The late-1970s were an interesting time. How many of you were alive and aware at that time? As in, old enough to be a fully-thinking human being? I don’t even know if I’m a fully-thinking human being now, but I sure remember the era that gave us the 1978 Plymouth Volaré Super Coupe. Two of these rare cars can be found here on eBay from the same seller and there is a $2,400 buy it now price or you can make an offer. They’re located in Dade City, Florida.
I never had a leisure suit in the late-70s but I sure have a thing for these Dodge and Plymouth Super Coupes. Most of you already know that I’m not a speed demon, I really could care less about going fast in a straight line. I loved stoplight racing with my dad’s 1970 Olds 98 back in the day but that was decades ago and it never stuck. I’m more show than go myself and I like my vehicles to be the same. The Super Coupe is all of that and more.
There’s more organic material on these cars than in a Whole Foods store. Fern bars were big in the late-70s but ferns should be in bars, not on and in cars. It’s Florida, though, it’s literally tropical there so if you don’t watch it that stuff will catch up with you and take over everything, Super Coupes included. The black car is the “good” one of the two cars for sale here and it actually doesn’t look that bad on the exterior.
And, it looks fairly good on the interior, too. These are very rare cars, in fact these are 2 of only 494 Plymouth Volaré Super Coupes made in their one and only year: 1978. Dodge made 521 Aspen Super Coupes, again, only in 1978. I like these cars, a lot. I know that it’s almost a sanctioned sport for most people to make fun of this era and of these cars, in particular, and that’s ok. We’re all here to have a good time looking at and commenting on cars. But, on the other hand, if a person only likes or owns cars that are “approved of” by the crowd, it would be one hell of a sad world. Life is too short for that nonsense. Like what you like, own what you want to own.
This interior is worse than the one on the other car but at this point, I don’t know if that really matters. There isn’t much that can probably be saved. These will most likely both end up being parts cars for someone who is restoring a Super Coupe. They were the hottest thing for the Aspen and Volaré in 1978, having everything that the Road Runner and R/T packages included, plus a better suspension geared for sport rather than comfort, 15-inch wheels, and the famous wheel arches and graphics.
The Super Coupe was available with only the 360 cubic-inch V8 which put out 175 hp, the most that could be had in these cars at the time. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds, beating the Camaro Z28, Corvette, and Firebird Trans-Am. Here’s the engine bay of the second car. Monetarily and value-wise, a full restoration of either of these cars makes no sense what so ever, you’d have $40,000 into one of them before you could say uncle. But, just as an eye exercise of looking at a couple of old, pretty rare and obscure cars from an era that most of us sometimes wax poetic about but wouldn’t want to go back to again, I think that these cars are winners.
I was 14 when this car came out. It was ugly then, and is even uglier now. I wouldn’t be caught dead with this in my driveway. Let the Mopar dead-enders fight over it.
Good thing nobody’s making you bid. Am I drawn to these particular examples? No way. But give me a clean one of these over a garden variety Mustang or Camaro any day.
Chrysler quality control in the late ’70s was atrocious. Cars were arriving at the dealerships with their bumpers falling off. No, I don’t have to bid on these pieces of junk, and I am eternally grateful.
Here is a clean one that gets a lot of compliments outside the Mopar Dead Ender crowd. Ditch the smog and add true dual exhaust the motor really wakes up. Nice write up by Scott, he gets it.
Why even waste our time posting your little rant about a car that some of us might think is a neat example of a bygone era? Go find a firebird or toyota to comment on, and leave things you obviously have no interest in for others of us who do.
I don’t like Firebirds or Toyotas, either. I’m into GM trucks from the 40s to the 70s, but that does not mean I am not allowed to express opinions about other vehicles posted here. I don’t need your permission to say whatever I want about ugly Mopars, and I couldn’t care less if my opinions annoy you or anyone else.
What I “get” is that these cars are ugly, underpowered and rust-prone. In other words, emblematic of late 70s Chrysler products.
