78 dodge?

dodge
#1

i was promised a 78 dodge sports car, standard and top speed of 130. i do not know what car it is exactly if you have an idea plz help me

#2

'78 Dodge sports car? No such animal. '78 was just about the pit of bad US car design. Early '80s had some turbo Dodges, not what I’d call ‘sports cars’, but they’d do 130 on a good day. What kind of promise?

#3

I seriously doubt such a car exists. The late 70s were not the best years for performance with all the emissions being added to the engines. The Allpar page has this info on 78 Dodges.

http://www.allpar.com/history/chrysler-years/1978.html

To give you an idea of performance, my Dad’s 78 Old Cutlass had a 260 (4.2 liter) V8. It had a whopping 110 horsepower. If I can find my 78-82 Chiltons manual I will update the post.

Ed B.

#4

Please post some pics of this “sports car” when you get it.

#5

Dodge made a muscle car…no real sports car.

In 78 Dodge quality control was pitiful…probably their worse ever. Brother owned an volare. What a piece od cr?p car…many many problems…plus premature rust…

#6

But the slant six was a great engine. My first car was a late 70’s Volare, and the only thing that broke on me was the voltage regulator. Well, and the transmission, too…but the engine was bulletproof.

#7

Probably the ‘sportiest’ '78 Dodge was this pickup truck:

#8

Wasn’t this also a '78 Dodge?

#9

The General Lee was a '69 Charger.

Sports car might be a bit of a stretch for this era. Dodge made the Charger but it was more of a detuned family sedan than anything else.
They also had a turbocharged Omni subcompact back then that was a real screamer although the looks were pure Econobox.
My memory is fuzzy but I think they also had a 2 door sports(?) car that was essentially a Mitsubishi. Mitsu also provided engines for the Omnis after a short VW run.

#10

Those Omnis and fast Mitsus were early '80s, not '78, I think. Here’s the best '78 had to offer for Mitsu/Dodges:

#11

Probably the quickest '78 Dodge was the Li’l Red Express truck due to the more lax emissions standards for pickup trucks. The highest top speed was the Monaco with the police pursuit package, which included the 440 four barrel. Top speed was 138 mph, if memory serves.

#12

Yup, the 440 Monaco in police trim was as close to a “sports car” that Dodge made in 1978…“Emergency vehicles” were given exemptions from emissions laws but still, these sleds were a far cry from a sports car…They were designed to maintain Law & Order on the interstates…They were more of a “Revenue Cutter” than a “Sports Car”…

#13

I seem to remember reading also that the '78 Monaco pursuit package also had the highest top speed of any car made that year for less than $100k. I believe '78 was also the last year for the 440 in any passenger car. It could still be had in a pickup, though.

#14

If you get your 130 mph capable '78 Dodge and find it won’t accelerate well and can’t get over 95 mph don’t post on this site looking for answers. You’ll get lectured on “speeding” rather than get help with the car.

#15

The slant-6 was one of the most durable engines ever made…However the rest of the car was crap…

Brother owned a NEW Volare’…what a piece of cr*p vehicle…Rebuilt carb at 20k miles…Warped flywheel…Paint flying off the car as you drove down the highway…radio stopped working after 1 year…seat fell off track…and lets not forget about the ballast resistors that needed to be replaced every 3-4 months or so.

Loved that engine though.

#16

Yup!
Even Lee Iacocca later admitted that the Volare (the car with the misplaced accent in its name) and its twin, the Dodge Aspen, were crap.

I knew somebody who replaced his disasterous Austin Marina with a Plymouth Volare, simply because he had vowed never to own another crappy foreign car. Unfortunately, he jumped from the frying pan into the fire with that decision.

#17

Yea…but Lee Iacocca then came out with the K car which he said was FANTASTIC…That was as bad or WORSE then the Volare/Aspen. Then of course the Plymouth Acclaim nicknamed the Accord killer…again - another disaster.

#18

wow that was a long time ago, the car was actually a 1978 datsun 280z, but he ended up giving me a 1994 dodge ram 1500. im thinking about asking him if i can switch to the datsun because the gas for the truck is so expensive, do u guys think it would be a good idea for me to do that.

#19

If memory serves me correctly the Datsun Z cars weren’t very good on gas either. They were probably better than the Dodge Ram pickup, but you also have to consider if you go with the Datsun you’re going to be in a 33 year old car instead of a 17 year old car so it’s likely to need more repairs.

#20

dammit lol i have heard so much back and forth. i just dont know what to do anymoreee :frowning: