It’s hard to imagine how much the motoring high-performance scene changed between 1970 and 1977, actually, the time between ’70 and ’73 was momentous enough, but by ’77 the fun was largely over. The Dodge Challenger/Plymouth ‘Cuda, gone; Javelin/AMX, gone; The Camaro Z28 was gone but made a weak and unimpressive reprisal in February ’77. Cars like the Charger had turned into a Luxo-barge and the GM intermediates and their former performance elements known as SS, GTO, 442, GS were mostly now just barges in the form of the Malibu, LeMans, Cutlass, and Century. Mopar tried a downsizing by moving the R/T and the Roadrunner designations downstream to the fairly new Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare, respectively. And today, our review is a ’77 Dodge Aspen R/T; let’s see what 1977 “muscle” comprised. This Dodge is located in Denver, Colorado and is available, here on craigslist for $20,000. Thanks to Gunter K for this tip!
The Aspen/Volare twins were introduced in 1976 to replace the venerable, but aging Dart/Valiant. Both models put up some serious production volumes but they weren’t without their issues as recalls became a commonplace occurrence. Body styles were limited to three with two and four-door sedans and a station wagon. The Aspen R/T actually came in two different versions, an R/T and a spoilered R/T Super Pak – this example appears to have started out as the former.
Regarding the Aspen R/T, the ’77 Dodge sales brochure claims, “These are real road machines. Not super cars with big engines as in days of old (sounds like a King Arthur tale!?) But finely tuned responsive automobiles. Cars that keep you in control. Take the transmission, it’s a three-speed manual. Floor mounted…” Talk about days of old with that three-speed reference. What was really available were stripes and spoilers on a car with wider tires and a firmer suspension that probably did maneuver pretty well. In this case, power is courtesy of a 318 CI V8 but a 360 V8, in either a two or four-barrel carburetor state of tune, was available. Unfortunately, there is no engine image included in the listing. Surprisingly, a four-speed manual transmission was still available but only with the 318 engine. This example is outfitted with the more commonly found automatic transmission but it is described as being as a “Trans go” four-speed automatic. A later swap? Sounds like it. There is also a reference to a “Dart rear end” but I’m not certain how that’s an advantage or relevant. The odometer reading is 50K miles, no claim of authenticity, but if it’s true that’s minimal and this R/T should still have lots of get-up-and-go. Besides the no-engine image, there is no statement regarding running prowess.
This R/T has a minimalist vibe to it as it is lacking stripes and spoilers. It has an R/T grille badge but that’s about the only form of ID that it’s carrying. The only other giveaway is the louvered quarter windows and for that dearth of visuals, I give this Aspen two-thumbs up, it looks great! Along with the aftermarket wheels, and wide rear tires, it has a real sleeper look about it but if it’s still packing its original 166 net HP 318 engine, the go-fast air will only be skin deep. Still, this car is 44 years old and it presents beautifully, it has been well stored.
The interior has not been photographed well and we can only catch a glimpse, but what’s visible looks fine. It appears to be a black vinyl environment with a nice dash pad and the original steering well. The console lid looks misaligned but maybe it’s just not properly closed. I wish I had more for you, but I don’t. The seller does mention that this R/T has a factory sunroof so that’s a nice inclusion.
The late ’70s were a tough time for the auto industry, insurance hikes, one fuel embargo down and another right around the corner, clean air mandates, and an NHTSA on steroids made for challenging times. To add to the fun, Chrysler Corporation was far from financially healthy. But they did what they had to do to survive and what we see here is the resulting product. No, it’s not a ’69 Dart GTS but so what, it’s a fine example from a difficult, historical time for domestic auto-building. I hope this Aspen R/T finds a good home.
I had a 77′ Volare 6 cyl. I needed a cheap economical car to replace my troublesome 455 GTO ( a young love decision) lol.
$100 and it lasted a year until something happened to the Torsion Bar , when I went over a big bump it would smash against the floor right under me and then had a good hard pull to the left.
I miss the days of the Hundred Dollar Horror cars
20k for a poorly photographed, questionable running condition, ’77 pseudo muscle car, that isn’t even in original condition?? I think not.
WOW !!!! An absolutely gorgeous car. Love it !!!
