1978 Dodge Aspen 4 door 225 super slant six
Summary:
Super six and Aspen; an excellent combination
Faults:
Automatic transmission leak at 150,000.
Brake booster failed at 165,000.
Alternator replaced at 180,000.
General Comments:
Excellent well built car.
Nothing ever broke or fell apart.
Seated 6 people well.
Good ride and handling for a heavy car.
Super 6 was quite fast and very reliable.
Never repaired the engine - just maintained it.
No carburetor or choke problems.
Basic cloth interior faded in the Florida sun.
Dashboard cracked.
Excellent well built car. Bought it for $200 - had a dented fender - I replaced the fender from the junk yard and had car repainted. Many say it was poor quality, but I had this car for over 5 years, and nothing ever fell apart or broke.
When I bought the car, someone had already replaced the alternator, starter, and water pump.
I, for the entire time I owned it, had 6 people in the car every Sunday, and it worked flawlessly for years. This car was always used to take groups of 6 everywhere (sometimes hundreds of miles) as many cars only seat 4 or maybe 5.
The air conditioning worked perfect, but leaked out the freon about 180,000 miles. All windows cranked well, all controls worked well. Outside door handles did not break like all the GM cars did. The window cranks did not break.
The transmission started to leak at 150,000, but was the selector shaft seal and nothing serious. Replaced the booster myself as the car was easy to work on.
The engine was very strong with the 2 barrel, but not very good gas mileage. Never overheated or ran hot. Sold the car as my wife thought it was too old man for me for $300.
Best car I ever owned even to this day (2012).
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 6th January, 2012
6th Jan 2012, 15:21
One thing I always wondered about was who the actual individual was that styled the F Body and its predecessor, the little changed M Body, because in my opinion they were so easy on the eye compared to Ford and GM of that era. That's just my small opinion.