Estate Sale Find! 1977 Dodge Aspen Survivor
We’ve all heard stories about finding a cream puff car that grandma only drove to the store and church on Sundays, but these usually pan out to be about as exaggerated as grandpa’s tales of landing the largest bass ever spotted in the lake, before it got away. However, after examining this 1977 Dodge Aspen here on Craigslist, I tend to believe the seller’s claims that the car has lived the sheltered life he describes, and I’m guessing this is probably one of the nicest examples still remaining. If you’d like to see this one in your driveway, or better yet your garage, the asking price has been set at $10,700, and you’ll need to head over to Goldendale, Oregon if you’d like to check out the car in person.
The seller says he ran across the Dodge at an estate sale and purchased it 6 years ago, and even with the time he’s spent behind the wheel the car’s only got 71,000 miles. It’s described as being all original, so I assume that includes the paint, which is said to shine like a new finish, and judging from the photos that doesn’t seem to be far from factual. An Aspen coupe has one of those bodies that seems to really benefit from some extra trim, and I’m really liking how those body side moldings enhance the appearance, plus adding a vinyl top changed the shape of the rear side window, which is also an improvement in the looks department if you ask me.
If there’s any bad news here it’s that grandma chose the Slant 6, not that it was a bad motor, but buyers also had a pair of V8s to pick from, a 318 or even the 360, but the positive here is the seller has driven the car 12,000 miles himself and says the motor has been trouble-free, with nothing other than a tune-up and oil changes the entire time. In fact, the engine runs so well he believes the Aspen could be driven across the country with no worries about its reliability, and things under the hood certainly appear to be in tip-top order.
The wow factor is pretty high when checking out the interior, with a condition that backs up the amount of care the seller says his car has received since day one. Theoretically, I’d probably prefer buckets and a console, but when the bench looks this good I could easily overlook this! Maybe just replace the carpet at some point and be done with the inside. It’s pretty cool too how the rear seat folds down to give access to the trunk, which also looks as nicely preserved as the rest of the car. A Dodge Aspen has never been on my must-own bucket list, but for a fun driver, I’d love to be cruising around in this one and feel the asking price is quite reasonable for what you’re getting here. What do you think?
Auctions Ending Soon
2002 Subaru Impreza WRXBid Now8 hours$333
1975 Chevrolet Corvette ConvertibleBid Now9 hours$4,000
1964 Ford F-100 Camper CustomBid Now10 hours$2,000
2006 Jeep Wrangler SportBid Now2 days$11,000
1974 Datsun 260ZBid Now4 days$750
Comments
Looking to replace my car that had been totalled in an accident, I wanted the one pictured on the front of the brochure, but a salesman tried to tell me that “only a few cars had been made like that one”! The only one I found was a /6 model that had sustained damage from a tree limb falling on it. Now, I could probably live w/ the /6, but as Mike stated, I’d really prefer buckets and a console. I’ve been downsizing, but the “force” from this one is tugging at me! GLWTS!! :-)
I had a 225 powered ’78 Volare coupe just like this one except my interior was cloth in the same copper color as the body , it lasted me until 1995 when I finally had to retire it . It was the most reliable car I’ve ever had. I actually drove it to an old school junkyard where it could sit in the woods indefinitely as opposed to a modern junkyard where it would have been crushed that day . I kind of felt like it deserved a rest
hey moparman!
i just happen to have the buckets and console in this color.
and i could be persuaded to part with them he says with a cheeky grin
Grandma didn’t have A/C? Don’t drive it to Florida you will melt like frosty the snowman!
I think that Chrysler was brilliant at re-engineering (or should I say re-introducing) their cars over and over again. The slant-6 came out in 1960, and here it is, still, in 1977. The Duster came out in 1970, and here it is again in 1977 with some body tweaks and a new name.
In ’57 the Forward Look Mopars came out with the torsion bar suspension, and that platform lasted 20 years. Great automotive engineering and great value-engineering/brand engineering in my opinion.
The Aspen/ Volare shares nothing with the Duster, other than the Slant 6. The Slant lasted until 1983 in passenger cars, 1987 in trucks, and 1991 in Mexico. Torsion bar suspension like you mention debuted in 1957, there were 2 kinds of torsion bars used by Chrysler. The longitudinal torsion bars which came out in 57 lasted until 1981, the transverse torsion bars (as used on the Aspen/ Volare) were introduced in 1976 on the Aspen/ Volare. They lasted until 1988 on the Diplomat/ Grand Fury/ 5th Ave.
