My dad had a '77 Volare Premier that looked a lot like this except the body colour was white. I am surprised this example does not have the turn indicators on the fenders flanking the hood. Ours had those. On our last family trip in '77, we took the Volare down through Michigan to southern Ontario and on to Montreal. No air conditioning in the 105 degree northern Wisconsin heat was not fun. The interior of this one is pretty similar to ours. Our 77 came with just an AM radio so we added a Radio Shack pull-out FM/cassette player mounted on the transmission hump. My dad kept the car for only about two years and traded it in on a Buick Skylark X-car in late spring of '79.
The "wing" isn't usually referred to as a wing and isn't for high performance uses, it's a fairly common option on late 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's domestic station wagons. It was there to deflect air down and (depending on the manufacturer) was supposed to keep the window clean (since rear wipers were rare) and/or keep dust and exhaust out of the passenger cabin should you be driving a wagon with a rear tailgate window that could be lowered. Nice looking wagon, by the way, great job keeping it period correct.
It was also there to deflect exhaust gases away from entering the car, mostly on the full size wagons that had the rear window that rolled down. They were standard on all wagons.
Thanks... I came here to explain it, too. Over the years my family had several Vista Cruisers ('60's and 70's). I think my dad called it an "air deflector". It was definitely functional... And very good at its job.
We had a '76 Volare wagon, bought slightly used. Recalled 6 times. The biggest was the fenders rusting through before factory warranty expired. Took it in to the dealer for "free" replacement fenders. Dealer called later that day to advise that the wheel well housings were also rusted out and would need to be replaced before new fenders could be hung, not covered, a big bill. Rest of the car rusted badly throughout. The car was so comfortable to drive that a '78 Dodge Aspen replaced it. Fenders and body held up ok but, front of floor pan rusted so badly that the whole driver side foot well broke away and fell to the road. I was also in a bad roll-over accident in a friend of the family's '78 Dodge Aspen wagon. Rolled 4 times over a hill on a country road. We all walked away with minor injuries.....we were very fortunate. The A-pillars broke at the bottoms on the 4th roll. Roof collapsed down onto the dash. The next day, a wrecker wenched the thing back up the hill and onto the road. Every window was shattered. Keys were still in the ignition. The owner decided to try and start it.....fired right up! Slant 6
OMG! I had a 76 Dodge Aspen looked JUST LIKE THIS exterior. Man that was a fantastic running and comfortable riding car. Hated it at the time, but I’d love to have it now.
I had a '78 like this in a medium blue with a blue vinyl interior. I loved that wagon! It held our family of 6 with car seats and boosters. Equipped with a bullet proof 318 V8 coupled with a Torqueflite tranny. Rode good, very peppy, great in the snow. I would probably still be driving it today had it not been totaled while parked in Philadelphia
1:21 I KNEW I recognized that buzzer sound when you opened the door!🤔🤔 It’s the same buzzer that was in my _very first_ vehicle... a ‘78 Dodge D100 pickup! 🤯 Wow! That took me back almost 30yrs! 👍Thanks for sharing & keep ‘em comin’👍 4:14 For those that don’t know.. that “wing” on the back was on a lot of station wagons back then... it actually had a function 🤔... it created downdraft which helped keep the back window clean!
that was back in the day when you could buy a car that would run forever, start every time and never have to work on. I'd sell my modern junk to have a 'forever" car again. 😉👍
We drove these at my job for years. For the slant six of course, otherwise the cars were usually on their last legs. Though a couple lasted a while. They'll run forever. The interiors were always nice, good sounding radio.
I started my career as an Auto Body repairer on one these cars. My first job. Wasn't my last. I remember because of those wood grain vinyl's. Getting them off was a chore. Putting them back on, not so bad.
looks like you’ve done a very good job restoring the wagon to near original condition. I owned a brand new 1976 Dodge Aspen Special Edition 4 door sedan like this (Dodge version of Plymouth’s Volare Premier model (the SE and Premier models were the top trim levels for these cars which eventually replaced the Plymouth Valiant and Dodge Dart) - same color - it’s called Carmel Tan Metallic - and was a very popular color for several years. The plaid interior was introduced on 1977 models. My car had the 318 V8 engine and the same chrome styled road wheels with trim rings and center caps. The rear roof air deflector was in fact a factory option intended to help keep the rear window cleaner by directing air down over the rear glass when the car was in motion. The wood grain trim along the roof rack was actually quite common on most wagons from Chrysler Corporation at the time. My car also had Auto Speed Control, tilt steering wheel, AM/FM Stereo radio and matching vinyl roof, and light package including fender mounted turn signals - hope the car ended up with someone who continued to care for it - lots of memories
My dad replaced our 1969 Chrysler town and country station wagon with a 1977 Plymouth Volare premier station wagon, white with wood paneling. In 1979 the carburetor went and by 1980 the front fenders rusted through especially around the antenna and dad got rid of it. Car rode well though and the 3 speed transmission flawless.
