MY 1976 ASPEN:

1976 Aspen NH29 Custom, Factory MV1 paint code.
Currently original 318/904, soon to be swapped for 360!

I AM NOW FOCUSING MY EFFORTS ON MY 1980 T-TOP ROADRUNNER Click here to check it out:

1980 Plymouth Volare Roadrunner T-Top 

  I am parting out my '76 aspen to use the parts for my Roadrunner, as this car is too rough to complete.......Most of the plans outlined on this page will be applied to the 1980 Volare Now...........It breaks my heart to give up on this car, but it just doesnt make sense when I have a solid shell here to work on, I will salvage what I can and sell the rest.....

Last pic of my Aspen as a 'car' March 2009:

HERE ARE THE REASONS WHY IM PARTING THIS CAR NOW ........it is too far gone to save, under  the vinyl roof is a mess.....rust never sleeps and this car is screwed......

The car actuallty is fairly solid, as I re-did the front frame caps, frame connectors and floor pans, but the exterior body is ROUGH ROUGH ROUGH and alot of rust lurks in hidden areas as well.....

I STARTED PARTING IT OUT ...The rear diff, tranny, dash & interior may all find a home on my '80 T-Top, I may even try and salvage the frame caps, frame connectors and floor pans from this car for the '80.

Here is a pic of my '76, on Dec.09,2008, it is buried in snow again AAaargh!

I just bought some fiberglass fenders yesterday, they are really rare for 76-79! I found them listed on the web, and got em for a good price. I have also started to investigate parts for my 360, and have a line on some heads,a cam, and pistons/rods. I have also purchased the 6pc flares (in fiberglass) a front spoiler (oem style) and I will probably steal a 3 pc spoiler off of one of my '80 Roadrunners, but I may still try and get the proper one pc. I have also decided to ditch the s/e style tailights and install the R/T style, since Im going for an R/T clone look. I will probably steal the doors off of my '80 Black Roadrunner too. I dont know how much I will get done in '09 as I am still trying to get my garage built , but we will see......

Here is a picture taken of the Aspen today Mar.29 2008, it is -13c (4F) and a ton of snow still. I cant even get the doors or hood open on the Aspen! Cant wait till this white stuff is gone

R/T Conversion!   The S/E trim & roof are about to be stripped to make way for an R/T clone! I will try to keep the look close to a stock '76-'77 R/T, but this will be a purpose built STRIP RUNNER and occasional street driver. It is no where near a correct restoration or even correct clone. I would even like to go with a 3 pc spoiler over the correct 1 pc, if I can find one! I am leaning towards the car's original MV1 Spitfire orange paint, with the black & white R/T stripe kit, but may go with the classic R/T black with orange & red stripe kit. I will order the stripe kit from Pheonix Graphix .

Here is an A66 Superpak Aspen R/T from the original Dodge brochure, and an example of an MV1 R/T, owned by Mark, otherwise known as Quick77RT :

PAGE 1: Current Plans, Ideas ,& Progress '08
PAGE 2: Original Profile '05 and Drag Racing '07
PAGE 3: Ressurection'05
PAGE 4: Start of Restification(frame/floor repair, etc.)
PAGE 5: Other Awesome Aspen/Volare

03-28-08. I have started to gather parts for the summer. So far I have bought the R/T Louvers off of e bay.I am also starting to look for the 6pc flares, and have located the front spoiler and 1 pc spoiler (If anyone has a 3 pc rear spoiler to sell, let me know...yeah right!)
I am going to go for the entire look of the R/T A66 kit.
Thanks to the inspiration from Stalkervette's custom R/T ,I contacted Showcars Unlimited and they are within driving distance. I am still waiting to hear on availability, but if they don't have the stuff, I will find the dress ups somewhere else. The plan is still towards a car I can drive on the street to cruise nights, but built to have fun on track days and lay down some serious 1/4 miles! I may even get into a local bracket or elimination series, and try to stay within the stock class, which means I will have to lose the hood scoop & run a full interior. I am shooting for the low-mid 12's. Oh yeah , I'm on a budget, but I do HAVE a budget. The plan of attack for a budget minded 1320' screamer is starting to take form. So far I have bought a Moroso electric water pump drive (yet to install) from ebay : Also a Mopar pinion snubber
The Aspen currently has a 3.55 Suregrip 8 3/4 that I bought a while ago (freshly rebuilt), but I am going to switch to a set of UN-street friendly 4.30's!

