Can it be Saved or is it Toast?

[Robby Stark]

Hi everyone, new to the forum here. I recently was given a 1978 Plymouth Volare by an 88 year old woman who gave up driving. She bought the car new in '78 and I've had my eye on the car since I was 10 years old. It's a green 4 door Slant 6 car. This is literally the car that was only driven to the grocery store and the hairdressers, racking up only 31k in nearly 40 years. It has also spent much of it's life in a garage, but the PA salt has really caught up with the poor thing. It has some rocker/ quarter rot that I can live with, but after jacking it up today I saw some unibody rot that really scares me on both sides in the front where it curves down near the firewall. Is this car even safe to drive at over 25mph like this? Or is it not that big of a deal? Is it able to be fixed, and if so, is it worth the effort? The rest of the underbody is in pretty good shape, not even any floor rot. I applied for antique tags on the car so safety inspection is not required and the man that has been inspecting it for years was only doing so because the car never went faster than 25 or left town. I'm obviously not planning on making it a daily driver and would only be driving it occasionally when the salt is off the roads, but safety is a concern.

Otherwise than the rot, the car runs and drives great from what I can tell.

 

[MBDale]

My '79 Aspen R/T is that bad and I'm saving it. Save it if you can.

 

[Joe12459]

I wouldn't drive it much that way, but it can definitely be saved.

 

[Aspen500]

I think F-bodies rotted the subframe rails out in Arizona.......especially the left side. My theory is battery acid vapor travels down from the front and sits in the lower part of the rail. Might be totally off on that reason, but it sounds good, lol.
It can definitely be repaired and it's not really all that tough a job to be honest.
The rest of the car looks to be rust free, or close to it so yes, FIX IT! As mentioned, I'd be cautious about driving it too much right now.

 

[80mirada]

Anything can be fixed. The real question is; Is it worth it to you? If the answer is yes, go for it.

 

[old yellow 78]

I agree. I'm sure that it can be fixed, but it's not something that I would or could tackle myself. I would leave it to a good body shop to do. Since it was gifted to you, you are already ahead to spend on any repairs. I like the Volare/Aspen sedans, although I've only ever owned wagons and one t-top. I really like that mint green color too. I once had a '77 mint green wagon with that iridescent green interior that I loved. It was a really great car. At one point, I got the front and back tan velour 60/40 seats out of a Diplomat wagon for it and had it repainted in its original mint green. It was beautiful. I had to replace both front fenders due to rust, but luckily the frame rails were still good. Your sedan with only 31K on it is a really nice find, and if you really like it, you should get it fixed and enjoy it. Really nice looking car. I'd like to see more pics of it inside and out. Good luck!

 

[Robby Stark]

Thanks for the reassurance guys, I'm definitely going to get it fixed, it's just a question of who and how. The car itself is what it is. It's been garaged for the last 30+ years and driven on a regular basis until a few months ago, but show's it's age. What really killed the car I think is the fact that it was parked outside in the rain to wash it off and that was the extent of washing for 30+ years, leaving all the salt and brine sitting in the nooks and crannies of the undercarriage. Other than some exhaust work on a regular basis and the set of hubcaps I purchased from eBay, the car it's original from what i can tell. The worst of the rot other than the frame rails is behind the mudflaps in the quarters and some rust on the rockers. I know the car isn't ever going to be perfect but in my mind it's a cool piece. The interior is a whole other story LOL. The headliner is pinned up with thumbtacks which is to be expected, but the fabric on the seats is in surprisingly poor condition with rips and has mostly been covered up with matching mint green towels over the years. Her dog also had the misfortune of falling through the cardboard speaker covers behind the rear seat. For now, I'm going to concentrate on patching up the frame rails and I'll work on the rest of the car's quirks when they bother me enough. Here's some more pictures of the car my Aunt has been referring to as the "green hornet" for years:

View attachment 20160125_170445.jpg

View attachment 20160125_170611.jpg

 

[MiradaMegacab]

www.autorust.com has safety caps that weld over the existing frame rails. Search, Mopar FMJ.

 

[gtsdude]

I bought a 79 4 door slant with 40k on it in 2005. It was in about the same shape, the frame rails were not quite as bad as yours and I was able to weld them up and drive it. I put 20k on it and got 19-20 mpg as my daily driver for 2 years. I would definitely save it, good driving cars.

 

[Dustergirl79]

Hi everyone, new to the forum here. I recently was given a 1978 Plymouth Volare by an 88 year old woman who gave up driving. She bought the car new in '78 and I've had my eye on the car since I was 10 years old. It's a green 4 door Slant 6 car. This is literally the car that was only driven to the grocery store and the hairdressers, racking up only 31k in nearly 40 years. It has also spent much of it's life in a garage, but the PA salt has really caught up with the poor thing. It has some rocker/ quarter rot that I can live with, but after jacking it up today I saw some unibody rot that really scares me on both sides in the front where it curves down near the firewall. Is this car even safe to drive at over 25mph like this? Or is it not that big of a deal? Is it able to be fixed, and if so, is it worth the effort? The rest of the underbody is in pretty good shape, not even any floor rot. I applied for antique tags on the car so safety inspection is not required and the man that has been inspecting it for years was only doing so because the car never went faster than 25 or left town. I'm obviously not planning on making it a daily driver and would only be driving it occasionally when the salt is off the roads, but safety is a concern. View attachment 13949 View attachment 13947 View attachment 13948 Otherwise than the rot, the car runs and drives great from what I can tell.

My 79 had the same to on both front rails.
Bought some from Jim's AZ parts and had them changed. Worth every cent.

 

[Justwondering]

love the color... I'm a sucker for green.
The day earlier this year when my LeBaron found its forever home. -- JW

 

[Mikes5thAve]

It can be fixed but the question would really be is it worth it to you to fix it? To do it right takes some time and more money.
That's the same rust that sent my 79 Caravelle to its death. But I found another car for a great price and moved the engine and other parts into it.

 

[Oldiron440]

I built,rebuilt cars for 45 years and would PASS on it, finding affordable rust free parts will be almost impossible... and it takes talent and equipment to do it yourself.

 

[Aspen500]

This thread was started Jan 28, 2016 and the OP only made 3 posts on this site in total (last seen Jan 29, 2016) before vanishing into the abyss.

 

[Justwondering]

good gravy Aspen500....
Like I read the dates to these threads..... (lol)

I'm the person that just spent 2 hours putting the repacked cylinders (3) on the 1957 International 330 Tractor followed by auditioning the new hydraulic lines.... only to determine at the end of 2 hours that what?? what?? I cannot successfully count to 6.

There were 6 lines that needed to be replaced and I have only five new lines.

Sigh...
Its a bridge too far to expect that I would realize I'm responding to a thread that is several years old.

ROTFLMAO...
A 5 year old thread...
This is too funny and no I'm not telling DarthCar and neither will any of you on this website......

JW

 

[SooperKoop]

Every once in awhile, a "dead thread" needs to be revived! It keeps this place interesting!

 

[Aspen500]

That's not what I intended, lol. Only meant the OP is long gone and wouldn't see Oldiron's post. No offense intended! Wonder if he fixed the car, it became a parts donor or was sent to the great beyond?

 

[Duke5A]

Braaaaaaains!

 

[Oldiron440]

It's always a newbie

 

[Aspen500]

Always wonder why people join a site, post a couple times and then never again. Oh well, such is life.