American Motors concept cars & dealership info

**MoparDan** · April-02-09, 10:26 AM

This is crossing over from the April Fool's prank pulled yesterday & posted on the Detroit side of the fence. A link to what Hot Rod Magazine pulled last year:
http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicl...ars/index.html

If you want to buy a new AMC, you'll need to go to Collier Motors in Pikeville NC to get it; it's the last surviving AMC dealership in the world:
http://www.gremlinx.com/AMC-Pikeville.htm

My first car was a '72 Hornet SST with a screaming 232cid straight 6. Not pretty, but that monster went to hell & back with me God knows how many times.

It was christened The Rolling Circus.

**Bigb23** · April-02-09, 10:29 AM

Didn't the "64 Studebaker" have a 396 4 barrel ? A screaming 4 door.

**MoparDan** · April-02-09, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by Bigb23

Didn't the "64 Studebaker" have a 396 4 barrel ? A screaming 4 door.

Can't verify that. However, here's a '64 Studebaker Police Car on Barrett-Jackson's website.
http://www.barrett-jackson.com/appli...424&pop=0&it=1

ccbatson · April-02-09, 08:29 PM

There are a few small companies that refurbish late model Jeep/AMC Grand Wagoneers.

**MoparDan** · April-02-09, 09:36 PM

Here ya go BigB!
Take 'er for a spin!

**Bigb23** · April-02-09, 09:47 PM

A friend of mine had that car new, in racing green. Nice ride.

**MoparDan** · April-02-09, 09:52 PM

Was it similar to the one you posted in the NASCAR thread on the Detroit side? Very sharp & wicked!

ccbatson · April-05-09, 01:36 PM

Nice stuff...quirky and not so reliable by my recollection.

I am curious as to parts availability for the AMC stuff prior to Chrysler.

**MoparDan** · April-05-09, 04:05 PM

Originally Posted by ccbatson

Nice stuff...quirky and not so reliable by my recollection.

I am curious as to parts availability for the AMC stuff prior to Chrysler.

I held onto my '72 Hornet until about '86 when I sold it to a friend. I really had no problem getting parts for it. Chrysler supposedly had stamps & dies destroyed[[other than Jeep) after the acquisition.

**oldredfordette** · April-05-09, 05:01 PM

A friend of mine won a brand new Pacer in the Michigan Lottery, it was like driving around in a goldfish bowl. Though I saw one in Royal Oak the other day, it was in good shape and it was kind of snappy.

**Bigb23** · April-05-09, 08:13 PM

Pacers were kind of quirky, but I had a 81' Chevette. That back seat was legendary.

Attachment 356

**MoparDan** · April-05-09, 08:27 PM

The poor maligned Pacer. Some features were actually ahead of their time. It has managed to ascertain a type of coolness these days & was prominent as the "Mirthmobile" in Wayne's World.

**Bigb23** · April-05-09, 09:03 PM

The "Mirthmobile" was what I had in mind when I looked for the Pacer pic.

**yaktown** · April-05-09, 09:26 PM

My first car was a 1981 Spirit, my parents bought it for me in Oct 1988. I actually drove that car for 4.5 years, great memories. Growing up, my parents owned a 1974 Hornet Sportabout [[wagon) and a 1980 Spirit. I'm still in love with the old AMC's, guess I just love the oddballs/orphans.

**56packman** · April-05-09, 09:29 PM

My late friend Dick Teague was VP of styling for AMC from the late 50s until the end. He was proud of the Pacer--in as much as he did what his bosses told him to do, on the wole AMC product line. In over 30 years he only had two occasions where he wasn't working around a pre-existing platform, a big handicap to any styling department. He never had the money that the big three had, was always re-skinning someone else's work, on the cheap. The Javelin, AMX and AMX-3 concept car were examples of what he and his staff could do. The Pacer and Gremlin were what the bosses wanted, and they wanted to be different from the big 3.

**Bigb23** · April-05-09, 09:38 PM

They were doing the right thing in my mind. The Pacer, Gremlin, and Eagle stood out from the rest of the crap of the early 80's.

**MoparDan** · April-05-09, 10:06 PM

AMC seemed on the right track where economy was concerned. Considering the competition they did a helluva a job with the limited resources they had. I'll always have a soft spot for them as well. At least the Jeep lives on.
Packman, I bet he had some fascinating stories & experiences to share. Wasn't he a designer for Packard as well?
To borrow a line from Wayne's World, Party On!

**56packman** · April-05-09, 10:21 PM

Yes, dick was the last VP-design for Packard, and did a masterful job of restyling the 1951 body into the 1955-'56 Packards. My 1956 "400" is one of his great efforts. Dick was also a child actor in silent films, and we had that intrest in common. He and Mrs. Teague used to come hear me at the restaurant I played at, and we visited often. I never tired of his stories He was universally liked by everyone in the industry.

**Bigb23** · April-05-09, 10:33 PM

56 Packman - were you familiar with "Complete Restorations" in Mt. Clemens ? We were Packard specialists.

Attachment 360

**MoparDan** · April-06-09, 07:06 AM

I found this on Wikipedia about Dick Teague. There are so many talented & ingenius people from The Greatest Generation. I'm sure a lot would be impressed with the technology but the generic designs would probably disappoint them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Teague
It was only a few years ago I started reading up on the Packard story; these guys were ahead of their time. I guess that's why I find the plant so fascinating although I've never stepped a foot in Detroit. I keep telling myself I'm going to do a road trip up there to see it & several other "ruins". Any pics of your 400?
BigB, as I'm trying to lay out the plans to do my Charger, any recommendations on a soda blaster? A friend is encouraging me to rent a 15'x25' storage space for 6mos to do the messy work then bring it back to the house to piece it back together. Part of the plan is to set up a home made "paint booth" to do it myself. I'm going to practice on separate body panels before attempting my own car. If nothing else, it should be a learning experience.
I was looking at this from Eastwood Co.
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...rID=534&KICKER
This is the compressor I have. I think it will do the job.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...ord=compressor
Any info would be greatly appreciated.

**Vic_doucette** · April-06-09, 08:05 AM

Had a 1974 Hornet, purchased in 1976 with only 5,400 miles on it. Worst POS ever made.
Junk by 50,000 miles in 1980.

**MoparDan** · April-06-09, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by Vic_doucette

Had a 1974 Hornet, purchased in 1976 with only 5,400 miles on it. Worst POS ever made.
Junk by 50,000 miles in 1980.

Sorry yours was such a lemon. I got my '72 in '78 with barely 30k on it, then proceeded to add another 100k before selling it. The only major repair was a clutch plate & that was because I burned it up trying to push a friend's '70 Skylark. A couple other HS friends bought AMCs because they were affordable for first time drivers; as I recall they had few problems as well.

**56packman** · April-06-09, 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by Bigb23

56 Packman - were you familiar with "Complete Restorations" in Mt. Clemens ? We were Packard specialists.

Attachment 360

Bigb23--yes, that was Hank Seitz's place, I was there many times. The car in the picture is the sedan you guys did for Don Curtis, wasn't it?

**Bigb23** · April-06-09, 10:03 AM

Yeah, the one that rolled off the trailer during transport. We finished it just hours before the Dearborn show, and it won best of show. "Aussie andrew" was my mentor there. I had to make my own "corking" tools. They are up in Marine City now, right ?