1979 Dodge Aspen

Discussion in 'General Station Wagon Discussions' started by steeldane81, Jul 8, 2011.

  1. steeldane81

    steeldane81 New Member

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    I've got a good lead on a 1979 Dodge Aspen wagon. Anyone have any experience with these? I've only owned two Dodge vehicles, and both of them had horrible transmission issues. Is that common with older Dodges, or just my bad luck?

    Also, any other general info that I might want to know?

    Thanks.
     
  2. Dogbone

    Dogbone Senior Member

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    I dabble with Mopars. My other project in the works is a '73 Plymouth Duster.

    What Dodge vehicles did you have tranny problems in? The '80s and '90s their front wheel drive cars with were notorious for transmission failure, although I think Chrysler started getting slightly better at the turn of the century. Emphasis on slightly.

    A '79 Aspen, if it's an automatic, will have one of the old torqueflite transmissions. These transmissions are excellent.

    If you want to do some reading, here's the lowdown on Aspens: http://www.allpar.com/model/aspen.html

    Good luck.
     
  3. classicfan1

    classicfan1 Active Member

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    The 80s and 90s mopars were very reliable for us, but as with high miles , any car will fall apart...
     
  4. krytellan

    krytellan New Member

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    Oh Oh Oh! I have the younger cousin, an '80 Volare (same car but with the Plymouth name).

    I will assume it has a 225 slant 6 engine, though it may be a 318 or 360. IF it has the slant 6 that adds to the personality of the car. That engine will literally run forever if taken care of, and my '80 /6 purrs like a kitten on the highway. I know of no tranny issues at all in this F-BODY line of Mopars.

    Beyond the station wagon culture, with a /6 you also belong to another subculture. I have learned a lot about the engine and have made many simple engine mods to increase the efficiency of the engine (currently getting 18 MPG with mixed driving).

    Can you tell I love my baby? There may be a driver's side front end rear subframe rust issue which these cars are apt to have. Early models ('76) had some recalls for fender rust issues, but that was all sorted out by '79. I will also tell you that I get 10x more comments on this car than on my all original 1976 Lincoln Mark IV... a crazy thing.

    PICS PICS!!!

    [​IMG]
     
  5. krytellan

    krytellan New Member

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    Oops. I see you got suckered into a GM:deadhorse:

    Just kidding... just king... kinda ;)

    That Impala is in some seriously good condition though.
     
  6. dodgeguy

    dodgeguy Well-Known Member

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    I am very familiar with F body Mopars. Look for rust in the front frame rails. There is a dog leg just to the rear of and to the inside of the front wheels. There is a factory hole on the inside of this box rail. Water gets in and it will rust from the inside out. This is a weak spot. There are replacement rails, but I would rather have a solid one to begin with. There is also a plate that the lower control arm shaft bolts to (rear of arm). I have seen those go bad.
     

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