When you’re an automotive manufacturer attempting to stimulate flopping sales, you might rely on some cheap window dressing to fan interest in a car past its prime. That was certainly the case with the Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare Super Coupes, an aggressively-styled package that featured some handling enhancements but mostly relied on stripes and stance to get customers into stores. However, this 1978 Dodge Aspen Super Coupe here on eBay in Florida turned out to be just one of 531 sold and is a rare sight today. Said to have rust in places and in need of total restoration, the car still runs and drives despite its perch on a trailer. How great would it be to light up those wide, 15×8 rear wheels to see if it can still hit 60 in 8 seconds? Thanks to Barn Finds reader Edd J for the find!
I like how he demands you contact him if you have zero feedback when he has (0) FEEDBACK. No thanks probably wasn’t enough made to have much aftermarket parts available. Not bad looking when restored but most likely all show and no go.
and then tells us that he will cancel any 0 feedback bidders AND then leave them negative feedback. On eBay, you cannot leave feedback for someone bidding who hasn’t won an item.
He does an excellent job of showing the world how not to do a write-up. As someone said yesterday about that hideous white boat covering up the Opel GT; Rare doesn’t mean its expensive and it sure doesn’t mean you will have lots of buyers lined up to buy your POS that you can’t even get off the trailer!
Interesting little car, that hood scoop is so big it could almost double as a hood
I bought a new ’78 Aspen wagon on a Saturday afternoon. By Sunday morning the new car euphoria was gone and smashed to bits. If I bought another Aspen, my wife would have me committed. I cannot believe this car replaced the Valiant/Dart/Duster cars.
JUNK! looks like another car flipper. pass!
I remember well the Consumer Reports “frequency of repair” chart on these cars, displayed as red (good ) and black (bad) dots for each area of the car. The Aspen and Volare were solid black. Meaning solid junk- even when brand new.
Hey, this Aspen was pretty reliable in 1978!
Ok, so they made one good Aspen. Then they made thousands of junkers. All I can say is this: I bought mine on Saturday. The dealer had to fix an electrical problem before I left. Sunday, I had to jack up the front to correctly tighten the upper A arm. The 4 speed tranny started to leak and the dealer made it worse. It took several trips to get the leak fixed. Along the way the 4 speed tranny became difficult to shift, The dealer had damaged something internal. Finally the clutch delaminated. Bearings in the differential failed. The list goes on and on. At 60k miles I traded the car.
My parents were Chrysler zombies – bought new ones every couple of years. Once, they bought a K car (after owning a horrible Horizon), and by the time they got it home, the auto tranny wouldn’t shift gears. I check the transmission fluid and it had none! I filled it and told them to return the car for a new one (a refund was out of the question), but they never did.
And that wasn’t the last K car they owned……..
My Super Coupe has well over 120k miles and is very solid,reliable, strong running, and very fun to drive. I like it just as much as I did the 69 Super Bee I drove for 27yrs. Hate you got a bad one but not all of them were junk.
I could be wrong here,but isn’t that Aspen going downhill? There’s the motivation. GRAVITY. Do you know what the first thing somebody said to them at the bottom of the hill? “Just where in the hell has your aspen?
Somehow it managed to make it *up* Pikes Peak in 1982.
I’m going to play devils advocate and say how much I love the look of that car. Not in restored shape, no that’d be tacky. I love just how it sits now, rust, paint streaks, missing pinstripes. What it needs is a built 440 and cleaned up interior and engine bay, with NOTHING done to the outside of the car. Well, maybe wash the windows. Otherwise, that car looks like it would be a riot to go trolling for more expensive modern cars in.
I bet that guys neighbors absolutely love that car being parked on their street, droppin’ their property value. :D
And that sunroof just adds to the Bubba Backyard look!
“Rare” is an interesting term when it comes to cars. In this case, I think it means nobody wanted it when it was new so….
Anyway, I think he’s getting close to the max at $1850.00.
I agree with the thoughtof a big block in this and have it for a anger management car. Just go play once in a while. Or a more fuel efficient thought and easier on parts and money type toy 340 duster drivetrain motor 4speed and rear. Should be fairly easy swap and have a neat little street sleeper. Leave the body alone as much as possible. Even keepbthe crusty cragars.
A friend of mine recently purchased one of these in Oregon. These came with the E-58 360 Police Interceptor (same as Dodge Little Red Express pickup), bucket seats, console, blacked-out trim, heavy-duty suspension, 8-inch wide rims w/60 series tires, and front & rear spoilers. It’s definitely the rarest and the hottest of all Aspens (faint praise?).
The car looks wild and sounds fast (not sure if it is).
Not all super coupes came with bucket seats.
yes they did
Were these the Dodge equivalent of the Plymouth Road Runner. Or was that a completely separate package?
Yes, the Volare’ had a Road Runner model and Aspen had an R/T, but the Dodge Super Coupe was the rarest and wildest of the bunch.
The super coupe was pretty rare. The kit car was even more rare.
They did have the 360 but it was smog controlled and made considerably less power than the red express. The super coupes,R/T, kit car, and road runner outfitted with the 360 could easily handle a mustang or camaro of that era. I always liked the super coupe.
Watch Most of the car auction shows, and they always tell you how rare this or that model is. And every week you see that same “rare” vehicle in every color available. But I have yet to see 1 Super Coupe. Think the truth lies with, The vehicle won’t become a collector until all the available have been snapped up. And those collectors who missed the boat, when Dodge stated it was to be the last of the muscle cars for the 70’s. Can keep whining that its only a ” decal car “. Born into the 70’s and
it seemed everyone owned a Camero, Firebird, Z, Berlineta, Trans-Am. In fact we just called them, ( me too cars )
Because dudes talking about there cars back then would say “I’ve got a Camero”
And the reply would be “Me Too”.
But not me. Bought my Coupe new, it turned all heads down in the local metro park, weekend get togethers. She is one of the original 11 Dodges with t-tops.
Still runs like a champ, even with its near 200,000 miles on it. (24mpg+/-)
RARE- it was then, more so now.
Go DODGE !
My Super Coupe has well over 120k miles and is very solid,reliable, strong running, and very fun to drive. I like it just as much as I did the 69 Super Bee I drove for 27yrs. Hate you got a bad one but not all of them were junk. And I couldn’t agree more with &* Super Coupe’s comment. Mine gets ALOT of attention anywhere I go with it and these cars are cool late 70’s cars that WILL gain in dollar value. I like mine no matter what other people think its worth. Go DODGE!
I’m with ya,, I own 2 Supercoupes, Mopar or NoCar
As an owner of two Supercoupes and 3 R/Ts these very overlooked and underrated musclecars of the late 70s are actually getting some much deserved attention that they should have had from the beginning. True, they are not even close in popularity as the Pontiac, Chevy, and Ford muscle of that era, the coupe had NO problem chasing down,, and PASSING those rivals on the road then, as I still do today! I believe it is finally time for them to remember the name of the car that they keep seeing the rear bumper of,,, Dodge Aspen Supercoupe, and always remember, its MOPAR or NO CAR!!!
I owned a ’77 Aspen SE with T-tops, 360 V-8, and automatic. I had a friend who owned a ’77 Corvette, 350, automatic, with t-tops. I showed him my rear bumper on numerous occasions….and his t-tops leaked, too!