1 of 531: 1978 Dodge Aspen Super Coupe
The Aspen was the successor to the Dodge Dart from 1976 to 1980 (over at Plymouth, it was the Volare). America’s muscle car market was largely on life support by 1978, yet that’s when Dodge and Plymouth both introduced the Super Coupe. It was a dressed-up 2-door fastback (kinda) that made a little noise from under the hood with a 360 cubic inch V8. Only 531 of them were built and it was a one-year-only endeavor.
If you bought an Aspen Super Coupe in 1978, you could get it in any color you wanted – as long as it was Sable Sunfire Metallic with black accents and flashy side stripes. A front air dam was grafted on the front with a rear spoiler in the back (and side window louvers, too). Given that Dodge built 197,707 Aspens in 1978, just one out of every 372 came with this rare option. They were peppy for the era as the motor produced 175 horses (SAE net) and 260 lb.-ft. of torque.
The F-bodied Aspens and Volare’s would bite new president Lee Iacocca in the butt because they would receive scores of recalls which could mostly be attributed to a rushed development of the vehicles. Sales quickly went south and there would be no second-generation Aspen or Volare as the K-Car was the next marvel to arrive on the scene. Between Dodge and Plymouth, maybe only 1.025 Super Coupes ever saw the light of day.
According to the seller, this Aspen is in great original condition and has seen less than 39,000 miles in its 46 years on Planet Earth. Everything works as it should, including the factory A/C, and the interior is nice and inviting. A few little rust bubbles have crept up, but don’t seem to be of any immediate concern. The seller has owned this Mopar for 20 years and health reasons have brought this car to market (along with a Volare Super Coupe).
Considering how few of these were assembled, this could be one of the nicest Super Coupes left in existence. Available here on eBay, the current bid for the car in West Unity, Ohio, is $10,100. Of course, there’s an unmet reserve, but you can pass-go and cut a cashier’s check for $25,000 to take it home.
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Comments
Exact quote from “Iacocca: An Autobiography by Lee A. Iacocca, William Novak.”
Page 169 under the heading Aboard A Sinking Ship.
“It wasn’t only the style of Chrysler products that had a bad reputation.
Among the worst examples were the Aspen and Volare`, the successors to the highly acclaimed Dart and Valiant.
The Dart and Valiant ran forever, and they never should have been dropped.
Instead they had been replaced by cars that started to come apart after a year or two.”
Pretty sure he said the same thing about the Mustang II…..
The Super Coupe sent all the 360 power thru a 3spd Torq-flite, out to a factory 3.21 rear gear ⚙️ under 3500lbs curb weight. Other than the 400 Pontiacs this pkg was probably a potent street cruiser for 78′
David I agree with you on the rust issues. I worked at a very busy Chrysler dealership in Yonkers NY back in the late 70’s. They had a recall (Major) on replacement fenders for these cars. And from the Chrysler service rep. Found out why they rusted out on the fenders. True story.. the silicone that ran around the windshield in the front and then they applied the molding. The person that was applying the silicone was short and she couldn’t reach the top middle of the windshield so they weren’t done with silicone. Water got in there travel down got into the fender area and that’s what happened. The Union got to approve box so she could stand on it and do her job only in America this could happen! And cost Chrysler lots of money. Ok I seen these Super Coupes back then and they were cool. Some had a stick shift on the floor. The 360 here has plenty a potential to make some decent horsepower. 300 and higher close to 400hp. If done correctly. They also had the Plymouth Road Runner I saw at the dealer . It had T-tops Hemi orange with stripes. But it had a 318. I was tempted to buy it then. But if I had more money I would gotten the Super Coupe. This one looks odd with the front higher than the rear. I don’t know if there was a adjustment on the L shape torsion bars. It’s a fair price. Good luck to the next owner. 🐻🇺🇸
Good story although I would guess Chrysler had more than one person applying the silicone. I’m also guessing the UAW made darn sure there was more than one person applying the silicone. In fact, they probably had two people positioning the box along with a union steward watching the operation. As a former dues-paying member of the IBEW and the USW, you can trust me on this one.
Sorry Frank. I don’t trust you. I did 30+ years on the shop floor with proud, industrious co-workers. I found that most guys who talked the union down were insufferable dog f#ckers who just made the day longer and the job harder.
To be PC today I believe the correct term would “dog and cat EATERS”.
The front torsion bars are adjustable, and the tail squat is just a function of gravity working on the rear leafs for 46 years.
A competent spring shop can recurve them and put the car back at proper ride height.
I have 4 of these and they are great cars for their time.
Malaise is the right word. Nothing then was very wonderful,,, kinda like NOW, might well be referred back to as the assassination era… if the country survives.
Iococca was wrong about style.The Volare and Aspen were good looking but seriously flawed cars.As a malaise era kid,although it’s heresy,the Volare Road Runner was epically cool as teens of my era did not really know better and that’s what we got.And the Super Coupe was awesome looking,great style car with great bling package.All we really knew was Chrysler Corp products were really bad in the era,they just looked really cool.
The 78-80 Volare/Aspens were greatly improved over the 76-77 models, and rusted no worse than any other car of the era , and much less than most imports of the same time. Other than the v8s Lean burn system which could be removed , the cars were fairly bulletproof , with the majority having the 225 Slant six ; the rest with the 318 or 360 . Like most compact cars , they weren’t meant to be saved and cherished , and most went from buyer to buyer until they were $50 beaters – The same as all 4 of GMs Nova line and Fords Granada/Monarch cars. It seemed that these kinds of cars were everywhere , and now they’re all but extinct – finding a nice original is rare unless it was someone’s grannies car that just sat in her garage for the last 40 years .
I’ve had a couple of the cars , My 78 Volare I bought used and drove it daily for 14 years of rough New England weather before the rust in the unibody finally did it in , and I sadly drove it to the junkyard with just over 200k on it – That was 18 years of never being garaged , sitting out in all kinds of weather , and never babied.
Everything works as it should, including the factory A/C.
Wow, for once a vehicle is being offered without the A/C needing to be recharged.
cool ride for an aspen
Interesting as the twin snorkel air cleaner has no warm air provision
For a car with this few miles, why has the steering wheel been recovered and why is there rust on it?
The “Tuff ” steering wheels had a foam covered rim , they can degrade or tear after a while, so someone came up with a covering. . My 73 has a Tuff wheel and while it looks perfect, the glue that hold the foam to the metal ring has degraded and now the foam is loose on the top part of the wheel. There are reproductions available.
The rust you see is more likely some kind of dirt
I thought the ones with the “43”graphics were a different year. Considering how many I’ve seen in person I figured there were more than 500.
The “Tuff ” steering wheels had a foam covered rim , they can degrade or tear after a while, so someone came up with a covering. . My 73 has a Tuff wheel and while it looks perfect, the glue that hold the foam to the metal ring has degraded and now the foam is loose on the top part of the wheel. There are reproductions available.
The rust you see is more likely some kind of dirt
I remember the Aspen twins. A neighbor had a new Road Runner and the quarter panels and fenders were gone within a year.
I don’t believe the lack of sealer or a UAW issue. Bad design combined with workers thinking they would soon be out of a job.
One can thank a single automobile design that put Chrysler engineering in the toilet and almost shut the doors forever.
Thanks to Lee that didn’t happen.
Could you get a manual trans with the 360?
Could you get the 360 in any ’78 Aspen or Volare – including 4 door cars & wagons?
The 400 cube should have been offered – at least in this car & with a 4 speed manual to steal sales from firebird.