I’ve owned two J-bodies and five M-bodies, but I’ve never owned a Dodge Aspen or a Plymouth Volaré, the F-body of the Mopar FMJ group. There’s really no difference besides wheelbase and which ones came first, but I’ve never been that drawn to the F-cars. I can’t explain why, either…it’s not like there’s really that much difference between the models. Ok, no Aspen is going to be trimmed out like a Fifth Avenue, for sure. But no Fifth Avenue was ever cast as a performance car. The Aspen had a couple of options, ranging from just having a 360 under the hood to the all-out Kit Car with it’s oversized flares, spoilers, and window retaining straps. In between was the Aspen R/T, the Dodge version of the Plymouth Volaré Road Runner. You could get it as mild or as (tepidly) wild as you wanted and it’d look the part. It’d also run with the performance cars of the day…being 1978, don’t get your hopes up too high.
In the case of this TX9 Black Aspen R/T, you can go ahead and get them up. It was an original 360 car, so even if it was dead nuts stock, you’d be fine, but it’s not. It’s being sold as a roller, and a very clean one at that. If there was ever a case for a built small-block Chrysler mill on nitrous, here you go. Don’t mind the bodywork, don’t mind the bars, just get a stomper of a mill underneath that hood and go tear it up. Just do us one favor, please: make it a street-strip car. It’s so close now that it just makes sense, and it would actually be cool to see an Aspen this clean on the roads.
Wow, I can’t believe I actually typed that.
RacingJunk.com link: 1978 Dodge Aspen R/T E58
The seller also has some other Aspen/Volare for sale that look clean. Wish they were closer.
All I’d do is add a 416 Mopar small block, then use it as a street / strip car.
I don’t know why but I’d want to fill the engine bay with a slant six turbocharged to within an inch of it’s life.
I don’t mind the car as it is, but I think losing the stock bumpers would make it even cooler…