1980 Dodge Aspen from North America - Comments

After I first puschased the car I had to rebuild the carburetor.

Then a week later I had to get the transmition rebuilt which costed around $400 due to the problem findiong parts.

After about a month the weather changed and my doors wouldn't shut do to freezing temp.

Wouldn't start half the time.

It only got 6 miles to a galon.

The engin would flood while seting at a stop light.

One time a WHEEL feel off.

The dash bord would fall off if you took off quikly.

No heater or air conditioning because of electrical problem.

The electrical problems were caused by bad seals around the hood of my car.

Also the locks would not unlock if you locked them so I had to get in from passenger side doorway.

Sporty can get up to 60 in less than 30 seconds on a down hill.

Also sometime tires will spin in rocks very cool.

I have a 1980 aspen, it is a 2 door has a 318 in it, has only 79000 miles on it, I find it a very nice reliable car, sorry to hear bout your bad experience, I really don't belive that you only get 6 miles per gallon, I have a 318 v-8 and I get 16 miles around town,,,,,,,, take care, have a nice day.

I see from your review that the car had over 275,000 miles on it when you acquired it, so it seems that it must be quite rugged. It has to be expected that some maintenance will be required on such a high-mileage vehicle. The poor gas mileage and the flooding at the stoplight sound like a result of the carburetor being out of adjustment. After rebuilding a carburetor, as you mentioned, it is necessary to re-set some things, such as the float level, idle speed, choke pull-off, and mixture. The flooding may be a result of an incorrect float level, which can be corrected by bending the metal tab on the float to ensure that the rubber-tipped vent bowl needle will seat when the float reaches the proper level. If the tab is set incorrectly, the float will not cause the needle to seat, and gas will continue to pour into the vent bowl until it overflows. Carburetor kits include a piece of cardboard shaped like an "L", with measurement gradations on it, to allow you to perform these adjustments. Your mixture screws may also be turned out too far, causing the engine to run too rich and guzzle gas. First get the float level adjusted. Then, try about 1 1/2 turns out on the mixture screws. Turn them out, evenly, until the idle speed increases and then starts to run ragged and fall off. Then turn both screws in, evenly, until the raggedness disappears and the idle speed increases again. Also change the plugs, since they are undoubtedly carbon-fouled from running so rich.

Yesterday I received a 1980 225 slant-6 with two doors... with just under 100K on it... today I changed the Oxygen sensor and it started to purrr and it's said to get better gas mileage, so I recommend everyone to change thiers too... I also am looking for the fusebox stats, I can't get the headlights to work... if you know them please send to yeoman_stender@yahoo.com thanks.

There could be a couple of problems with your headlights, and if memory serves correctly, I don't think there is a fuse in the fusebox for them. Without knowing the exact symptoms, such as "high beams don't work" or "low beams don't work" or "one side works and the other doesn't" I'll just lay out some general advice. One common problem is the headlight switch in the dashboard. They can short out so only your parking lights will go on, but not the headlights. You can replace that easily. The knob pulls straight out after you twist it, and then there's a locking nut on the back of the dashboard to take out the switch. Also, your low beams may work, but when you hit the high beams all the lights go out. In that case, your dimmer switch on the floor is corroded and shorting out. It's only a $5 part to repair, and it's just bolted to the floor pan. Intermittent flickers could be a broken light terminal on the back of the headlight, in which case you need a new light. Beyond that, you'll be tracking down shorts and bad grounds from corroded wires at random.

I have a 1980 Dodge Aspen. I am looking for floor pans to replace existing rusted pans. Also looking for any interior panels. If you know please help.

cconradt@sbcglobal.net