UPDATED:,Mar.2008, Nov. 2007,July 2007,Feb 2007,Sep 2005,June 2005

04-06-08Well I dragged the new Volare home today. What a mission! I do not know if this is a 'real' Roadrunner, but from what I have investigated, 1980 simply had a 'Roadrunner' package that was basically a trim package. As soon as I got it off the dolly I had to throw on the louvers, spoiler & taillights. It has the rear cop rims off my Aspen on the rear, but I got all 4 triangle rims with it.

This car seems to have alot of the options including 3 pc rear spoiler, louvers, the gold triangle wheels, optional 318 V8, buckets/console, and the T-Tops.I know there were less than 500 RR in '80, & Im trying to find out how many were T-Top cars. So whether I make one car out of my Aspen & the RR, or make 2 separate cars is still up in the air.
04-04-08 Now I have a real dilemma, In my search for doors & 1/4 panels, I ended up buying this car yesterday. A 1980 T-Top V8 Roadrunner with a rust free shell. It comes with the 3 pc spoiler, the original '80 only triangle rims and a bunch of other goodies. You can guess my problem, now I'm thinking of switching everything over to this car! I have a lot to think about..........

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

MY 1976 ASPEN:

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

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 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.

When I painted the Aspen white, it was only intended to be temporary, basically so it would be one color going down the drag strip! Now I'm definitely going to ditch the S/E roof and body trim, and go for an R/T look, with louvers, spoiler, flares and R/T stripes. This car is a factory MV1 code Spitfire orange car, so I will either go with that or BLACK. I made a mock up of my idea in Photoshop:

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 TEENYBopper (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

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