Last Saturday I scored a nice set of Jaguar XJ-S buckets at the junkyard, and then scored some photos of this well worn Plymouth Volaré on the way home. Based on state emissions records, it’s a first year car (1976), and consistent with Chrysler’s vision for their “upscale compact” it’s a top trim level car with some nice options.
Reflecting the popularity of two door coupes in the mid seventies, it’s also the best selling body style (by a margin of 258 cars- the ’76 coupe, 4-door sedan and station wagon sold in almost equal numbers).
For contrast, you can find a junked sister car to this coupe in Jim Klein’s article from September:
Junkyard Classic: 1977 Plymouth Volaré Coupe
Jim’s title asked, “The question is, how did this last 42 years in the wild?” Let’s take a closer at this still active Curbside example, and see if we can divine the magic that keeps Volarés plugging along.
As proudly declared by the rear quarter glass, this is the top trim level available. Even though the Volaré Premier represented the most expensive model, it still came standard with a six. Buyers who wanted the 318 or 360 V-8 needed to pony up some cash, since traditional Chrysler buyers were perfectly happy with the /6.
Looking at the feature list in the brochure, some of the parts we see on this Volaré are either missing from the list, or were extra cost options added to the car.
For example, I assume this bright finish passenger mirror added a couple sheckles to the MSRP. In fact, this is a double upgrade, since it’s not only a passenger side mirror (not required in 1976), but it’s a “sport” mirror with a fancy streamlined housing instead of a basic square mirror on a stalk.
Sport mirrors also allowed room for a remote control mechanism, which helped justify the extra expense for these fancy mirrors.
Upfront, we see the Volaré Premier hood ornament (shown on the list), but we also see the fender mounted blinker repeaters, as well as bumper guards flanking the license plate and black rub strips on the bumper. I’ve never owned a car with fender mounted turn signal indicators, but they were a very popular Chrysler item back in the day.
Based on an online sales brochure, the bucket seats and console were both extra cost options, but the features list says a three spoke steering wheel came standard with the Premier trim level, so you might think this was the Premier version.
However, this is the optional “Tuff” 3 spoke steering wheel as identified by the slotted wheel spokes, making it an upgrade one step above the Premier wheel.
Making one more close look, I can spot a manual window crank on the driver’s inner door panel telling us that despite the upgrades we’ve identified, this coupe lacks the “full boat” treatment.
Out back we see more bright trim, and even though it isn’t shown on the feature list above, I’m pretty sure this panel came standard on the Premier.
These Magnum 500 wheels are associated with muscle car era Mopars, but five years later they were still available on the Volaré. In fact, the “Rallye” wheel used on the Duster 360 were also optional on lower trim Volarés. However, if you wanted a styled wheel on your Volaré Premier, this “Chrome-styled Road Wheel” was the only choice.
These wheels bug the heck out of me- I really like the style, but the owner has allowed time and weather to oxidize both the wheel and trim ring. A couple of hours with some steel wool and black paint, and I could easily return these wheels back to factory condition. Here, they appear almost brown from age and road grime.
Speaking of things that bother me, the side trim behind the doors on the Volaré Coupes also qualifies. From a straight run across the door, the molding cut down to the wheel opening at an awkward angle. Although this was a conscious design choice, I’m left with the impression the trim is falling off the fender.
Speaking of falling off, the bottom edge of the passenger’s quarter glass on this car came unglued, leaving a 2 or 3 inch opening to allow in moisture. There are lots of exterior maintenance issues you can forego, but once the glass seals start to go, bad things follow.
This is the equivalent of ignoring a leaking roof at home- Put off this repair at your own peril.
Well, I’m not sure we’ve determined why this F-body remains on the road, but I certainly hope the owner patches up that window seal, cleans up the wheels, and keeps it rolling for a few more years.
A simply incredible find.
This is giving me serious flashbacks to my family’s ’77 Volare coupe. I’m starting to think ours may have been a “Custom”, as it had many features of this car: the bodyside moldings, the front fender-mounted turn signal indicators, the chrome panel between the taillights, and I’m sure a few other things.
I really feel like this one deserves something good in its future (please, nobody say “kill it with fire”) simply by dint of its mere existence in this shape in 2020.
My dad bought a new ’78 Aspen wagon, with the custom exterior trim package which included the chrome with vinyl insert bodyside molding. Quite shockingly for 1978, the seatbelts were black, they were not colour-keyed with the interior colour.
That looks like a true worn survivor with all of its factory parts intact. Which is surprising, given that its a first year ’76 and they have pretty low survival rates, but these things were everywhere pretty well into the early 1990s. I had a ’79 Volare Premier wagon with a 318 and it was a great car that ran pretty well once I ditched the Lean Burn ignition.
Build quality reputations aside, theres no arguing they are great looking cars. I have a built Chrysler small block in my garage thats looking for the right Duster or Volare to come along and that yellow car would make a great candidate.
