1977 Plymouth Volare Custom 225 slant six

Summary:

Great car for the right person

Faults:

The car was in storage for a long time before I got it, so the entire cooling system needed to be rebuilt - hoses, radiator, water pump.

Replaced the timing chain and replaced a front crank seal, thinking I had a leak there - turned out to be the PS pump, which I had to replace.

Valve train clattered badly; had to adjust all valves when I got it.

Suspecting lots of varnish in the carb from sitting so long. I had it rebuilt, but now it's hard to tune and I have a persistent leak around the base gasket. Will take the carb back to a rebuilder.

Tranny (904 Torqueflyte) broke its reverse band soon after I bought it, so I had that replaced.

Needed new shocks all around.

Brake fluid had never been flushed since the car was new (looked like coffee), so I did that and replaced all rubber lines and master cylinder.

General Comments:

This car is a very well preserved original, with a near-pristine interior and great original yellow paint with a black vinyl canopy roof. It came with poverty hubcaps and black steel rim wheels, but I upgraded to factory rally rims and BFGoodrich T/A radials.

I've always loved slant six cars, and was transitioning out of a '67 Dart that I loved, so decided to try this car.

The torsion bar suspension makes the car ride very well, and it's a generally comfortable ride. I need to track down some rumbles in the drive train (maybe a bent rim?) and get the carb to smooth out, then it will be a very nice driver.

Unfortunately, it is built for taller people than I (pedals are just a hair too far away for comfort), so it's probably not going to be a keeper.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th January, 2013

1977 Plymouth Volare 225 Slant-6 3.7L

Summary:

Indestructible!

Faults:

When I 1st got the car, its spark plugs needed replacing, and currently needs an idle adjustment and brake job.

Interior is fairly worn, but isn't too bad for all original 33 year old vehicle.

Paint is faded and has minor rusty spots.

All-in-all, the vehicle is in good shape for a 33 year old all original vehicle.

General Comments:

This car is bullet-proof. I've only had this car for about 2 weeks, but when I changed the plugs & wires in it, so as to make the car run better, I took out the transmission dip stick and didn't put it back in all the way, and as I was driving throughout the day, was losing tranny fluid, and it got to the point where the car wouldn't go forward anymore. I put tranny fluid in it, let the transmission cool off overnight, and drove it home with no sign of transmission issues.

Great car! I'm NEVER getting rid of it!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st January, 2010

1977 Plymouth Volare V8 320

Summary:

Great

Faults:

Nothing so far.

General Comments:

I bought this 77' Volare station wagon from the original owner this year, 2006. It was in excellent condition engine and interior. Only paid 650 bucks! Just got it serviced and checked out and the guy said A+. 110,000 original miles, and all the service records. Does need paint due to weather, but wow, everyone says I got a great deal. I could resell this car on Ebay for at least 2k!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd October, 2006

6th Oct 2006, 10:23

He's probably serious, and justifiably so. The Volare was always a reliable car, and if this one is as nice as he says, there are surely people who would like to have a "like new" '76 Volare station wagon. We had several, and they were great. There also seem to be people that really miss the 1970's station wagons, and don't feel that the mini-van or SUV ever fully filled that niche.

6th Oct 2006, 14:15

Oh sure, he's serious...he's also mistaken, like you.

That Volare is not "like new" - it needs a new paint job and probably has rust like every other Volare still in existence. It also has 112K miles on it -- no one is going to pay $2000 for it on ebay -- reviewer would be lucky to get back what he paid for it.

5th Jul 2013, 21:30

Hold your horses. In the last few years these Mopars HAVE gone up in value. One in real good shape can fetch 6-7k!