of it
I had the 77 aspen wagon. Great car. Bought new. They actually replaced the front fenders for no apparent reason just because of a rust recall. Friend of mine bought one with the 318 in it. That was crazy.
As an 80s kid I remember a few families driving these! My friend's mom had a silver one right up until the early 90s when she got a Caravan.
My father had a 1979 exactly the same colour as this (had the nicer velour interior though) … it never worked properly, always stalling, never starting, doors froze up in our Canadian winters (I remember crawling through the back hatch to start the car and blast the heat so the doors would eventually open! 😂 )… he had an accident with it and they ordered the wrong headlight bezels and he had the only family Volare wagon with R/T black headlight surround… unreal??
The history of Chrysler Corporation can be summed up as "brilliant engineering undone by indifferent quality control."
What I remember most about these cars are the fragile grilles. There were a lot of Aspens and Volares in the parking lot when I went to high school and just about every one had the grille punched in somewhere or completely missing,
My other Aspen/Volare memory comes from 1979 when I spotted a wagon with a factory manual transmission with a floor shift, which was so surprising even in those days I asked the owner where he'd had it done. He told me it actually came from the factory as a special order. It was probably a three speed but I don't remember for sure. I never learned what was under the hood.
The Aspen/Volare debacle is probably why Lee Iacocca made such a big deal of introducing and advertising his 5 year warranty against outer body rust through during the K-car renaissance. I know the K's and L's don't get a lot of love these days but they were the right cars for the time.
Yea chryslers were garbage
Had a 76 Volare 318. four speed overdrive station wagon with 2.9? rear gears. On level ground on long trips would get 30-32 mpg . Around town would get 10 mpg due to the tall gears and having to wind the engine thru the gears.
There was a sticker in the glove box stating the fenders were warrantied when i bought it.
@@mikew3443 2.76
I believe they got rid of the three speed, with the A body. As far as I can remember, I was a Chrysler dealer mechanic at the time, all manuals were overdrive 4 speeds. At least the dealer I worked at I never saw a 3-speed in anything other than a Duster.
In 1980 ish...I had a 1970 cutlass station wagon with a 455 rocket, low rear end tow/pulling options. package...As every kid, I added dua holley 750 dbl pumpers carbs, intake manifold, headers and a loose B&M 3000 rpm torque converter...
It warped reality from stop light to stoplight! And you could see the gas gauge drop after every stoplight launch... Ultimate 5000lb + sleeper back then.
And it pinged on anything less then 93 premium leaded...lolz ohh the days...
I have this wagon, a ‘79 with the super six. Bought it in 2014. No wood grain though. I drove it 50+ miles daily for a few years with no issues. It’s been parked since 2019 but I can’t wait to get back to tinkering on it.
My father had darts and valiants for years and spoke very highly of them, he then bought both an Aspen and Volarie and never forgave Chrysler, constant recalls and unreliability broke him