Beautiful car I had a 76 model almost like this except mine had the factory 318 V8 engine. Believe it or not it was the second fastest car I have ever owned it would clock 115 mph flat out. I could load it for bear going camping with a 12 ft V- bottom boat on the rack the back full of gear and a 14ft camper in tow and still had enormous power to handle the mountains. Would love to own another one they were unique. Oh the car I owned that was faster was a 68 Ford Galaxy 500 with a Boss 302 it was my first car build when I was 16 back in 1975. Interesting I no longer have the car but I still have that same boat a Starcraft 64 model still in great shape still use it.
Loved this! My parents bought a new one in 1977 which was very similar to this one. Ours was more of a non metallic 'tan' color. But it was a 'Premier' so same trim and hood ornament. It had the wind deflector and same 'Road Wheels'. I know these wheels are now generally referred to as 'Magnum 500' but I think that's either a Dodge or perhaps Ford name for them. Plymouth called these 'Road Wheels' as opposed to "Ralleye Wheels', which are the stamped steel often seen on 'Cudas. Other differences... ours was also a Slant 6, but with a 3 speed with overdrive stick. It had no tilt, cruise, AC or clock. It had a 3 spoke steering wheel, but otherwise the interior was identical. That's where my nostalgia came in. I've seen otherVolare wagons. Even others with variations of the plaid. But this is the first car I've seen, probably since that car went to a new owner almost 40 years ago, with the exact same interior. Thought I'd never see another. Wish this vid wasn't 2 years old... I put in an offer. On the Slant 6... I understand the poster calling it an unusual choice. The 'Premier' was the top package. But at the time, the country was just a few years out of the Oil Embargo, and, even though people didn't know it, another little oil crisis was coming in 1980. My grandfather sold his Chrysler-Plymouth dealership in MI in 1973. We were living in VT in 1978, so my dad ordered it through the local C-P dealer. It was my moms daily, but we would drive it to MI every summer. So, my dad bought the most 'efficient' car. A Slant 6 stick with no AC. He did tick all the little boxes... our car had the turn indicators on the fenders and lights all over the place inside... but my grandfather was actually upset my dad bought a car without AC... a car meant for trekking his grandchildren halfway across the country in August. Anyway, I've rambled here. But thanks for posting this. It brought back some great memories!
My mom had a 77 and it may still be on the road somewhere too lol the slant 6 was a great engine with great gas mileage which was important in the mid 70s. She had it till probably 96. I feel she should have kept it since it was a great car and every disposable car she got after didn’t last like these did! Hers was beige but they had painted it a red brown color so it worked better than boring beige. Super easy engine rebuild every 100k miles.
Very nice looking station wagon. My grandfather had one, my uncle had one. Everybody had one. By the way, power windows were rare back then. Had nothing to do with being a cheapskate 😇
Had 1976 just like this in green. It had 7 recalls and the transverse torsion front suspension made the car just float on the road. Next to zero feedback through the steering wheel and the one-piece rear door hatch was awkward. Owned 7 prior Chryslers before it and Volare was marginal overall at best. It was memorable to have a 318 engine that couldn't get better than 18 mpg and 135 HP.
had 3 Slant Sixes in my family 79 Volare wagon, 80 Volare wagon and 76 Aspen 4 door sedan the 76 had serious rust issues the engine and trans outlasted the body.
My dad had a '77 Volare Premier that looked a lot like this except the body colour was white. I am surprised this example does not have the turn indicators on the fenders flanking the hood. Ours had those. On our last family trip in '77, we took the Volare down through Michigan to southern Ontario and on to Montreal. No air conditioning in the 105 degree northern Wisconsin heat was not fun. The interior of this one is pretty similar to ours. Our 77 came with just an AM radio so we added a Radio Shack pull-out FM/cassette player mounted on the transmission hump.
My dad kept the car for only about two years and traded it in on a Buick Skylark X-car in late spring of '79.
Fender indicators were an option even on a Premier.
The "wing" isn't usually referred to as a wing and isn't for high performance uses, it's a fairly common option on late 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's domestic station wagons. It was there to deflect air down and (depending on the manufacturer) was supposed to keep the window clean (since rear wipers were rare) and/or keep dust and exhaust out of the passenger cabin should you be driving a wagon with a rear tailgate window that could be lowered. Nice looking wagon, by the way, great job keeping it period correct.
It was also there to deflect exhaust gases away from entering the car, mostly on the full size wagons that had the rear window that rolled down. They were standard on all wagons.
