Re: AMC PacerX. Tell me about them.
[Re: TheBlueBeast]
#2003112
02/01/16 12:53 AM
02/01/16 12:53 AM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,793 Castlegar, BC, Canada
That AMC Guy
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Well, for starters, all Pacers are 2-doors. There was a coupe and a wagon.
The X-package changed from year-to-year. What year is the car? That would narrow it down and I could tell you exactly what it could have come with. But also, keep in mind that you could order any of the X-package options separately and you could also add optional equipment to the X-package as long as it didn't interfere with X-package equipment (which anything rarely did). The X-package on a Pacer is similar to what you'd find on a Gremlin or Hornet. Bucket seats, Sport steering wheel, carpet, stripes, Rallye Wheels. It's simply a trim level.
As for Pacers themselves, unless the car is in near mint condition or at least very good condition; walk away. While mechanical parts are easy to find for an AMC, model specific parts are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. To restore a Pacer could cost thousands of dollars if it requires sheetmetal or paint, or even glass. At the end of they day, the car could bring $5,000 to $7,000. I've yet to see a Pacer cross the 10k mark yet.
They drive nice. They ride nice and they're very comfortable cars. But they are slow and get poorer fuel mileage than any of their contemporary competition. Essentially, you buy them because you like them and they become a family member. A Pacer is the least-likely car to ever become an investment.
Last edited by RamblerMan; 02/01/16 12:57 AM.
Bloody Mary, Full of Vodka, Blessed art thou among cocktails....
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Re: AMC PacerX. Tell me about them.
[Re: TheBlueBeast]
#2003125
02/01/16 01:05 AM
02/01/16 01:05 AM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,793 Castlegar, BC, Canada
That AMC Guy
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They are definitely an acquired taste. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool AMC guy but the Pacer and Matador coupes are tough pills for me to swallow; both stylistically and the fact that they are the two models that contributed to the eventual destruction of AMC. At the time, they were very popular cars. For 1975, the Pacer was the darling of the automotive world, almost becoming Car of the Year. AMC produced in excess of 140,000 Pacers for model year '75. That may not seem like much, but remember that the Kenosha factory only had three assembly lines. That means they were cranking them out as hard as they could. When you consider that a high-water mark for the Hornet was about 80,000 cars; 140,000 Pacers is absolutely shocking! Here's a fantastic little half-hour documentary on the AMC Pacer: https://youtu.be/kcl98aBRkD8I consider 1968 through 1974 to be the "Golden Era" at American Motors and it showed in their style, quality and production numbers and my collection reflects that.
Last edited by RamblerMan; 02/01/16 01:11 AM.
Bloody Mary, Full of Vodka, Blessed art thou among cocktails....
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Re: AMC PacerX. Tell me about them.
[Re: That AMC Guy]
#2003236
02/01/16 09:42 AM
02/01/16 09:42 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,667 Buford, GA
I_bleed_MOPAR
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Friend of mine parents bought one new. His Mom drove it. We called it "the Window Wagon" or "the Jetson-mobile" because of all the glass. It was so funny-looking that everyone considered it cool. RamblerMan, you definitely have a cool collection. I had forgotten about the 6 months my Dad worked at an AMC dealer in '69. While there, he brought me home a dealer promo model of the Hornet. Wish I still had it. Tim
'71 Charger 383/727 '17 Challenger SXT (Wifeys car )
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Re: AMC PacerX. Tell me about them.
[Re: Rhinodart]
#2003409
02/01/16 02:42 PM
02/01/16 02:42 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,376
dogdays
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My vote for ugggggliest has to go to the Marlin. Take an iffy Chrysler design ('66 Charger) and make it worse........
My Uncle Jim drove Ramblers because "they came standard with air conditioning".
R.
Last edited by dogdays; 02/01/16 02:43 PM.
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Re: AMC PacerX. Tell me about them.
[Re: dogdays]
#2003428
02/01/16 03:06 PM
02/01/16 03:06 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 11,022 Farmington, CT
KISSAlien
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My vote for ugggggliest has to go to the Marlin. Take an iffy Chrysler design ('66 Charger) and make it worse........ Except the first Marlins were 1965 models.
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Re: AMC PacerX. Tell me about them.
[Re: TheBlueBeast]
#2004550
02/03/16 01:18 AM
02/03/16 01:18 AM
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,699 Newport, Mi
Evil Spirit
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Two "amusing" quirks of the Pacers are you have to have the windshield wipers clocked to a certain spot to remove the valve cover, which was partially under the cowl, and for a couple years they were known for the distributor caps exploding - due to ruptured diaphragms in the vacuum advance units filling the distributor with fuel vapors.
