American Motors turned a lot of heads in the late 1960s with the AMX, a shortened two-seat version of the Javelin. It would become AMC’s first and only attempt at building a sports car. As a muscle car, they were fast and not anything like what the competition was offering. Sadly, it would be a three-year experiment as the AMX would be relegated to a performance and décor package on the Javelin beginning in 1971. We’re told the seller’s car was stolen and then recovered, but some of the parts had been stripped away. It has remained in storage ever since. The car is hidden away in a barn in Caldwell, Idaho, and available here on Facebook Marketplace for $5,299. The seller says that “you can call it a barn find if you want”.
A curse of the muscle car craze was that they seemed to get longer, lower, wider, and heavier from one generation to the next. The same thing happened to the AMC Javelin and it gained weight in the process. And it served as the foundation for the AMX going forward, so the short two-seater gave way to a large four-seater (remember the 1957-58 Thunderbirds?). The AMX was no longer a model in its own right probably because AMC sold less than 20,000 of them over three years and couldn’t justify separate production any longer.
While the original AMX’s came with a powerful 390 cubic inch V8, the more civilized 1971 AMX came with a 360 cubic inch V8 that cranked out 245 hp with a two-barrel carb, but you could get a four-barrel good for 285 horses. The AMX got even tamer in 1972 when the 304 V8 became the entry-level powerplant. You could get a 401 V8 if that weren’t enough, but takers were few. With the consolidation of the AMX into the Javelin, sales continued to fall. AMC built a little more than 2,000 AMX’s in 1971 and 3,000 or so for 1972.
This Javelin AMX has a sad but confusing story. First off, we’re told it belonged to the husband of the wife but is being sold by a third-party who doesn’t seem to know much about the car. Then we learn that it was stolen, ravaged, and returned in the state it’s in now. The ad’s headline says it’s a 1971 Mustang because apparently Facebook can’t recognize AMC. But the manufacturing date suggests it’s a ’72 unless the 1971 model year had production into November. And the plate on the car says the engine is a 304, which would have been standard AMX fare for 1972, not 1971. So, let’s call it a ’72. Whew!
All this being said, the car is a mess. We’re told the hood, steering wheel, front seats, and radiator are gone and I’m betting that’s not the end of the story. The photos provided are not flattering in any way and the body has dents here and there. The good news is there is no evidence of rust being present, but that may just be because we can’t see any of it.
Because these cars were made by the underdog AMC, resale values aren’t as high as other makes. A 1972 Javelin in top shape might bring $20,000 and – with the AMX package – perhaps a few more dollars. That’s half of what a two-seat AMX from 1968 would go for. But given that this car is far from complete and what’s there is in questionable condition, I’d say the seller is way too optimistic on its worth. Just 20 or 30 years ago, you’d almost have to pay someone to haul a car like this away. My, have times changed.
I have a soft spot for the 68-70 AMX only. Gotta be a 2-seater!
or at least HAVE seats . .
Ah, yeah, good point!
looks like a steering wheel and column on the floor under the original column
Oh the memories! Back in the summer of 73, after I enlisted in The U.S.Army in April, 73, then after Basic Training came AIT, at FtDix N.J.. I ran into a Sgt that was from my home town in Central Falls R.I.,who owned a brilliant red 73 AMX, loaded with a 401, with posi, AC, AM/FM, white an red interior with bucket seats and that big curved dash with full gauges. Now after having ridden in and driven a cousins 71 Chevelle SS454, I had few hopes of what this 401 could do. Oh there was no comparison from 0-100 or so, but on the open road was a burner! That actually handled fairly well!
I’m from S. Jersey, not far from Ft. Dix, and my neighbor had a red ’73 or ’74 AMX with 401. I remember that car from my youth. I never saw another one like it. I wonder if it’s the same car we speak of…
I kinda doubt it, this Sgt. Lived on Base and was originally from and still had family in Rhode Island.
These things were just weird. I wonder if GM, Ford, or Chrysler ever considered chopping a couple feet out of the middle of their pony cars? I doubt it.
The original AMXs could be had with 290, 343, or 390 CID V-8s.
Offer $2500, drop in a Vortec and a pair of junkyard seats. Be done, go cruise, care not what happens to it.
If it was a Mustang, people would be all over it saying great shape it is in. Overall, this isn’t that bad body wise. The flared front fenders never appealed to me, but that gold Prestone build where they added the large cowl induction hood made me change my mind.
It is a common misbelief that the 68-70 AMX was a shortened Javelin. The AMX was under development before the Javelin. This is according to an article I read in special interest auto’s by Hemmings with I believe Dick Teague an member of the AMC design team.
I hope someone saves this car. How many are left? As far as I am concerned any car not devoured by rust deserves a second chance at Life.
Sure it’s not a Pierce Arrow or Dussinburge
but certainly cheaper to restore
just mho
True, the AMX concept cars predated the Javelin. But when the AMX went into production AMC decided to use a modified Javelin platform.
And I like the murky photos – looks kinda like footage from the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Sounds like a episode from Peyton Place. I wouldn’t touch that one unless it was just for parts
I’ve always liked the AMX and the early(71?) Hornet S/C as well as a couple cool looking Matador’s with the right stance, wheels and color, but when it came time to actually buy one of them , I just couldn’t do it, because there was always something that seemed awkward in the interiors that I wouldn’t want to see daily.
It’s just my observation and I’m not ragging on AMC, they made some nice cars with a good build quality.
$5K is a bit steep for the condition it’s in. But damn, it’s so tempting, as I just happen to have a hood, seats and steering wheel in my garage that I salvaged from my ’72 that came to a tragic end many years ago (on it’s roof).