77 MV1 Aspen R/T & 76 Volare

[volarerob]

My name is Rob, and I'm from Washington St. I have a 76 Volare Premier that I've had for 18+ years. It was my 1st car & it was made the same year I was born so it's a little cool to still have it. I'm into custom cars so I've been changing and altering things on it for the last 10 years. It has a built 318 with about 300 hp & a 727 torkflite with a B&M shifter (not in at time the photo was taken) The photo's below are of one of ideas I had. I chopped the front of the hood and made up some brackets so I could put it on without the hood. The radiator core support was laser cut from 12ga. stainless steel and then polished for that nice shine. The down side is the roof is in sad shape because of the vinyl top and will need a lot of work. I picked up a 77 Aspen R/T a few years back to replace the Volare but my daughter said she really wants the Volare to be her first car…… so….. she is 12 now so we have 4 years to fix it, right? lol

 

[volarerob]

Here is what the Volare looked like when I first got it back in 93

The stock 318

What the engine bay looked like when the car was 18 years old

The current 300hp 318

 

[volarerob]

This is my 77 MV1 Aspen R/T that I got for a $1000.00 This is what it looked like when I bought it:

The Fender Tag:

E44-318 2BBL
D24-4 speed O/D trans
NL29-N=Dodge, L=Low price class, 29=2 door coupe
G7B-G=318 2BBL,7=Year( 77'),B=Hamtramck Mi. plant
446412-Sequence no.
MV1-Spitfire orange (body color)
D6E7-D=Grade, 6=vinyl non recline bucket seats,E7=Red
000-Upper door frame paint (000 means none)
701-July 1st production date (built on a friday)
501710-Order no.
MV1-Spitfire orange (Roof color)
U1-Built to us specs.
A57-R/T package
B41-Power disc front/Drum rear
C56-Bucket seats non recline
C73-Fold down rear seat
C97-Trunk dress up
F18-65 AMP Alt. H.D.
G01-Elec. rear window defog
G54-LH O/S mirror-REM/CHR/ RAC
G63-RH O/S mirror-REM/CHR/ RAC
G76-Duel O/S mirrors-REM/ CHR/RAC
K6W-K6=Stipe type 6 side/rear sport,W=White or White & Black
M21-Drip rail moulding
M26-Wheel lip moulding
M43-Grill trim moulding
N37-Catalytic exhaust
R32-Duel rear speakers
R37-AM/FM/8 track
L1-End of sales code
16-State code (IOWA)
26-26" radiator


The Bad Parts (Rust)

And Then The Good!

Then a few up dates

My March Pulley & Bracket Set, Alternator, & Power Sterring Pump

And A Set Of The Metal Tail Light Bezels Off the Bag for only $41.00

 

[volarerob]

the grill was in sad shape when I got it so I picked up a very nice used one and a nos R/T emblem. Also picked up a set nos turn lens.

 

[77kickinaspen]

lol my car had the same floor mats in it when i got my aspen ...nice car i like the hood idea

 

[volarerob]

We moved in Aug. of 2009 and we got a much better place in Eastern Washington.....

Mother-in-laws car in the garage..... the only chevy that will be in there for a long time.

Shop & shed

tons of extra parking too!

good sized 2 room storage shed to put extra parts & also the air compressor

So indoor parking, storage, and a work place, finally!!!


& how the shop has turn out so far........

There is a little bit more stuff than I want in the shop but I don't have the shed set up the way I want it yet. I still need to put up shelves and run the wires over to it so I can run the air compressor in there instead of the shop. But hey both of my cars fit and with only one in the shop it's not so bad......

Something new for the R/T!!! I've been so busy with the new place that I haven't spent much time on it but that will soon change...........

 

[volarerob]

I went and picked up a 489 sure grip with 3.91 gears for only $150.00 yep thats right a sure grip for $150.00 The guy I got it from picked it up 15 years ago out of a wrecked truck with low miles. He said he always planed on putting it in his car, never did and now just wanted what he paid for it. The unit still looked new, the down side is it is a cone style but for $150.00 who cares. So I pulled my 8-3/4 rear out of the shed and took it apart. Cleaned it all up, took out the 741 with open 2.94 gears and dropped in the sure grip. I took the axles in to the local machine shop and they pressed on the new berrings.