Hmmm. Interesting car and “I’m of an age” where the nostalgia thing is real. Especially for Mopars as I owned two that are definite classics nowadays back when I was a dumb kid and tore them up. But, the market for these cars is in a place that I don’t want to follow. I teach Econ and understand that the market is what it is, It just isn’t my market. Real cool car for Cars and Coffee. Some minimal bolt-ons would take the performance up to a level that would be acceptable but if I’m starting at $20K what do I have? A cool car for Cars and Coffee.
Dart rear end was slightly narrower, iirc…
Mopar all the way ,looks like it could be a street sleeper. Potential is there . LOVE IT
These were truly lousy cars, and there is no way to “church” them up. I got my license in 1979 and I remember these cars well. The fit and finish was poor, engine problems, suspension problems, and the rust issues were horrendous. They were rushed into production and nearly brought an end to Mopar. The most recalled until GM’s X platform. You actually felt bad for people who bought them. My manager at McDonald’s bought one in 1977, blue R/T, 3 on the tree, rusty mess in 2 years. Nice girl, terrible car, they should of crushed all of them.
Had a 1976 Volare Roadrunner.Recalls were common. First was peeling chrome on the bumper and the rusting out at the top of the fenders even though I had it Ziebarted. It had a 360 2 barrel That engine ran flawless till the day I sold woth 275,000 miles on it.
Do not like the look , sagging , looks too close to the ground.
This is an interesting and cool car. I’ve never seen a Dodge Aspen R/T in person. But $20,000?!?! You could get a 318 or a 360 in any version of these with an automatic transmission. I’d want to heck out some of the modifications and make sure they really added something to the car’s performance.
I had a ’77 Aspen SE coupe with the 318, and loaded. That car gave me a lot of grief. Then replaced it with a ’80 Aspen 4 Dr with the slant 6 and stripped down. That car wasn’t too bad.
I had a ’76 Aspen SE bought new in September ’76. At 28,000 miles the rear end broke a spider gear. My mechanic eventually found a replacement at a scrap yard. Among other things, the back of the buckets seats were carpeted but the carpeting kept falling off, I found a sizeable bolt beneath the floor carpeting and, although I had the car rust proofed, the tops of the front fenders started to show rust bubbles. After two years I traded it in, on a rainy night, for a 1979 Chevette. Never an issue with that car.
I was selling Dodge’s during this time period, and I remember our parts department had hundreds of fenders waiting to replace the junk ones these were built with. We sold the heck out of them, it was the rebates that got then out the door.
These were REALLY bad cars as the posts above and Consumer Reports used car repair guides circa 1980 will tell you. That being said, the fact that this one survived in this condition tells you that 1) someone loved and pampered it, and 2) it was one of the better built ones. Still worth no where near 20K.
Dont believe everything Consumer reports says, they are based in Ct. , and I remember their used car charts from back then . They always rated the Asian cars as having great body integrity , meanwhile, the imports were driving down the CT. highways with their fenders flapping in the breeze due to the cheesy steel they used. With them ,if it was an import it was great , anything else was terrible .
That being said, the 76 -77 Aspen/Volares had a ton of issues, but the 78 -80 models were a big improvement
Really? I can hear this cars front fenders rusting from here.
Hey Paul Belle….
Back in the day I sold chevettes, I wouldn’t be bragging about buying one!!!
LOL!!!!
LOL! My ex got it in the divorce in 1980 so it’s probably been turned into a few toasters by now! LOL.
Nice looking car,but no way,no how,would I pay 20k,even if it were mint condition, and crate motor etc.like many have said,they were turds that certainly helped steer Chrysler toward bankruptcy back then.
20k gives you a ton of choices for “classic” 70’s iron.
This example would not be on my list.
The price of weed in Denver must be on the rise!
The look is there, it looks like a speedy Mopar but these were the cars of my later child hood and believe me, nothing was running strong in those days new off the lot. I saw a street freak made out of one of these years ago, bug scoop no hood centerlines, and wild paint trouble maker at the wheel,, it actually looked pretty cool.
My late friend Alex had one of these brand new end of 77, it was black also with the red R/T stripes and Logos, it was a 360, automatic w a/c and the tuff wheel, as shown in this car, the 360 was pulled in 79, replaced by a balanced and blueprinted 440, lots of alterations after that, car became a strictly track car by 1980, then got sold soon after, we kept in touch till the day he passed away at 60 this past December, he always regretted selling that car, and always dreamt of building another one, but life got in the way for him, amongst other things, he would have loved this one, he would have told you just how it should be built , Rest In Peace pal