I also bought a UN-street friendly manual steering box from ebay, I will shed lots of front end weight and gain a little HP by dumping the power steering assembly and belt drive 
I am ordering a steering shaft adapter from Firm Feel Inc. I would love to buy everything they have for an F body, but I cant afford it all now. I would love to get one of their re-enforced k frames with the aluminum body mounts.

Now for the 360, I'm basically gonna a build a low budget junkyard jewel. As I said , I will take all the Hi-Po stuff off my 318 (Crosswind Intake,AFB carb, Headers,chrome, etc)but to hit those low 12's, I'm gonna have to invest a serious part of this low -budget to the motorvation. The most expensive thing will be the newly released Mopar Aluminum "LA" heads. They are basically just like Edelbrocks, only better and run about $700 each from MoparSupercentre.Com

SPECS:
Mopar now offers. new aluminum small-block high performance cylinder head assemblies for 318/340/360 "LA" style applications. These heads are brand new castings that feature stainless steel intake and exhaust valves, competition valve springs, titanium 7- degree retainers along with bronze guides, high¬temperature Vlton valve seals and hardened valves seats complete with a premium 5-angle valve job.
PN: P5153849 Aluminum "LA'" Cylinder Head Assembly
• Designed for non-emissions 1967-92 Chrysler 318-340-360 c.i.d. VB engine applications. • Stock -LA" intake/exhaust flange and port locations.
• MOPAR- logo etched on both ends of cylinder head casting
• Uses a 63cc Chamber Size
. 2.02" Intake Valve/1.60H Exhaust Valve
• Intake Port Size - 171 cc
• Exhaust Port Size - 77cc
• Requires Mopar Head Bolt Set P5153851
• Uses standard "'LAH style shaft mounted rocker arms

I'll stuff in some Kieth Black pistons w/ Eagle Rods and a Mopar purpleshaft cam, Im not sure on the specs I will choose for the pistons and cam yet.....Maybe for CAM:
Purple Shaft Cam & Lifter Kit
Adv. Duration: .292°/292°
Dur. @ .050'': 248°/248°
Lift: .508''/.508''
Centerline: 108°
Basic RPM: 2800-6200 RPM
312-P4120233  
Also, I'll go with a cheap electric fan off Ebay. So I will have manual steering, electric water pump & electric fan, that alone should be good for 15-30 HP. I already installed a Taylor trunk mount battery system. Also thinking about Fiberglass bumpers, I found one source for F bodys: Volare fiberglass bumpers . I will also dump the wiper motor & heater core. I am going to gut the hood & doors as much as possible too. If anyone knows of a source for F body fiberglass doors let me know!

Next in the plan is a cheap Summit roll control and a battery switch, that will be mounted on the taillight panel:
 
The car already has Auto Rust Technicians front frame caps and sub frame connectors welded in, but an 8-point roll cage from S&W Race Cars will just add to the rigidity and safety.

11-26-07, I just scored a 360 today! I went to pick up my manual steering box I bought off ebay in Toronto, and the guy had a 360 sitting there, so I bought it! It wasnt even the 360 I had a line on, but the price was right! I now have added the 360 and a manual steering box to the project's parts inventory. I will use the crosswind intake off my 318, it will work much better on this engine anyway as the ports are matched for a 360. I will probably pull the heads and mill them a bit for higher compression. I definetly will put a new cam in it, and MAYBE get into new pistons..........

So my mind is spinning with plans. I am hoping to acquire another Aspen for parts. I will replace the fenders, doors, hood, and 1/4 panels with ones from the donor car. I have also started accumulating more go-faster-parts to move towards a purpose drag car. Im hoping to build the Aspen into a stock(ish) bracket racer. I will keep the appearance and interior stock. So far I have bought an Moroso electric water pump drive & a pinion snubber. I am currently searching for a manual steering box & a line lock. Other plans include electric fan, electric fuel pump, and swapping the 3:55 for some 4:10s or higher gears. I have also put a call into my favorite tranny shop to start building up my 904 for strip duty. Im probably gonna go with a 3500-4000 stall converter, and maybe a Turbo Action valve body & Cheetah SCS shifter. They built a tranny for my '03 Ford E150 that shifts really hard and is basically bulletproof. I plan on installing a roll cage for safety & rigidity as well. I also have a line on a 360, I hate to give up on my tried & true 'Ol faithful TEENY Bopper (318), but it just makes more sense to go to the 360. I will try & keep the site updated with pics.

Check out my other Dodge strip runner on Cardomain, from a decade later:
My 1986 Dodge Omni GLH-T