And how are my comments in any way a waste of your time? No one is forcing you to read every comment.
Will probably be posted shortly on Swamp Finds.
I’d be inclined to leave them in the swamp.
I was 22 when I bought my first new truck, a 1977 Ford F150 4×4. I wanted a stick, so the 351M was the only decent option. Torque and horsepower figures were not published. It was a shame watching the storied super cars of the Sixties reduced to decal and plastic options.
1972 to 2002 were lean years for enthusiasts.
There is something cool about these Super Coupes. If I had money, time, and space I think building one of these up with a 6.4/ 6speed and looking factory would be very cool.
Hear me out. I am 25 years old, and I never had the opportunity to drive a Plymouth Super Coupe. I am assuming that they drove terribly and rusted into the ground quicker than you could say “Refund purchase.”
If someone who was young wanted a project car, that was a Chrysler Product, and was cheep and relatively easy to wrench on, I would totally consider this car. I say this, but I also love the Omni GLH-T.
The only “Super Coupe ” I remember was the one on the Super Chicken cartoon show.
I owned a 1978 Volare “Kit Car” which was very similar to these. Having owned many A and B bodies and a few E bodies, the car I owned was an excellent handling and driving car. Basically a 2 door police car with the 360 4 bbl. mine had the benefit of catalytic removal and a 340 HP camshaft so it ran fantastic as well.
I’d love to own another one.
Good God….is that what 39 years in the FL. sun does to these sad things?! Neither one is worth ten bucks to me. Both have been scavenged from, and redefine what ‘wore out’ means. Good luck to the seller. I thought they both got caught in a fire somewhere! Cut off the roofs & make chicken coupes out of them.
While I agree that these two hulks are in woeful condition, they may be candidates for restoration if the buyer was talented enough to do the majority of the restoration work. Except for items specific to these cars, parts should be available for relatively cheap money. I’m sure the original 360 could be perked up with some upgrades and made to perform like the car looks. All done up, they seem to be a pretty good-looking car. They at least have rarity going for them.
Tow to wreckers
This pair has been for sale now for at least the past two years and probably more. Mildly interesting when new & passingly so now in good condition (if you can stand those graphics) but utterly forgettable in that state …. I’m up-side-down already just looking at them!
For whatever reason I always liked the look of these cars. Something about the combination of the fender flares, spoiler, and window louvers always made me take a second glance.
But I think time has passed both these examples bye.
And the reader-controlled floodgates have been opened!
Vehicles are being sold “AS IS” as they sits.
1978 ??? Funkadelic.
“Who says a funk band can’t play rock?” :)
These cars were still made out of AMERICAN STEEL. Owned a 76 Aspen.It gave great service and lots of good rides. Really enjoyed driving around in this car. Have no bad times with it. Couldn’t kill it.Barry
Been looking for a Super Coupe for months but these may be too far gone. Really nice looking cars when restored. However the cost to restore one of these will far outweigh the value unfortunately.
I live about 45 minutes from there and
Will’s right about what the elements can
do a car here in Florida. If it sits too long
outsude, there won’t be much left to
restore in less than a year. Saw it happen
to a ’65(?) Plymouth Fury III 2-door hard-
top that was parked next to a house in
my neighborhood some 30 years ago.
We’d drive by the place almost everyday
when collecting on our first paper route.
When I first saw it, the car was in great
shape. Within about 18 months, it was
nothing more than a rusted out shell of
its former self. Talked to a friend who
knew the owner and he told me that it
had been hauled off for scrap by its
owner. I’ll take a lot of time and money
to make the best of these look and drive
great again. Has anyone seen one with
T-tops? I did 35 years ago on a used car
lot in my hometown. It looked good, but
I passed on it due to horrendous build
quality ascotiated with these cars. My
Aunt bought a volare new in ’76 and within 6 months, the front fenders were
rusted completely through–and she had
the damned thing undercoated before
it left the dealership! Her car also had
one of those hoods that would fly open
at any time too. Chrysler did fix these
problems free of charge for her, but the
damage was done for me. I wanted
nothing to do with them–ever! Hers
was mercifully totalled out in 1980 when
a speeding drunk rearended it while it
was parked in front of her house.
