At $7,100, Could This 318-Powered 1977 Plymouth Volare Have You Singing Whoa-Oh?

In Italian, volare means "to fly," and with its 318 CID V8 and a four-speed stick, today's Nice Price or No Dice Plymouth wagon likely lives up to that name. Let's see if its price tag also means it will move fast.

The Pebble Beach Golf Links offers slacks-wearing athletes a par-72 course covering over 7,000 yards of driving range. That's driving with a golf club, not a car. The Links is just one of four 18-hole courses maintained by the Pebble Beach Resort, situated atop the rocky crags and wind-swept cypress trees that define Carmel Bay south of Monterey. The 2005 Lexus SC430 we looked at on Tuesday was a special edition named after the Pebble Beach Resort, first introduced there during the Monterey Car Week of that year. 

Like a round of golf at the resort, the Lexus carried a premium price tag for a car of its age. That $19,995 asking got the next owner not just the car, but the original designer garment bag to go with it. Not too many of you appreciated the extra, or that price. Ultimately, that resulted in the SC sinking in an 89% 'No Dice' loss.

Yesterday's Lexus may have been a special edition, but today's 1977 Plymouth Volare wagon could be considered special on several fronts. The first is its mere appearance in this day and age. The Volare, along with its Dodge Aspen twin, suffered a number of humiliating quality control issues in its earliest model years. One of those deficiencies was rust-proofing, which typically led to corrosion when the car's driver so much as broke a sweat. This Volare is claimed to be a "Southern Car" and completely rust-free. That makes it a rare duck today.

Another thing that makes this Volare a standout is its drivetrain. That's comprised of Chrysler's rock-solid 318 CID V8 and, amazingly, a four-speed overdrive manual transmission. From the factory, the two-barrel-equipped 318 boasted 145 horsepower and 245 pound-feet of torque. According to the ad, this car's engine has had its timing chain replaced at the front and a new clutch installed at the rear. Other work included replacement of the fuel pump, universal joints on the driveshaft, and various other fixes. Both the brakes and the tires are said to be in good shape, so this should be a driver, despite the pictures of it sitting in a field.

In fact, the pictures in the ad don't really seem to do the car justice. They appear to have been taken with a potato under the most unflattering skies possible. In an egalitarian act, the seller is using those same photos in both the plebeian Craigslist ad and on Haughty Hemmings, where the car is also being offered. 

That being said, the Craigslist ad's classification of the car's condition as "good" seems perfectly apt. The bodywork is silver, or it was once. Time has knocked the finish down a few notches, although the metal underneath seems straight and without issue. On the plus side, the chrome on the bumpers looks to be in great shape, and the alloy wheels borrowed from a Chrysler Cordoba are a nice addition.

In the cabin, it's a similar story. Red duct tape attempts to mask some open seams in the front bench seat, the dashboard is cracked, and the carpet is split ahead of the shift boot. Speaking of that shifter: dig how tall and bendy it is! That shape allows it to navigate between the dashboard and the bench seat without crashing into either.

That shifter and three-pedal footwell aren't the only things manual on this Plymouth. Overall, it's fairly parsimoniously equipped with hand-cranked windows, manual door locks, and no A/C. What it does have are all the basics for any wagon—plenty of space, 4-65 cooling (four windows down at 65 mph), and a roof rack that the Hemmings ad shows carrying an old-school Sears X-Cargo roof carrier. There's no word in that ad, however, whether the Sears box is a ride-along with the sale of the car.

This is also basically a one-of-one car, as the seller claims only around 400 wagons were built with a 318 and a stick, and honestly, how many could reasonably be left today? Naturally, one has to ask whether such a car deserves to have lived this long. I'd say it's interesting and engaging enough to rightfully have earned a seat at the table. With 174,000 miles on the clock, a clean title, and current registration tags, it's also seemingly an ongoing contender for staying in the game.

One final note regarding that registration: the seller has gone to great lengths to cover the license plates on both ends of the car in the photos. That's likely an attempt to stave off scammers or whatever else people think unscrupulous souls do with license plate information online.

Okay, now that we've established that this Volare is sufficiently unique, engagingly equipped, and surprisingly solid, we'll need to determine whether it's a good deal at its $7,100 asking price. The seller says the price is negotiable, so you now need to weigh in on how much you'd whittle it down, using the asking price as a starting point.

With all that in mind, what's your take on this Plymouth at that asking? Does that represent a good value considering the car's present condition and arguable rarity? Or would you say that price just doesn't fly?

You decide!

Richmond, Virginia, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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