Road Runner Option: 1978 Plymouth Volare
The demand for muscle cars was on the wane in the mid-1970s. So, when Chrysler developed the new compact F-platform, they decided to transfer the name to the new Plymouth Volare (at Dodge, the car was called the Aspen). It was an appearance package with not a lot to offer in the performance department. This yard find is a 1978 Road Runner that the seller says “ran and drove” without mentioning when. It needs some TLC to be viable again and resides in Kemp, Texas. It’s available here on Facebook Marketplace for $3,000 OBO.
When it came time to retire the Plymouth Duster, the Volare was its successor. The all-new car (and its Dodge companion) was produced between 1976-80 and would prove to be a problematic product for Chrysler. The automobiles were the subject of several recalls earlier on, and quality control was called into question on many occasions. They would prove not to carry the compact torch as well as the Valiant did from 1960-76.
Once a fire-breathing mid-size car, the 1976-80 Road Runner in Volare guise would never pack more than 360 cubic inches under the hood, and the 318 V8 was more common. A 225 Slant-Six was even in the mix for a time. We don’t know which motor is in the seller’s car, but it could be either the 360 with a 4-barrel carburetor and dual exhaust or the 318 2-barrel. An automatic transmission was the only choice, but the car did borrow suspension parts from the Volare police package.
Plymouth could only muster 14-15,000 Volare Road Runners in five years, and just a few hundred in 1978 alone. We’re told this version may have been running but needs a battery and at least one tire (the seller has it, but just hasn’t gotten around to replacing it). The paint is faded in spots and the driver’s side rear quarter panel is damaged as is the rear bumper. And no photos of the interior are offered. Interesting is that while the grille is missing, the letters R/T are present which was used on the Aspen R/T, the Road Runner equivalent. Given the lack of performance of these cars, is this a project you’d undertake restoring?
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Comments
From meep-meep to meek-meek.
A peach in 78′
No thanks. I’d rather have an older Dart. They were wimpy smogged out garbage by then.
My Dad’s 76 Dodge Trademan 300 3/4 ton Van was a 318 with only 120hp. It was a dog and got 11mpg uphill or down…
Single wiper blade.
That’s not a Roadrunner it’s a Dodge!!!
R/T on the grill and a Road Runner on the tail panel. I don’t think it’s either one. But for $3000.00 I’ll haul it off for scarp.
Of course you would – why dont you have any snide comments on any other brand of car posted ?
This a Plymouth Volare Roadrunner evident by the tail lights and the front parking lights. Someone has stuck an RT badge on a homemade grill.
If it’s a Volare it’s a Plymouth, if it’s a Dodge, it’s an Aspen. Basically the same car.
Young kid in our town had a brand new one (Orange) that his parents bought for him, a wealthy family and were decent people. The car had the 318 and the kid thought it was the fastest thing around. It was sad because every one he tried to race, blew him away. But he had fun, a kid with a new hi-perf vacuum cleaner.
This is an insult to every authentic Road Runner owner.
Remember the chevy Nova Steve ?
The corolla lol
My Mom had one of those Nova’s, and although not a bad car (way better than the 1984 Sentra it replaced), it was still an insult to the Nova nameplate.
This too, not a bad car for the time, was an insult to the name plate. Kinda like naming a chihuahua Kujo. It might be funny in an ironic sort of way, but it ain’t right lol.
This vehicle is in really rough shape and missing parts like the side rear window treatments. If the interior is as bad as the exterior then I’d pass otherwise I might offer him a grand and maybe get it back on the road but only if it had the 360-4bbl. Unfortunately a restoration would be far to expensive and you would never get back nearly what you would have to put into it. BTW it’s a Plymouth Volare Roadrunner. The taillights are the dead give away.
And the very brittle 1978 -79 grilles are just about unobtainium . I had a 78 Volare in the mid 1980s and even then they were scarce
Dart’s and Dusters we’re so much better for a performance platform, similar underpinnings and engine offerings, but lighter, simpler and seemingly better built. I’d much rather a clean V8 Duster as a starting point then drop in a warmed over 340/360 for some stoplight fun than this. But, different strokes for different folks.
I had a red one with a transplanted 340 with a six pack in it and a buddy had a green one with a 440/ two four bbls. They ran pretty well. A blonde in town had a silver Aspen with red accent stripes, spoiler, wheelwell flares like a Trans Am and a red interior. They were both lookers.
My brain is foggy on the wheel flare cars. I may very well be wrong here, but I think they called them Super Coupes.
I had a ’77 Aspen R/T. It had about 3 or 4HP, but I helped it it into a respectable mechanical condition that had it performing almost as fast as it looked. It came with a 360 2bbl, single exhaust, and an open highway gear rear end from the factory. I changed the intake and put a thermoquad on it, shift kit in the tranny, and a 4;10 sure grip. Also a side exit dual exhaust from an AAR Cuda. Still it was a miserable lump, and it would rust sitting in a garage in Sante Fe NM!! The interior also crumbled without any encouragement. Parts for this car are as rare as hens teeth these days. If you are inspired to have one, I’d look for a super clean original, and pay a little more than twice to three times the asking price of this one. That way you’ll be way ahead of misery and final, higher, restoration expenses…and you’ll actually have something to drive.
You can just feel the love in the room for these cars. :P I had a ’78, back in about 87 or so. Spitfire Orange with all the stripes, flares & spoilers, 360-4bbl. I got tired real fast of getting beat by IROC Camaros, so…. Good bye emissions for headers, & threw the TQ in the trash in favor of an Edelbrock. Add a bit of a cam, & she went pretty well. More than kept up with the F-bodies, and with the cop suspension, it actually handled pretty well too. Not sure what rear gear was in it, but it’d run out of breath at about 115. Pick on ’em all you want. Still better than the contemporary Nova or Fairmont.