Yes, they were all 2 doors - 2 different length doors - passenger door was about 4" longer than the drivers door. And good luck finding one with good door panels - common warranty item, and they didn't really improve the replacements.
The last couple years you could get a 304 in them, which made a 360 or a 401 was an easy swap.
Last edited by Evil Spirit; 02/03/16 01:40 AM.
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Re: AMC PacerX. Tell me about them.
[Re: Evil Spirit]
#2004691
02/03/16 10:40 AM
02/03/16 10:40 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,703 North Dakota
6PakBee
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The Pacer exemplifies what I think of AMC. A quirky little company building quirky cars. And I say that with the greatest affection as I have a Machine, an AMX, and just bought an SC/Rambler. I can almost guarantee you that if you showed up at a show with a Pacer, you won't have any company!
"We live in a time when intelligent people are being silenced so that stupid people won't be offended".
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Re: AMC PacerX. Tell me about them.
[Re: 6PakBee]
#2005178
02/03/16 11:48 PM
02/03/16 11:48 PM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,793 Castlegar, BC, Canada
That AMC Guy
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I can almost guarantee you that if you showed up at a show with a Pacer, you won't have any company! Nor will you have any friends! I went to a car show once, and took the twin Hornets. The cars, while the same body style, couldn't be further apart. One's a six, the other an eight. One's a stick, the other an auto. One had a bench, the other buckets and on and on.... Not a single person talked to my buddy and I for the entire show. Was pretty disappointed. It wasn't until we were leaving somebody piped up about the yellow one and he gave us the old "I had one exactly like it" speech at which point even my buddy chimed in with "no you didn't". The yellow car is a mild custom/resto-mod and features many completely anachronistic or not-available parts. (Like it has a 304/4barrel with duals but that was never an available configuration. 5 speed Not available. Console not available. Tilt (not available with manual). Leather-wrap wheel not available. etc, etc.) In my neck of the woods, owning an AMC is like being a leper. I have to drive to another state or province before the cars get any recognition or admiration.
Last edited by RamblerMan; 02/03/16 11:49 PM.
Bloody Mary, Full of Vodka, Blessed art thou among cocktails....
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Re: AMC PacerX. Tell me about them.
[Re: KISSAlien]
#2006085
02/05/16 02:48 PM
02/05/16 02:48 PM
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,231 State of retirement
52savoy
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My vote for ugggggliest has to go to the Marlin. Take an iffy Chrysler design ('66 Charger) and make it worse........ Except the first Marlins were 1965 models. exactly... (I tagged along)My dad test drove new cars every year and a '65 Marlin was one of them. At the time the fastback design was a pretty cool deal until the '66 Charger came along. It raised the bar a little(very little). I got to ride along in a 383/ 4bbl version and hoped he would buy it, he didn't. Instead he bought a '66 390 Fairlane GT which was kept 4 or 5 months until 2.. his and hers '66 Dodge Monaco's 500 took it's place. That lasted long enough for a '68 Coronet R/T and a Charger R/T as replacements. The last 2 AMCs my dad drove(and owned) before his death were a '69 390 AMX and a '72 304 Javelin Car magazines claimed that a 401 GremlinX was the fastest production car of the day.. supposedly ran 12s stock.
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Re: AMC PacerX. Tell me about them.
[Re: 6PakBee]
#2006539
02/06/16 04:13 AM
02/06/16 04:13 AM
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 10,938 Spokane Valley, WA
Big Bad Bee
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The Pacer exemplifies what I think of AMC. A quirky little company building quirky cars. And I say that with the greatest affection as I have a Machine, an AMX, and just bought an SC/Rambler. I can almost guarantee you that if you showed up at a show with a Pacer, you won't have any company! The Hurst SC/Rambler is one car that just does something for me. I saw one at a dealer in 1981 and fell in love. The over the top seat pattern and crazy scoop, 4 speed, tiny car, big motor. One car I'd probably trade my bee for.
I’m listening.
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Re: AMC PacerX. Tell me about them.
[Re: Paul_Fancsali]
#2007901
02/08/16 01:31 PM
02/08/16 01:31 PM
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,231 State of retirement
52savoy
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Looks like your right. It's been over 40 years and that's how I remember it. Still a badass car.
Last edited by 52savoy; 02/08/16 01:34 PM.
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