Dodge Aspen. What to look for?

[Bilbo]

Hello all, I'm brand new here. I have a lead on a Dodge Aspen that I'm going to go look at tomorrow. I was just wondering if there was anything specific I should be looking at/for in the context of looking at a car for sale. What I mean is I won't be able to really rip anything apart, but want to make sure I'm checking up on known issues.

My dad had one of these cars back before I was born, so I think it would be neat to have another one. I think it was a '79. I am excited about the prospect of having another project. I've done resurrections of snowmobiles, bikes, and a few other things but never a car. I just want to make sure I don't get too far in over my head.

 

[Dr Lebaron]

If the front frame under the driver's floor pan isn't all rusted, then it might be a good car.
If it's a 78/79, grilles are hard to find and go for big money like $500 and up.

 

[Jack Meoff]

Yep. Was going to say the same. The front frame rails and floors. Those are the biggest demons on these cars.

 

[Dr Lebaron]

Rust/rust and rust are the three biggest issues, then comes the grille.

 

[Darth-Car]

Check the rear trunk wells that are located on each side of the trunk floor. They are deep, and hide rust holes at their base. Stick your hand in there, since they are dark; sellers have been known to toss black towels in there to hide rust holes at the base of the wells. -Don't ask me how I know that. It was an expensive lesson.

 

[Bilbo]

Thanks for the replies; great info so far. I'll check those areas for sure. Are there any areas where rust is less of a big deal? Is fixing rust on flat areas of body panels difficult? Forgive me if these are stupid questions, just never done anything with cars before.

 

[old yellow 78]

Another area to check out is the drains in the upper part of the firewall where the little black rubber flaps can become clogged with debris and cause rust. Critical though, as others mentioned above, is to check the front and rear frame rails, particularly on the inner sides, for rust, and also the floor boards front and rear. Good luck! Hope its a good one!

 

[Aspen500]

One other potential rust area to check is the lower 1/4's and rockers in front of the wheel wells. The 1/4 windows are glued in from the inside of the car and tend to leak water (or worse, salt water) and it gets in and does bad things. Unfortunately the only real way to see it is to pull the rear trim panels off and look.

 

[Bilbo]

Alas, it was not meant to be this time. I looked at the areas mentioned above and first noticed the front frame rails. They looked very similar to the picture old yellow posted. Maybe not as big of holes but spongy. There were also a lot of rust holes behind each tire on the body. I just don't have the skills to repair that kind of thing.

The interior looked very good, though, and the grille looked ok. No idea on the motor other than it's a slant 6. The car was covered in snow and I didn't brush off the hood and open it. The tags were from 1999 so I'd guess it's been sitting at least that long. I wanted to say thank you again for the helpful information, and I'll continue my search. Who knows, maybe an F body is still in my future!

 

[Dr Lebaron]

Don't get into rust.
I'd much rather spend money on mechanicals than body work and be a lot farther ahead.

 

[Bilbo]

Exactly. I can do mechanical work. I have zero experience with bodywork. Fixing rusted frame components seems a little out of my league too. Just figured if anybody needed parts at all I'd give a heads up on what I found...

 

[Dr Lebaron]

That's good to know you're up to date with bodywork issues.
I see too many guys get way over their head and budget with bodywork.
I'd rather have a rust free car that needs brakes over a rusty car with new brakes.

 

[Jack Meoff]

Bodywork doesn't scare me. I've done lots. But rotten frames are a nightmare. Unless you're going to do a full teardown. I don't have the room or facilities for that.

 

[MBDale]

Big credit to the membership for their point outs. Frame rot repair is for the experienced welder. I'm going through that right now. Unless your experienced in metal fab I don't recommend touching the stuff.

 

[Jack Meoff]

Big credit to the membership for their point outs. Frame rot repair is for the experienced welder. I'm going through that right now. Unless your experienced in metal fab I don't recommend touching the stuff.

If you ever did try it make sure the seats and carpet are out or else you'll have a flaming interior.

 

[Rattle Trap]

Don't forget to remove dash and glass for flor pan welding. At least cover the glass so spatter doesn't pock mark it if you don't remove that.