Undercoating doesn’t do a thing to prevent rust. It’s a rubberized spray that when it cracks due to time and road filth, will allow water to collect and spread rust.
Rustproofing or treatment is treatment with oil or some combination substance that protects internal body/frame and chassis parts.
The only positive of undercoating is the sound deadening it provides.Think Krown, Waxoyl, Fluid Film.
But yeah. Chrysler replaced a lot of those fenders at great cost.
Another Motor Trend Car Of The Year winner.
Hey Scotty (author), 175HP in ’78 didn’t beat the Trans Am. The Pontiac 6.6 in the Trans Am was under rated at 220HP (Z code) in ’78.
These cars should have no value to anyone. Not even interesting when new. That may be the ugliest steering wheel I’ve ever seen on a “muscle” car. Please rid the world of these so called cars and crush them now!
Well Michael,
Tell us how you really feel!
Just because you don’t like them means we have to ride the world of them.
I stated previously that I owned one and it was an excellent handling and driving car.
If you don’t want it, don’t buy it.
Many others in the car hobby can’t afford a 6 digit car to restore or mod. I have no idea what cars you consider “worthy “ for existing in our world (and I don’t care). Just be glad that there are still some car projects available for people of different tastes, abilities and financial means.
Drive on!
Michael is allowed to express his opinion on these cars (as am I), and if it’s an opinion you don’t like, well, you need to get over it. You don’t have the right not to be annoyed by what other people think of any vehicle posted here.
@Michael ~ Too drastic an idea for my tastes. Turning them into Pro-Touring hot rods would be better.
Looks pretty cool with the dark black limo tinted windshield and side windows…..Oh wait!…That’s mold…disregard…not that cool.
As the old old saying goes, opinions are like $”@ holes…everybody has one! With that being said, I bought a brand new one in ’78, my brother and I ripped off the Lean Burn garbage and single exhaust, added a points distributor and true dual exhaust and that car literally would haul a$& AND handled like a sports car! It was a blast to drive! Made a trip from NY to FL with it back in the 80’s without a hitch and drove it for years before other things in life became more important. Would own another one in a heartbeat if I was in the market! Say what you want, these cars have a place in Americsn Muscle Car history…like them or not!
2k for a junkyard starter kit? no thanks.
Of course these cars have value….Short Track racing for MOPAR guys. That vin would allow it to get through tech on the Hobby or jalopy class.
If you don’t want this from 1978, what do you want? A Mustang II? A Malibu? Maybe an olds 88?
For american car makers, it was a terrible year. Might as well go for rare and snap these bad boys up.
Heck, bell bottoms get you more smiles (and other things) at the bar today than muscles do. There is something to be said for retro and dorky.
My friend Paul in WI. owns a Super Coupe. Perhaps this article will motivate him. He can then take that car to car shows and I will take my ’79 Dodge Magnum G.T.
That’s one purty car, Pete.
Hey Pete, I’d like to see both of your cars together. Weird bit of trivia the SC wheels were not available on the Magnum but should have been with the extra space in the B-body wheel wells. Are those 15×7 wheels or SC 15×8 wheels?
According to my print info: the wheels are 15 x 7 on my Magnum GT.
If the seller had the foresight to keep all the 8″ wheels these came with, their worth would come close to his asking price. I looked far and wide for my set.
Hey Scotty.
I have an entire set (5) of those wheels.
Four of them are new.
I was going to put them on my 68 Satellite but never got around to it.
Gues I will sell them but shipping will cost a ridiculous amount cause I live in the great white North 😁
Hey Scotty
Hey Scotty,
I have a set of 5 of those 8 inch wheels.
4 of which are new and never mounted.
I was going to put them on my 68 Satellite but never got around to it.
Guess I will have to sell them but shipping out of the Great White North is going to cost someone a huge pile.
Sorry, Del, if that was addressed to me. I eventually used a pair of 7″ wheels from a Magnum XE GT for the front, and a pair of SC 8″ wheels for the rear. Offer comes about 10 years too late, wish I’d known! If you got those wheels at dealer prices, I’d imagine you wouldn’t have any trouble getting five-six times as much if you sell them.
Hey y’all, just about every car ever made has somebody, somewhere that likes it. That is what makes the hobby interesting. And some are considered “oddball” cars. It could be 3 wheeled English sports cars, Italian Micro cars, or even a plain old Studebaker, Ford, Chevy, Mopar, etc. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For me, all cars are interesting, since I look not only at the design and style, powerplant, but also the technical side of development, and the history behind it. If you don’t like a car, don’t look at it, if a car doesn’t interest me on Barn Finds, I scroll on to the next one. No sense raining on somebodys parade.
Well said!
Once again – I am allowed to say whatever I want about any car on this site. Time permitting, I read most of the postings, because some people here are quite knowledgeable about certain cars, and I learn from them. If some of you car guys get defensive about negative comments, perhaps you shouldn’t be so thin-skinned and delicate. It doesn’t bother me when people here say Advance Design Chevy trucks are ugly and that they prefer Fords. They can say whatever they want about vehicles I like, and I’m not going to whine about it and tell them to shut up and go look at other cars, or tell them to stop wasting my time.
Sad as these cars look, they look better than the one I remember from my hometown when I was a kid, with huge leprosy-like rust spots coming through the sheetmetal. These cars were on the perpetually recycled Dart platform from the late 1960s, which was a pretty good base to work from. $2,400 is a little high maybe, but they’re simple cars, the mechanical stuff is readily available, so if the unibodies are not rusted beyond use, take two and make one. In a world full of Camrys, isn’t a little variety a good thing?
These were a new platform, not based on the A body. Even the torsion bars were mounted transversely.
The Aspen/Volare spawned the Diplomat/LeBaron, then the New Yorker/Fifth Avenue [and other Dodge/Plymouth versions] and lasted well into the 80s on it’s own.
Thank you. I didn’t know that. Still though, it’s a relatively simple platform compared to today’s cars. You don’t have to be a mechanical magician to take this on.
Here is a mock period ad or brochure page I’m working on for show season.
That’s the steering wheel I’d have on this car. Nice job on the brochure.
People used to hate the super birds Ken. now look at the prices….
Just because you don’t like Dodges there’s no need for a meltdown mate :)
These Super Coupes are too much of a project for me…but they are very rare and interesting cars! They came equipped with the hipo E58 360 4bbl, 727 (non lockup), and a Sure Grip/posi rear axle…the same drive train as the Dodge Lil Red Express and the 79 Chrysler 300.
I’ve had plenty of late 70’s Mopars in my life (most as daily drivers) and found them to be good quality, well engineered cars (no bumpers have fallen off as implied in an earlier post).
Here’s a pic of a friend’s Super Coupe with my 79 Magnum GT. Both of these cars were originally equipped with the the wide GT rims, 60 series white-lettered radials, and wheel flares. His Super Coupe’s original wheels are in the trunk; the Centerlines look a little dated (like the cars I guess).
I wouldn’t mind buying both of these cars. With the right financial and mechanical resources, I would give these cars an Art Morrison chassis, a Hellcat engine, and Forgeline wheels. Then I could go autocrossing in them.
I once owned the 1978 Plymouth Volaré and liked the tough slant six
The body style was pretty cool
A rust problem it truly was
https://calvinsmusclecarcollection.weebly.com/
I have one in absolute perfect condition, wonder what it’s worth.