scottharvey's4wdaspen

Scott Harvey's 4wd Aspen

It didn't come that way from the factory!

(Since this page was written the author has learned Chrysler introduced a new for 2007 SUV named the Chrysler Aspen. It still stands, though, that the Chrysler Corporation never made a production four wheel drive Dodge Aspen model.)

Chrysler never made a four-wheel-drive (4wd) Dodge Aspen but a guy from Chrysler did. Huh?

The car pictured below is a highly modified Dodge Aspen, which had been produced by the Chrysler Corporation in the late 1970s and early 1980s only as a rear wheel drive passenger car.

The guy from Chrysler was Scott Harvey, an influential senior Chrysler engineer and long-time motorsport competitor.

Harvey took a stock late '70s Aspen and modified the chassis to accept a reworked front wheel drive unit from the General Motors Toronado - Riviera line. He then linked the front and rear axles together with a modified Chrysler 4wd transfer case (the thing that splits the rotational output from the engine between the front and rear of a traditional 4wd vehicle). Also, numerous safety devices were incorporated into the vehicle. To top it off Scott installed a somewhat warmed over 340 cubic inch V-8 built to produce increased power from stock but still remain street-able.

Why did he go to all of that trouble? To showcase an interesting Chrysler product in performance rally events, for which this car was prepared, one might suppose. This Aspen was featured in several off-road and four-wheel-drive enthusiast publications during the time it was driven in competition, after all.

Just as background: In performance rallies the cars are driven as quickly as possible, often on gravel forest roads, in what are known as special stages, or just "stages", closed off to the motoring public. These stages are run with permission of the appropriate authorities and land owners.

The various stages are separated by public highways and the rally cars must be street-legal in order to operate on them while transiting from stage to stage. The drivers are to obey all traffic laws while motoring between stages, as well.

The 4WD Dodge Aspen at work: Scott Harvey at the wheel with Randy Graves co-driving.

The above photos were taken by this writer at the May, 1979 Twenty Stages Rally based from Cadillac, MI. (Yes, it was indeed snowing in May there.) This was an event of the relatively short-lived North American Rally Racing Association (NARRA), formed in the late '70s to compete with the long running Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Pro Rally series.

Click here to see more photos from the Twenty Stages Rally: Some selected pictures from the 1979 NARRA 20 Stages Rally

The SCCA no longer sanctions the Pro Rally series but has replaced it with other events that showcase competition in similar conditions but in a much more contained environment.

Performance rallies still take place in North America, however. A number of organizations sanction performance rally events. Perhaps the highest profile of these organizations is a group called Rally America. In 2005 Rally America had taken over the duties of sanctioning performance rallies from the SCCA Pro Rally organizers.

FYI, a vast amount of rally information, past and present, may be found at www.rallyracingnews.com

Additionally, the rally car preparation organization, Real Auto Sport, LLC, owns a Website providing information about its activities as well as posting numerous rally related photos from events past and present. Their site may be found at: realautosport.com

Please note:

The author of this page does not advocate that folks go out and drive as fast as possible through forest roads (or any place else for that matter). The vehicle described above was designed to participate in events sanctioned and insured by recognized organizations. Entrants in properly sanctioned performance rallies are required to have a certain level of training in competitive driving. They're required to wear specified safety equipment. Their vehicle must also be fitted with specified safety equipment including added crash and roll-over protection. Participants in performance rallies are clearly aware of the high potential of risk to their person that is present in such events.

DFH, July 2006

Back to Homepage Back to Motorsport Stuff