I like that it is super clean, since most were rotted junk within a few years. However, with a boring slant 6 and no A/C, I don’t see too many buyers willing to pay anything for it. I do hope it finds a good home.
I often wonder about the original owners of these cars. I wonder how long that initial pride of ownership lasted before it turned to regret for buying a steaming pile of car manure? The family across the street from my childhood home bought a new ’77 Volare coupe. Within a few months, the tops of the white front fenders were turning brown from the rust forming underneath. After one Pittsburgh winter, the tops of the fenders were gone.
Your posts have gotten more negative than mine, which I’m trying to clean up, and that’s unsettling. I’m not so sure how proud granny was, to her, it was just what she wanted. These were good cars, and certainly don’t deserve the “pile” reference. I called you out on the last Aspen/Volare post, you better have more examples than the old lady across the street. I come from Wisconsin, the absolute KING of rusty cars, maybe Minnesota, but I never saw a car rust in “just a few months”. The fastest cars to rust, were without question, the Asian offerings or GM trucks, and even then, 2 or 3 winters before any rust appeared. Rust simply cannot be a determining factor as to whether a car was good or not.
A few months ? where’d you live , the Bonneville salt flats ? The 1976-1977s did rust out prematurely, but nothing even close to that speed here, and we lived right on the Atlantic coast in CT. At that rate, a Vega would have broken in half before it even got delivered to the dealership !
My Dad bought a brand new 1977 Dodge Aspen wagon, pretty much in the same beige as the one above. It was a hasty purchase at night unfortunately, because when he popped the hood in the driveway at home in the morning, I was shocked to see surface rust on all the inner fenders and beyond. I think we had that wagon for maybe 2 or 3 years.
And this was in Southern California, btw.
And yet look at this car….Obviously not from the rust belt. Have you been to dahn-tahn Pittsburgh lately? Not pretty.
What’s not pretty about it? Perhaps *you’re* the one who hasn’t been here lately.
I was there last month. It’s dirty and full of homeless people.
Loved the style, the whole car wouldn’t last very long because the company built the car with really poor quality steel from china. This car should NEVER be driven in the winter time.
Don’t think it was Chinese steel back in the mid 70’s. Actually it was a design flaw in the baffling on the underside of the fender that allowed dirt, salt, sand, etc. to collect under there. Nobody was using galvanized steel back then.
We all what happened next. In the Northeast those fenders turned to Swiss cheese.
The fenders were redesigned for the 1978 model year and the issue went away. Yes some early 78 builds did not have the new design.
My sister had one in green with a white vinyl top. I was always begging to use it since it was the only car in the family that had an FM radio. AC? Fuggedaboudit!
Just an FYI, Goldendale is in Washington, not Oregon. However, it is on the Columbia, just across the river from OR.
This car is perfect for the MOPAR fanatic that has almost one of everthing. You could cross ’77 slant six Aspen off the list.
Nice car $8500 overpriced I’m reluctant to just go back to driving the older stuff because I hear it’s getting harder to find parts
depends on what parts your talking about.
sheetmetal for these was always tough.
powertrain parts easy peasy
brakes and suspension still good.
interior electrical maybe a bit tougher.
i ran one of these till i sold it to by my triumph bonneville. great car good fuel economy with the lockup 904 trans. my only real gripe was the bleh instrument panel. my local mopar guy has a rust free t-top shell i’d love to grab if only i could finish the projects in front of me now.
as for the price of this one it’s a bit high but if an eyeball inspection proves it to be as goo as it looks then the face to face waving of greenbacks might pull it down a bit.
No lockup converters in 1977
ok joe mine must have been a 78. same animal though. i do know mine had the lock up,because the funny shift after 3rd, sent me to my local tranny shop. where i got an education on those new fangled transmissions while tim did the test drive and said nothing wrong here…
My sister wanted a new 1977 Corolla but my dad talked her into getting a 1977 Volare. It was light green with a white vinyl landau-style top, a white bench interior, a fold-down rear seat option, and a 360/auto. She sold it rather quickly and purchased the Corolla.
Interesting that they checked the box for tilt wheel but no other “luxuries”.
Rich, it might have been originally owned by a person of rotund proportions.
This is not an SE, which came with the landau vinyl top. It’s an Aspen Custom…so was the factory landau top available on the Custom? I don’t recall that being the case.
Lovely looking car. 1976 and 77 are my favourite years for the Dodge Aspen. My aunt had a 1977 Dodge Aspen 2 door, similar to this car, except hers was blue. I can’t remember what engine powered her car. I can’t remember how long she had the car. I remember hers being quite reliable and a fun car to ride around in.