Thanks... I came here to explain it, too. Over the years my family had several Vista Cruisers ('60's and 70's). I think my dad called it an "air deflector". It was definitely functional... And very good at its job.
Nothing odd about it, it's a beautiful wagon. Good job.
We had a '76 Volare wagon, bought slightly used.
Recalled 6 times.
The biggest was the fenders rusting through before factory warranty expired.
Took it in to the dealer for "free" replacement fenders.
Dealer called later that day to advise that the wheel well housings were also rusted out and would need to be replaced before new fenders could be hung, not covered, a big bill.
Rest of the car rusted badly throughout.
The car was so comfortable to drive that a '78 Dodge Aspen replaced it.
Fenders and body held up ok but, front of floor pan rusted so badly
that the whole driver side foot well broke away and fell to the road.
I was also in a bad roll-over accident in a friend of the family's '78 Dodge Aspen wagon.
Rolled 4 times over a hill on a country road.
We all walked away with minor injuries.....we were very fortunate.
The A-pillars broke at the bottoms on the 4th roll.
Roof collapsed down onto the dash.
The next day, a wrecker wenched the thing back up the hill and onto the road.
Every window was shattered.
Keys were still in the ignition.
The owner decided to try and start it.....fired right up!
Slant 6
First time I went 120 mph was in 1980 in moms 78 Volare just like that one (but with hubcaps)
OMG! I had a 76 Dodge Aspen looked JUST LIKE THIS exterior. Man that was a fantastic running and comfortable riding car. Hated it at the time, but I’d love to have it now.
I had a '78 like this in a medium blue with a blue vinyl interior. I loved that wagon! It held our family of 6 with car seats and boosters. Equipped with a bullet proof 318 V8 coupled with a Torqueflite tranny. Rode good, very peppy, great in the snow. I would probably still be driving it today had it not been totaled while parked in Philadelphia
I had one like that but red for my first car when I was 16 this brings back memories.😀
My grandparents had a Dodge Aspen in this same color with wood trim like this one. Nice cars these were.
1:21 I KNEW I recognized that buzzer sound when you opened the door!🤔🤔 It’s the same buzzer that was in my _very first_ vehicle... a ‘78 Dodge D100 pickup! 🤯 Wow! That took me back almost 30yrs!
👍Thanks for sharing & keep ‘em comin’👍
4:14 For those that don’t know.. that “wing” on the back was on a lot of station wagons back then... it actually had a function 🤔... it created downdraft which helped keep the back window clean!
My Mom's '79 Aspen had that buzzer too.
God....very, very long time I rode in one of these! Oh the memories when I was a kid!
that was back in the day when you could buy a car that would run forever, start every time and never have to work on. I'd sell my modern junk to have a 'forever" car again. 😉👍
Nice video, our family car when we were kids. Great memories. Very confortable car for travel.
Looking forward to getting this one!
Nice color combination, those mag wheels add sportiness to the woodgrain, nice interiors
We drove these at my job for years. For the slant six of course, otherwise the cars were usually on their last legs. Though a couple lasted a while. They'll run forever. The interiors were always nice, good sounding radio.
OMG the buzzer that's so 70s 🤗
Premier edition is Volare's top interior and sport décor package for that time period.Surprised should be v8 318. Great car
Nope I am wrong the 318 was an option on that sorry fellas
@@kevincostello3856 My dad purchased (ordered) a new 1977 Premier Wagon with a Slant 6 and a STICK! Was a 3spd OD.
@@thewalrus9196 Thank you I didnt know
@@thewalrus9196 Stick also WOW!! Crazy question where is that now?? Probably long gone but I love that option
Sweet Mag wheels :0)
Sweet ride
I started my career as an Auto Body repairer on one these cars. My first job. Wasn't my last.
I remember because of those wood grain vinyl's. Getting them off was a chore.
Putting them back on, not so bad.
looks like you’ve done a very good job restoring the wagon to near original condition. I owned a brand new 1976 Dodge Aspen Special Edition 4 door sedan like this (Dodge version of Plymouth’s Volare Premier model (the SE and Premier models were the top trim levels for these cars which eventually replaced the Plymouth Valiant and Dodge Dart) - same color - it’s called Carmel Tan Metallic - and was a very popular color for several years. The plaid interior was introduced on 1977 models. My car had the 318 V8 engine and the same chrome styled road wheels with trim rings and center caps. The rear roof air deflector was in fact a factory option intended to help keep the rear window cleaner by directing air down over the rear glass when the car was in motion. The wood grain trim along the roof rack was actually quite common on most wagons from Chrysler Corporation at the time. My car also had Auto Speed Control, tilt steering wheel, AM/FM Stereo radio and matching vinyl roof, and light package including fender mounted turn signals - hope the car ended up with someone who continued to care for it - lots of memories
My dad replaced our 1969 Chrysler town and country station wagon with a 1977 Plymouth Volare premier station wagon, white with wood paneling. In 1979 the carburetor went and by 1980 the front fenders rusted through especially around the antenna and dad got rid of it. Car rode well though and the 3 speed transmission flawless.