The old center chunk (741)

New one (489 sure grip 3.91)

I've had the 8-3/4 with a 3.91 sure grip 80% ready to go in, for way to long and just never got it done, the last few weeks I've been kicking around a little dress up idea for it. So I just said to hell with it and went for it, because it needed to be done with the rear out of the car.

OK, so here goes. As we all know the rear of an 8-3/4 rear end is just round and smooth and you can't go buy a nice chrome or aluminum cover for them like other style rear ends. I wanted to do something to mine to help it stand out a bit so I built my own.

First off I had to build a flat surface to work with but still make it look like it was part of the rear end. So I fabed up a part that was the same shape as the piece I was trying to add. Then weld it on, smooth out all the welds and used metal filler for all the little mistakes.

so here it is after all that and paint.

Can anyone guess what I'm adding yet????

I was following a 2011 dodge ram truck a few weeks back and looking at the new emblem on the tailgate and said that's what I want on my car! I have to find a way to make it fit. If you haven't seen them yet they are huge and would not fit anywhere on our cars..... Anyway as I was saying I figured out where to put it.


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I can't wait until a chevy guy is following me and can't stop scratching his head over a Ram emblem on a Nova. Because he won't be able to miss it, but will be as confused as hell.

 

[bremereric]

Good job keep it coming.....Eric

 

[volarerob]

So been working on getting the new rear end put in, seems like I've run into a problem at every turn, Oh well some projects are just that way. I am glad I decided to do this though because the gear ratio was not as I thought they were 2.94 not 3.23 and they were starting to come apart. So they would not have lasted much longer behind that beast of a 360 or any motor for matter.

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and a shot of the new rear end almost in........

 

[volarerob]

Went and got some new wheels and tires for the Aspen. They are the right style but I wanted them in 17's. The price was right so I couldn't pass them up.


Front tires are 215/70R15 & the wheels are 15 x 6

Rear tires are 275/60 R15 & the wheels are 15 x 10

 

[volarerob]

lol my car had the same floor mats in it when i got my aspen ...nice car i like the hood idea

Yeah I saw that. After looking at your $1000.00 car and my $1000.00 car if we were to put you body over my interior and engine somehow we would have had one hell of a nice $2000.00 car :laughing7:

 

[volarerob]

So never did say anything about the engine in the aspen or what the car was being built for....the guy I bought it from is a good friend of mine and was building a bracket racer out of it and really put a lot of work into the motor, we figured somewhere around 400-450hp. He spent almost all of his time on the drive train and interior then when he started on the body work he started to lose interest in the project. About the same time he up and decided he was moving to Arizona and it was time for the car to go. He first offered it to me for around $2200.00 but the timing was all wrong for me and I couldn't come up with the cash. A few weeks latter My buddy Ross called up and said he was going to buy it for $1000.00 I couldn't believe it. Ross and I talked it out and he being the awesome friend that he is backed out of the deal so I could have a better car to work with as my Volare was in very sad shape. So here we are, all up to speed now.

 

[volarerob]

Filled the rear with gear oil, fixed the trany leaks, and cleaned up the under side of the car a little with it up in the air.

New 8-3/4 is in and the car is back on the ground :headbang:

 

[1976RR]

Looking sweet !

 

[Eastyorker]

Nice R/T! Any updates?

 

[volarerob]

Thanks!

Not a lot to report on it. After the last update here I put on the rear window louvers, a go-wing on the trunk lid and some chrome R/T emblems on the fenders. Then just drove it for the summer, but I wiped out a cam lobe so it's been parked for the winter waiting on me to finish my other project.

Check out my other project thead...

http://www.fortrucksonly.com/truckforum/showthread.php?126-Fopar-s-72-F-250-project

Yes it's a ford, but I've always liked this year of Ford trucks so I had to get me one and do it up. So I've been a little busy...lol Here is a pic of the Aspen this past summer.