Help with 1980 Plymouth Volare

Hello everyone.

I am seeking some help for my current project. It is a mint 1980 Plymouth Volare with a slant six and automatic floor console with bucket seats. I would like to swap out motor, trans and rear end for some performance. Since this is my first mopar rear wheel drive vehicle,  I have done a little research and to make this thing scream I would need a Schumaker engine mount kit for a V8,  a 360 crate motor, a TCI transmission and a 8 3/4 rear axle.  Now the problem is my pockets are extremely shallow and need some speed on a budget.

Please let me know the "most economical"(cheap) route including block, heads, trans and rear axle combination to make this thing fly. The Missus would surely appreciate you guys helping me since her purse and my money are in limbo.

Thanks. Great magazine.

How come you guys never do any projects on the Aspen/Volare cars?

you can start by going to the junk yard, pick up a wornout 360 that is not locked down you can check by removing the plugs and turning the engine with a socket and ratchet if it wont turn over dont buy it look for another. check some older mopar muscle mags they have ran some very good articals on 360s, get your self a 727 tf and an 8 3/4  gear it to your liking and away tou go!   

The above suggestions are good ones. Since you don't mention how much you have (or want) to spend on this project allow me to suggest an even more cost effective approach. Why not just build the slant 6 and have something different?

There are some nice parts out there for the slant 6 like intakes, carbs, cams and headers which would make your motor sing compared to stock. Add that to the bulletproof reliability of the slant 6 design and you would have a nice little ride going.

The bonus would be that you would have something that not everyone else at the local club or car show has.

Just a thought.

swapping a V8 k member from a Aspen/volare 76 to 80 takes only about 3 to 5 hours from both cars and is clean neat and cheap running v8 donor parts car will be cheapest for you  

find a donor car, one with the V-8, if you can look for an old cop car of taxi they had larger torshion bars up front. get poly k frame bushings for a mid to late 70's b-body from PST and go for it. I have an 88 diplomat I have totally upgraded, with new lowered rear springs, 8 1/4" rear with 3:55 gears, A500 OD trans and junk yard LA360, .060 over bore, kb pistons, eagle rods, ported magnum heads. the engine is not done yet but should put out around 425hp easy. I have a lot more you can do to.  

I agree the most cheapest thing for you to do would be to buy a parts car. Look for an 1979 - 1989 fifth ave, diplomat (RWD), Caravelle, Mirada, Cordoba with a V8 in it. Perferably an old taxi or cop car.

The K-frame pulls out with four bolts under your upper control arm on each side (make sure the K is properly supported especially if the motor is in it) and the 4 main mounting bolts. After that you need to disconect the steering at the rag join with 2 screws and the unit is out.

With your motor disconected you should be able to do this in about an hour.

with the motor out I'd rebuild it in the K-frame.
If you have a 318 that runs good with a trans that shifts well, just pull the heads cut the 0.020 (a machine shop should be able to do this without disassembleing the heads) pop a 340 cam in it and an aftermarket intake and carb.

It will be a direct bolt in to your 1980 and give you plenty of power. you can find 300hp out of a 318 really cheap and easy. Also it will still give you 15-18mpg.

In the meantime while you are driving it you can sit back and build a 360 monster as your budget allows.

Just remember if you run a lot of horse power up front, everything else will have to get upgraded. (example the 6cyl rear will be fun with the high gear ratio untill it sounds like pop corn and you have to open the door and use your foot to roll the car to catch that one tooth on the ring gear to get you home...been there.)  

I see you have a 1980 Volare , I have a 1980 volare that i am looking to sell, I don't want to junk it , but if you or anybody you know would be interesred in it for restoration, please contact me .The volare I have is brown in color , 195 slant 6 , it is all original inside , the dash board is cracked from the sun . It needs a paint job on the hood . The motor has a burnt valve , and some cancer on the rear quarter panels. I do have pictures that i can send if anybody is interested . My e-mail address is op17@verizon.net thanks for your time, tom b