Oh man!! That sucks. I love his car - I'd love to have the hood for mine!
Never met the owner in person, but we've kibbutzed back and forth from time to time. Glad to hear he solved his transmission issues.

I don't know what I would do if my own Hornet got hit (again). 20 years ago, it was almost no big deal finding parts. Today, we AMC folks have to keep our own backstock of parts just because there's almost nothing left out there. Even the big parts suppliers like Moog are not making parts for our cars anymore.

My own Hornet has the fabled "factory approved" fiberglass front fenders now. I lucked-out massively finding a decent pair. If one got damaged or destroyed - there'd be no way I could ever find another set. They are literally THE "Hen's Teeth" of AMC parts.

I'm ashamed to admit - this is half the reason I don't take my toys out to play anymore. Sure, any Chevelle or Mustang gets whacked by some idiot; a phone call to AMD later and they've got parts on the way. I get whacked, my insurance agent is liable to cut me another cheque for $3200 bucks and tell me to have a nice day. *sigh*