For everything that has been said about the Volare, I’ll defend the styling to their death. If only chrysler would have just plopped this sheetmetal on the previous A body bones!
Wow, I have not seen one of the early Volaspens in a long, long time. They sold quite well initially but died earlier than they should have. Which is a shame because these were the best looking of the group.
I will agree with you on that moulding, and will add that the way the lower edge of the vinyl roof juts up at an odd angle from the beltline at the door to the rear deck is just wrong. This ruined the coupes for me, and the sedans were a little plain, making the wagons the only really attractive versions.
Chrysler’s interiors were maddening in this era. In some ways they were head and shoulders above what the company had offered five years earlier, but in other ways continued with even cheaper parts – such as the dash panels. This would have been a really, really nice Volare when it was new.
I recall that those fendertop turn signals were part of a “light group”. My 71 Scamp was so equipped, and one other feature that came with it was the little light that shined on the ignition on the steering column, making it easy to insert the key at night. Nobody else did that back then.
Well, I didn’t think I’d see another of these so soon, even on here! Nice to see it on the streets. I still don’t find the “opera window” look even remotely attractive or as having any point whatsoever, and especially since a large and functional window space was filled in to create it.
If it were my car I’d duct tape that loose window in place in from the inside, which can be done in seconds for nothing, to buy time to decide whether to repair it as-is and preserve originality or source a set of the standard large quarter windows and their moldings and trim which would make the car “personalized” since Premiers came with the Brougham dressing standard (this opera-window landau top for coupes, a full vinyl top for sedans and the woodgrain side paneling on wagons).
Mixed feelings aroused here.
What could have been a great car, not bad looking, but rife with quality issues.
This one in particular needs a good scrubbing, from the top down. Is that grime on the inner door panel or mould?!? Apart from the filth, this is an unbelievable find. I take it this is in California, from the area code of the restaurant, and the blue license plate.
If in 1976, I had needed to make a choice between the Volare and the Duster, the Duster would win every time. With disc brakes please.
Moparlee, yes, must be California. Where I live (Iowa) these things rusted badly. I had a coworker who had his Volare Ziebarted when new and it still rusted! I think the Ziebart franchise gave him his money back after the paying for the third repair of a rust spot.
Even in California those lower rear quarters are slowly rusting away.
Based on that failed quarter window seal, I suspect the back window is leaking into the trunk and the water pools in the well on the back side of the quarter panel…
Every car with the Ziebart treatment I have come across in Chicago area junkyards has more extensive and sever rust than the same models without it. The theory behind their coatings and application inside panels that factory sprayers can’t access seems ingeniously promising on paper, but I don’t think any rigorous testing was conducted to actually prove it before going to market with it.
Yep, it’s California-
South side of La Palma Avenue about 5 miles west of Knot”s Berry Farm Amusement Park, which makes the town either Cerritos or Lakewood.
All the signs of a long term owner on this one whose owner has recently let the care slip a bit. This one could be smartened up quite a bit with just a good wash, detail and polish.
Interesting the top nick Volare was called ‘Premiere” I suppose Plymouth had to do something with the name, badges, etc. when the big boys at Chrysler took the car Plymouth was going to call Premiere and be the marques entry in the Personal Luxury coupe market to do battle with the Monte Carlo, etc. Chrysler redid the grille and added Chrysler touches to the interor, including a particular leather brand, and renamed it Cordoba. First sign Plymouth was on it’s way out.
and close the drivers door!
I’ll bet the driver’s door is as closed as it gets, hence the mold farm on the door card. At least they opted for whitewalls when they purchased their chinese tires. You have to keep up appearances.
Agreed on the door – those hinges have probably gotten mighty sloppy over the years. My 71 Scamp did that. I fixed it with a bunch of washers to shim the lower hinge where it bolted to the A pillar.
The whitewalls are kind of funny. The rest of the car is pretty grungy, yet he goes for the extra expense of whitewalls?
And a word about those Magnum 500s. I think it was 1970 that all the manufacturers started using a newer (cheaper) version of the Magnum 500 wheel that had a trim ring because the rim was no longer chromed. It’s one of those small nitpicks that will get a car dinged at a good car show for using non-original wheels.
I like these style Magnum 500s better, the spokes had a nice looking brushed metal finish when new and contrasted nicely off the chrome trim ring like a mag wheel of the day. Most of the reproduction Mag 500s look like Buick road wheels with the chromed rim and chromed spokes.
“I think it was 1970 that all the manufacturers started using a newer (cheaper) version of the Magnum 500 wheel that had a trim ring”
It may have been cheaper, but the newer wheel used stainless steel for the wheel center, which I prefer. In addition to being better steel, if you nicked the outer rim for any reason, you could buy a new trim ring and be ready to go in 15 seconds flat.
I think the trim ring trend began in 1967 with both GM and Ford’s ponycar wheels. The Mustang’s trim rings were especially nice, having a shiny polish. I vividly remember how odd the 1969 GTO Judge looked with Rally wheels but no trim rings. By 1970, all road wheels had trim rings.
