fender rust, while not ideal, is mostly immaterial until you crawl under this car and look at the frame, and all the metal lines underneath. That’s what can tell you whether this is worth any type of effort or not.
The interior can be replaced. The engine can be replaced. Replacing the body is impractical. Left parked on dirt for 15 years will cause a lot of underbody rust. The gas tank might come out by itself when you move the car.
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Until you can look underneath you won’t know how much and how bad the rust is.
Is this exaggerating or you believe the car could be this unstable? It is North Carolina Btw so I don’t know if that gives someone knowledgeable about the climate affects on sitting cars. I will check the underbody this weekend. I want to crack the engine, but haven’t decided if I should wait until winter for most things to die and then bug bomb the car.
I remember when the Volare and Aspen were first marketed in 1976. As I remember, these cars were on the Consumer Reports recommend list. I considered buying one because they did have a lot of interior room and trunk space. The university where I was employed had Volares in its fleet and I drove one of them to a conference. Had these cars not been so poorly made, Chrysler might have had a winner. At the time, I didn’t think the Volare and Aspens were bad cars, but changed my mind when they didn’t hold up over time.
+1
However, there are still some who claim that “they built them better in the old days”.
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He’s not exaggerating, sitting an old car over ground lets lots of moisture create lots of rust. Have you tried poking the carpet all over the place to see if the floors are rotted out? And North Carolina gets lots of rain and humidity, which increasing rust formation.
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There are a series of videos by Dean Sparks about the restoration of a1959 Chevrolet Belair purchased from the Lambrecht auction in 2013 Hundreds of cars and trucks sat in an Oklahoma field for decades. He replaced the passenger and trunk floors. Parts 2, 3 and 4 show the metal work.
Call the junk yard and tell them to come get it.
Tester
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… on that body-on-frame car.
Doing similar work on a unit-body car like the Aspen would require more expertise, and would probably be more expensive.
If this was a 1970 Mustang (which were prone to rust), I’d be much more optimistic, LOTS of body parts available to replace anything that’s rusted out, and when you’re done you have something worth a bit. Much harder to find parts for an Aspen, and much less financial reward when you’re done.
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Something else I was curious about, there was also a 1996 Astro Van you armed beside it for about 15 years, and it drove home after a new battery and air in the tires, and I had it inspected and did simply maintenance and it is a solid vehicle. Besides the obvious year difference why is it seeming that reverse reviving the Aspen is so drastically different?
Because the Aspen was lousy when brand new and became exponentially worse as it aged.
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The Astro van was body-on-frame and all-round a heavier duty vehicle. The Aspen was unibody, i. e. no frame.
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I’ll have to admit, I’m pretty shocked any vehicle was easily gotten back on the road if it sat for 15 years. Seals and gaskets and hoses and all the components with rubber bits inside generally don’t do well if left to sit.
But, yeah, give it a shot with the car. I’d want to at least get the engine running if I had an old car sitting in a field. Just for the heck of it. Just don’t be surprised if it nickels and dimes you with brake hose replacements and the like.
Good luck. Let us know how it goes. I’m interested.
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My Volare had all the problems mentioned here. Carburetor problems, stalling at the worst time, usually under hard acceleration, rusting fenders, bad starter and the differential went out. Mercifully it was totaled when someone ran into it when it was parked. And it got lousy gas mileage. But when new it was comfortable and nicely appointed.
It could turn out to be a pretty fun project. The show-stopper however is the rust situation. Suggest to have that evaluated as the first, so you know how much that’s gonna cost. If it had been parked indoor on a dry floor, that’s one thing. Outdoors on the ground? I’m seeing some significant expense. Make sure you know what it is before proceeding.
Be prepared, this will take a lot of your time and money. And it probably money you won’t be able to get all back by selling the restored car. But if you approach it as a hobby, should be fun and interesting. Be sure not to shortchange any safety issues, such as the brakes, fuel & exhaust system integrity, and the suspension system. All the rubber parts in the suspension system will likely need to be replaced.
If the rust test passes muster, the next step is to find a parts source, and a repair manual. I have a Ford truck of similar vintage, and most parts and repair manuals remain readily available through LMC Truck, among others. Check the advertisements in car magazines that focus on MOPAR classics. I don’t think the carburetor will be a major problem.
Back in 1977, I bought a 1948 Dodge to restore. I bought the car from an elderly woman who decided she shouldn’t be driving.
I tuned up the engine and did some brake work. I had.to.fond a replacement for the right rear fender. Fortunately, these were the days of bolt on fenders. When I realized how much body work would cost, I got cold feet. I was driving.downtown in the old Dodge and was offered more than I paid for the car. I immediately accepted the offer. I had fun working on the car, but it was time.for me to move on. The real fun was driving the car.to campus and.being sort of like Lt. Columbo, the fictional detective of the Los Angeles Police department.in his old battered Peugeot.
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That can indeed be a fun part of driving an old car, but it can also be a problem. It’s a very common thing to have someone follow me when I drive my truck into a parking lot, and when I get out they’ll ask me about my truck, and if I want to sell it. I wouldn’t mind that so much, but they often act offended when I say “no”. “You won’t sell it for any price then?” … lol … So owning a classic – even a perfectly running one – isn’t all a bed of roses. This past winter I had two cars following me, and when I stopped the folks in the two cars got out & started arguing with each other, meanwhile a homeless guy says he’s interested too … lol …
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The Astro is unibody