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Disco Era Survivor: 1978 Plymouth Volare

It’s a bit hard to believe nowadays, but when the Chrysler F-body platform (Dodge Aspen & Plymouth Volare) was introduced in mind-1976, these were considered compact cars.  All a matter of perspective, I guess.  A bit hefty for a compact by today’s standards, this survivor Volare from Poughkeepsie, New York is listed here on eBay with a current bid of $3,250 and reserve not yet met.

Dressed in Spinnaker white with a blue interior, this well-reserved 40,000 mile Plymouth echoes popular colors of the disco era.  Fortunately, they look better on this car then they do on any Angel’s Flight polyester suit from those days. The F-body cars got little love in their early years, as the 1976-77 models suffered from horrific rust issues (largely corrected by 1978) and a stigma for tepid performance when compared to the legendary Mopar muscle of just a few years earlier. And even though over 61,000 Volare coupes were built in 1978 alone, true survivors are uncommon today. This appears to be one of those remaining few. The seller notes that the body is rust free, body seams are tight and uniform, all glass is good, and even the rubber weatherstripping remains in good shape. The new but period-correct wheels are a nice touch.

As a bread-and-butter family car, most Volares had a plain but functional interior. All soft parts look very well-preserved and the dash is crack-free.

Power comes from the venerable LA-series Chrysler 318 smallblock, backed by a three-speed Torqueflite automatic. Everything here looks untouched, even the master cylinder appears to be the original unit. Early attempts at carbureted emission control (such as the computerized Lean Burn spark control system we see here) were well-intentioned, but the primitive tech of the era usually meant they were hard to troubleshoot and repair. But the seller states that it runs great and everything works as it should, including cold A/C – not surprising as the RV2 compressors are extremely stout.

While malaise-era vehicles will likely never have the appeal and appreciation potential of their earlier brethren, many baby boomers and Gen X’ers have fond memories of them. This example appears very clean, although the seller does remind us that it is “40 yrs old, original un-restored, it is not without flaws and is NOT perfect”. If the reserve is reasonable this could be a fun driver or local show/cruise night machine. Heck, they even had their own record album back in the day. Would you give this one a spin?

Comments

  1. Avatar Martin

    My mom had a 1978 Volare wagon she bought new. After 200000 miles it needed an engine, so the local dealer installed a crate. It came with a defective oil Filter adaptor which no one noticed until after mom had picked up the car and gone shopping for the day. It pumped all the oil straight onto the ground. Of course before Cel phones she could not be reached. She put over 150 miles on a dry motor (ignored the red light on the dash all day), and the shop took it back, dropped the pan and said no damage was done, and gave her an extended warranty. We put another 200000 miles on that motor.
    Other than that the Chrysler lean burn system was crap and it constantly had driveability problems, and we finally sold it out of frustration. Still, we put a lot of hard miles on it.

    Like 10
  2. Avatar Jack M.

    So you “finally “ sold the car after only 400,000 miles!

    Like 8
  3. Avatar stillrunners

    Bro and his wife’s car was a wood grain wagon…..they scooted around many a mile with the kids in that thing.

    Like 2
  4. Avatar Howard

    I never found anyone that could make a “lean burn” engine run right including the dealership. Sister sold her Cordoba with less than 30k miles when it nearly 20 years old. If it backfired when cranking it the nose would break right out of the starter. If you foolishly pumped the gas it would not start til you installed a new set of plugs. That backfiring, sputtering bleepity bleepin 400 ran like a raped ape if you kept your foot in the carburetor which was the only way to drive it without clouds of black smoke spewing out. The guy that bought it took it to the dealership several times and finally gave it back to Sis. Gawd I hated that damned beautiful car………

    Like 6
  5. Avatar Craig M Bryda

    My Mom & Dad bought a new 1978 Volare Wagon with the 225 slant six & woodgrain sides, they put many many miles on it. Over 250K. Other then a cracked exhaust manifold & a rusty gas tank they had no problems with it. He changed the oil himself every 3000 miles, It was a loved car.

    Like 5
  6. Avatar CanuckCarGuy

    Nice looking car, and those chrome 5-spoke rims seal the deal; buckets and a console are the only changes I would make.

    Like 9
    • Avatar John D.

      White vinyl buckets and a blue console and keep the blue carpets.

      Like 7
  7. Avatar Oingo

    I like it.

    Like 2
  8. Avatar Louden

    Oh my, with a slant 6 , i had one would not die after no mercy abuse for 8 years and 150,000 miles. Lady’s came and went, and it always got me there.

    Like 5
  9. Avatar Kevin Gaedig

    My mom bought a 76 new while still on the car carrier gold and yellow with white and black interior and a 225 she still has it and it has right under 100k but is starting to suffer from the rust issues …wish someone would make parts for this car so i could restore it for her

    Like 2
  10. Avatar JimmyJ

    Born and raised Mopar but these things are junk!

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Lee Henderson

    Wow, nice little car. A 360 Magnum with a cam,Lt headers(catless b/c TX don’t care) and a conversion to a hotter induction system making 450ish hp crank through a high stalled TF727 would make for a simple, quick and handsome street machine. I’d change the wheels, probably to something light like centerlines with sticky MH rubber. Go for the 80s street racer look.

    Like 1
  12. Avatar Spider

    Had one,loved it.The 318 was pretty peppy. I will always remember the rattle of the heat riser on the exhaust manifold

    Like 1
  13. Avatar Troy s

    Has the stance, that’s for sure. Not bad looking at all.
    All of the auto manufacturers were under the gun to comply with what seemed to be very strict emissions regulations, in a relatively short period of time. You wound up with some of the worst running cars this country had ever seen across the board. And I’m being nice here.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Miguel

      That is one of the good things about being in Mexico.

      The cars such as these had none of the experimental smog equipment on them.

      Yes they ran better but they still weren’t good cars.

      The initial quality wasn’t any better here than they were in the US.

      Like 0
  14. Avatar C Blankenship

    I had a forest green 78 volar’e it had a 225 4speed O/D transmission & super six in it,
    the crankshaft was weak
    That year , I stuck 4 HR70 14 tires on it I was getting close to 36mpg
    But at 33,000 miles the engine seized up .I miss that car!

    Like 0

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