Always loved that coupe body style! Guessing it was one of the last green-lighted by Elwood Engel. Only wish the company had reserved it for or adapted it to a 4 door Imperial on the longer sedan chassis such as suggested in the work-up. With an Imperial look up front, in back and inside and some chassis and P/T improvements it might have done well against M-B, Seville and Versailles and kept the great name in the game.
Great work on the photoshop!
To me, it looks a bit like a big Europe-market Chrysler 180 that our own Roger Carr wrote up here: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/carshow-classic-1973-chrysler-180-british-french-american-or-just-forgotten/
That article was a great education, thanks for sharing. Part of the similarity might be the fast C-pillar and absence of quarter window in rear door. The Imperial would have had frameless side glass and been a lower, longer and probably wider car.
Does raise the question of whether such an Imperial could have been marketed internationally to help the business case. Article says the Chrysler name had negative connotations in Europe but maybe Imperial would have had less baggage. It must have been darn hard for a company trained to build down to a price to do the opposite and build up to a standard. Too bad, all that beautiful American sheet metal first half of Seventies, none directed at M-B.
That is an interesting mockup. As a life long fan of the F-body (parents bought a 77 Dodge Aspen wagon new and was in the family for 34 years… there is a COAL around here somewhere), I always liked the lower roofline of the coupe much more than the wagon/sedan’s higher roof. I would go with a slightly more formal roofline, albeit lower like what you have here and it would have looked great.
Absolutely that could have been studied too. I went with Volare’s faster rear because in sedan form the rest of the car looks more like an XJ6 than an M-B given its low roof and slinky lines. Yes, the Volare coupe is a looker! At least in side view and without trim, image of which was very hard to find.
Speaking of which was catching up on older CCs and found a good one on the ’66 Ambassador, with comments raising same point about going after M-B. My feeling is that AMC should have bought the Packard name from Studebaker in the early sixties and used it for the ’65 Ambassador, a car which except for its front design was Packard in style, no surprise given Teague. The front could have used Request grill and either Predictor hidden lights or exposed horizontal quads, and an independent rear suspension, which should have been a natural for AMC given its coil spring innovation 10 years prior. The proposed ’76 Imperial also needed IRS, perhaps adapted from front transverse torsion bars rotated 180. Also Bosch fuel injection by then. AMC in the mid-sixties and Imperial 5-10 year later should have gone where Cadillac and Lincoln were for a long time too big to bother with: M-B territory. That was the only way for the little guys to quickly go from the back to the front of the line. More importantly, it represented the industry’s future rather than its past.
The difficulty I had finding a side view of a clean car speaks to a much larger issue regarding Detroit’s mindset back then, of which am sure you guys are all too familiar. Too much perishable crap on the surface, too little of lasting value deep down where it mattered.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1966-amc-ambassador-990-convertible-abernethys-asinine-assumption/
Like Paul, I, too, didn’t care for the dip in the Volare side molding. It was for that reason that I was seriously considering a 1977 Dodge Aspen. I wanted a copy of the car on the front of the brochure(which I still possess!), but I had a salesman try convince me that ChryCo hadn’t made that many of them and so none were available!! Later, he tried to interest me in a new,six cylinder one that had been damaged by a tree branch! Needless to say, NO SALE! 🙂
On the Dodge Aspen four-door the moulding dipped once it was past the rear wheel cutout. It looked like the car had been rear-ended and the back end bent down, until you looked at the body creases and saw that they were straight. Also if you bought a locking gas cap for your Aspen, the continuation of that trim moulding, which went right thru the middle of the stock gas cap, would be missing.
A great find! Comparable to the Chevrolet Monza and its derivatives, the Volare/Aspen coupe was offered in a notable large number of trim and option packages. Besides the base, Custom and Premier versions, I recall the Roadrunner, the Street Kit Car, the Super Coupe, and the Volare Duster.
I suspect the angled rear quarter trim design was meant to pay homage to the similar sheet metal crease seen in the Duster.
However well styled and packaged some of the Volare/Aspen coupes were, I thought the wagons were the most attractive and desirable body style. And sales reflected this.
ChryCo had a variety of different side trims on the F-body 2-doors, and the Volare Premier was the worst. You are right, that piece behind the door looks like it is misaligned or about to fall off. They were following the lower character line of the body sides (red arrow in the attached photo). That character line gave the 2-doors some “hips”, very similar to the Duster/Dart A-bodies although not quite as voluptuous.
The Aspen 2-door (in the pic) handled the chrome and vinyl side trim much better. It was a straight line that followed the middle character line just below the door handle.
Even on the higher end Plymouth RoadRunner, the top edge of the lower stripes follows along the same line as the chrome/vinyl trim, but it is straight at the back wheel well, it doesn’t dip down in this same way.
An INTACT + COMPLETE brittle plastic grille!?!?
Sounds like someone needs a good grille and is a bit envious…