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Once I Found My 1979 Dodge Aspen Special Edition, I Drove It Everywhere
This story first appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Join the club to receive our award-winning magazine and enjoy insider access to automotive events, discounts, roadside assistance, and more.
I have a thing for beige Mopars, especially the F-body cars from the Malaise Era. In 2002, I was on the lookout for a Dodge Aspen or Plymouth Volare station wagon like the one my dad had when I was a kid. They were hard to find, even back then, and most examples were complete garbage. But I lucked out at that year’s Mopar Nationals, where a fellow collector of Mopar F-bodies was selling her 1979 Aspen wagon. It was a nice California car with no rust and original paint. I drove the car home that day from Columbus, Ohio, to Pennsylvania. The odometer showed 101,979.
I’ve kept my Aspen stock over the years with the only exception being the 17×8 Mustang wheels. It still has the original 318-cubic-inch V-8, four-barrel carburetor, and 2.45:1 rear axle gear. Surprisingly, the California emissions equipment and lean-burn spark computer have never given me problems.
Since buying it, I have put over 20,000 miles on the wagon, driving to shows and on vacation with my family. My wife and daughter like it because we get a lot of looks and comments wherever we go, and the R12 A/C works well. We’ve taken the Aspen to the Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive, the Poconos, and Glen Arbor, Michigan. It may be slow, but it arrives in style.
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I like them, but because they remind me so much of the 63-66 Rambler Classic and the 64-69 Rambler American (just Rambler for 69, the only and last Rambler model in the US). The Aspen/Volare two door coupe has the wheelbase of thew American (108″) and the sedans and wagons of the Classic (112″). Both Chrysler models are actually slightly longer (108.7/112.7), and they are 2″ wider than the Classic, right at 2.5″ wider than the American (the Chryslers are 73.3″ wide), but the Ramblers have thinner doors, giving the Classic about the same interior room. I’d always thought that the 112″ wheelbase/72″ (inside) width was about right for a “full size” car, though the classic was considered a compact in 63. That has bore out — most “full size” (maybe “popular size” is more like it?) cars are about that size now, like the old Ford Taurus and something like a Toyota Camry. If Romney had been in charge instead of Abernethey at AMC in the mid 60s they may have stuck with that size instead of tried to go bigger to better match the Big Three. Abernethey preferred big cars and thought AMC would profit more in the mid trim level range (like Olds, Buick, Mercury, etc.) instead of the more value conscious range they were in (Chevrolet, Ford, Plymouth). Well, that didn’t work, but as they say, hindsight is 20/20!
After I went to work for Gulf Oil in Port Arthur, Texas in 1971, I felt flush enough to order a car (only time I have ever done this). It was a 1974 Pontiac Grand Safari 9-passenger station wagon – all options except the towing package but added the fleet paint option – had it painted 1973 Corvette Mid-night Blue. Turned out stunning – but the 455 really could drink gas. Sold it when Gulf sent me to their Cincinnati refinery – and have regretted it to this day. It could easily haul me, the wife, the 4 kids and the dog from Port Arthur to Natchitoches, LA and back about every other week.
These long-roof F body wagons were great in many ways. My dad tried to buy a new 77 Aspen slant 6 wagon but was unable to get the right trade-in amount for his 73 Plymouth Fury III. This particular wagon looks great with the 17X8 Mustang rims as the offset appears to be perfect. The 318 is very durable and sounds good with true dual exhausts. The only negative thing is the transverse torsion bar front suspension which gave many people problems. But, great car overall and wish it was mine.
It surprises me that more Everyday cars like the aspen/Fairmont/ Chev citations/Malibu/Amc concord ect are not popular with car collectors–They are still affordable -attract a lot of attention at car show & very usable–