Is there a better color for a 1974 AMC Gremlin X than Sienna Orange? I think not. Even with 59,000 miles, this is the nicest Gremlin that I’ve seen and the seller has provided some of the best all-around photos that I’ve seen in a long time, well done! AMC offered one of the first “Buyer Protection Plans” but I don’t know if the former owner of this Gremlin ever had to use it.
Grand slam on the photos, seller. Dusk shots are a very nice touch. I’m making too much out of the photos, but there are so many horrible ads that when we run across one like this it’s like winning the lottery. AMC made the Gremlin from 1970 through 1978 for the U.S. market and as most folks know, they only came with two doors. That normally isn’t an issue for most Barn Finds readers.
The person listing this Gremlin X for sale is helping to sell it “to help settle the estate of a classic car lover.” That’s always such a sad story and one that most of us have had to deal with in our lives, and maybe are thinking about our own collection of vehicles and general “stuff” and what a loved one or someone else is going to have to go through to unload all of our toys. Uuuff.. that’s too heavy for a sweet, orange Gremlin, sorry. Hey, how about that luggage rack?!
My heart sank when I saw that this car has a Chrysler-sourced three-speed TorqueFlite transmission. I was really hoping for a three-speed manual, the only manual available for this engine. The interior, as expected, looks almost like new everywhere you look. The seats, both front and back, look just about perfect as does the cool “engine-turned” dash face, the rear cargo area, and everything else inside. The only thing missing are the underside photos and this car looks so nice that I’m not worried about rust. In fact, the seller says it’s ” straight-as-an-arrow” and has a “rust and ding-free body.”
The engine is as clean as everything else and is an AMC 258-cu.in. OHV inline-six with 110 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque when new. The seller says it starts, shifts, runs, stops, and does everything else very well and this gem can be found here on eBay in Cincinnati, Ohio. There is no reserve and the current bid is $9,600, but there are two days left to go and this car is nice enough to bring another few thousand. No, really. Hagerty is at $13,800 for a #2 excellent-condition Gremlin with a 232-six and this one has a 258 so it’s probably a bit above that. Have any of you owned a Gremlin?
Oh no it won’t,,,,get by without a comment from the peanut gallery,,,me. An “X”,( whistles), sportin’ some cash there,( $189 extra for stripes and wheels) and put the basic Gremlin, now at $2995, into the $3 grand range. As mentioned, the 3 speed was standard, the automatic, which appears to be the only option, typically added about $300 to the car. Regardless, I read, AMC sold an impressive 175,000 Gremlins in 1974, seems less than 12,000 were an “X”. Most “X”s had the 304 V8. While the original Gremlin was a bit sparse, I think the ’74 was the most advanced of the bunch. They were great cars and made its place in history as the 1st import fighter, and we( in Wis.) were mighty proud of that. I still am.
Howard, it was the other way around. Only around 40,000 had the 304 for the entire model run from 70 to 78.
A true v8 will have an “H” in the vin.
Most X’s had the one of the 6’s.
Thanks for the correction. :)
Auction has ended, allegedly no reserve and no bids. Something is fishy.
I’d buy it just for the color.
I thought the X came with the 304 V8. You can put X stripes on a base gremlin. Is that what this one is?
Someone made a deal with the seller and ended the auction early.
A friend owned a ’76 Gremlin X and it had the 232 L6.
I bought a 72′ Gremlin X new.
258 six,3 speed manual with dealer installed air.I think it was $ 2,500 and 300 hundred more for the air.
Our family had 2 gremlins, a dark green one with white stripes that was totaled in an unfortunate accident and was replaced with a medium blue ’75.
peppy and reliable but prone to rust.
Nice example here.
Looked at the bid history on the original ad even though it said zero. Strange, bids all over the place, even one for $52,700.00! Has Ebay turned into flaky bidder paradise or what?
In this case it did. Unfortunately when something gets a bit of notoriety, such as this car through being shared on enthusiast forums and websites it often attracts the attention of unstable people. This is nothing new and won’t go away, the anonymity of the internet makes it easy for people to cause trouble, often as a form of entertainment. This site has been trolled by some loser for years, he keeps getting his account deleted, then comes back with a new user name a week or so later.
That’s too bad, this car appeared to be really nice, the seller didn’t deserve to be trolled like that.
Steve R
I’m glad it’s gone as I was very tempted! I owned a 1974Gremlin X that was yellow-orange and had brown hockey stripes. How ’70s is that! It has the 232 ci six and three-speed manual. It was a quite comforable fit for my 6′ 4″ body and was very dependable. I sold it to a friend at 135K miles. It ran great for another year or so before he wrecked. He lived, but my poor Gremmie didn’t :(
Gremlins X came with a 232, options were 258-6 and 403-v8.
My wire had a ’73 X with the 258 (3.9 ci) and floor shift 3-speed, almost bought the 403, run like a scared rabbit! It would keep up to me with my Cutlass Supreme with a 310-v8 and 3speed hurst shifter, except long straights. .
madlad, there was never a factory 403-V8 in a Gremlin. I think your meant 304 V8 which was an option. There was a California dealer that was putting the 401 V8 into new Gremlins.
True,I recently saw the documentary on a Mesa AZ dealer that got twenty 401 engines from AMC and put them in Gremlins with no special vin numbers.
The dealer was Randall Motors in Mesa, AZ. and the dealer made 21, “401-XRs” with the factory backed 401s, 20 for the street and one for racing and were sold for $2995. They could be had with either a 4 speed or an automatic, and while the 304 was no slouch, with 0-60 in under 9 sec. and 1/4 mile around 15.5, the Randall 401s could do 13s easy at 115 in the 1/4,, and some high 12s with minor mods, like traction, probably. There was practically no indication except for a “401” badge. Someone laughed at me for suggesting a Javelin could blow the doors off their treasured Mustang, and gave me some silly SCCA stat where they did poorly, I wasn’t talking about sanctioned racing, I’m talking about 15th Ave. stoplight to 17th Ave. stoplight. Union Grove, US 30, US 131, local dragways. Those 401 cars could make a hemi Cuda or Boss Mustang a bit nervous. Proof being a man named Wally Booth, and his Pro Stock Hornet. That was good enough for me.
Yea John, dumb me I meant the 304!
P.S. I am diesletic
Here and gone. Sold locally? A buddy of mine had one back in the 70’s, a Levi’s special with the denim interior. He kept it spotless.