Beautiful car I had a 76 model almost like this except mine had the factory 318 V8 engine. Believe it or not it was the second fastest car I have ever owned it would clock 115 mph flat out. I could load it for bear going camping with a 12 ft V- bottom boat on the rack the back full of gear and a 14ft camper in tow and still had enormous power to handle the mountains. Would love to own another one they were unique. Oh the car I owned that was faster was a 68 Ford Galaxy 500 with a Boss 302 it was my first car build when I was 16 back in 1975. Interesting I no longer have the car but I still have that same boat a Starcraft 64 model still in great shape still use it.
Loved this! My parents bought a new one in 1977 which was very similar to this one. Ours was more of a non metallic 'tan' color. But it was a 'Premier' so same trim and hood ornament. It had the wind deflector and same 'Road Wheels'. I know these wheels are now generally referred to as 'Magnum 500' but I think that's either a Dodge or perhaps Ford name for them. Plymouth called these 'Road Wheels' as opposed to "Ralleye Wheels', which are the stamped steel often seen on 'Cudas. Other differences... ours was also a Slant 6, but with a 3 speed with overdrive stick. It had no tilt, cruise, AC or clock. It had a 3 spoke steering wheel, but otherwise the interior was identical. That's where my nostalgia came in. I've seen otherVolare wagons. Even others with variations of the plaid. But this is the first car I've seen, probably since that car went to a new owner almost 40 years ago, with the exact same interior. Thought I'd never see another. Wish this vid wasn't 2 years old... I put in an offer.
On the Slant 6... I understand the poster calling it an unusual choice. The 'Premier' was the top package. But at the time, the country was just a few years out of the Oil Embargo, and, even though people didn't know it, another little oil crisis was coming in 1980. My grandfather sold his Chrysler-Plymouth dealership in MI in 1973. We were living in VT in 1978, so my dad ordered it through the local C-P dealer. It was my moms daily, but we would drive it to MI every summer. So, my dad bought the most 'efficient' car. A Slant 6 stick with no AC. He did tick all the little boxes... our car had the turn indicators on the fenders and lights all over the place inside... but my grandfather was actually upset my dad bought a car without AC... a car meant for trekking his grandchildren halfway across the country in August.
Anyway, I've rambled here. But thanks for posting this. It brought back some great memories!
My mom had a 77 and it may still be on the road somewhere too lol the slant 6 was a great engine with great gas mileage which was important in the mid 70s. She had it till probably 96. I feel she should have kept it since it was a great car and every disposable car she got after didn’t last like these did! Hers was beige but they had painted it a red brown color so it worked better than boring beige. Super easy engine rebuild every 100k miles.
I could be wrong but I think that's a visor on the back. I'd have to find a brochure or Google these Dodge/Plymouth wagons to see.
Very nice looking station wagon.
My grandfather had one, my uncle had one. Everybody had one. By the way, power windows were rare back then. Had nothing to do with being a
cheapskate 😇
Had 1976 just like this in green. It had 7 recalls and the transverse torsion front suspension made the car just float on the road. Next to zero feedback through the steering wheel and the one-piece rear door hatch was awkward. Owned 7 prior Chryslers before it and Volare was marginal overall at best. It was memorable to have a 318 engine that couldn't get better than 18 mpg and 135 HP.
Well done...you cleaned it up nice.
My Dad had one of these but with the 318 engine and stock wheels.
Old school station wagon
My parents had a 76 this same color great car
Nice car how much did you get for it? Just curious?😎
Nice job, that particular a.c. system is dealer installed, just as good as factory, but it's not factory.
Looking at the dash; that's indeed a factory AC system, unless a previous owner went through a LOT of hassle to retrofit that setup.
God,cars were rolling junk back then!
This is almost museum quality car. Charge big bucks for it!
Did you get it sold? I'm curious about what it goes for. I've got a '79 wagon I'm restoring/driving.
Joel yes it’s sold.
It will be featured on my channel here in a few weeks. It'll keep present on TH-cam, don't worry. :)
had 3 Slant Sixes in my family 79 Volare wagon, 80 Volare wagon and 76 Aspen 4 door sedan the 76 had serious rust issues the engine and trans outlasted the body.
@@StreetSceneMotorsports I had one with the leaning tower of power a 1976 Dodge Aspen 4 door sedan .
Great car
Very cool
Wow clean
Nice 😀
Y con el motor que me encanta slank six
Not factory ac it would have had a huge two cyl compressor
Dios mio que linda .
$$$ How much it cost?