Thanks to the poor quality of these pictures, this 1975 AMC Pacer actually looks better than it might be — but with only 39,000 miles showing is it worth a look anyway? It’s for sale here on eBay and is being sold without a reserve. Bidding is starting at only $1,500 and the auction doesn’t have long to run, so if you like AMC fishbowls (and I do) you’d better bid quickly! If you win, plan a vacation visit to Pompano Beach, Florida to pick it up.
You can see the main problem with the Pacer in this shot; rust. The seller tells us the car came from New York and they rate the body a 5 on a scale of one to 10. There’s rust in the quarter panels, front of the hood, around the rear window, and around the gas cap according to the seller. There are also small holes described as the size of a tennis ball in both floor boards.
The Pacer was introduced to great fanfare in 1975 (I got in trouble for featuring it on a poster I drew in 6th grade in early 1976 — true story!) as “the first wide small car.” Unfortunately, despite many innovative features (did you know the two doors are different sizes — a much more elegant way of getting rear seat passengers better access than a third door) AMC wasn’t able to fulfill the original promise of rotary engine power and some of the other explorations during development but the car did feature a tremendous amount of interior room and distinctive styling that you either love or hate.
As opposed to the exterior, the interior reflects the low claimed mileage (backed up by a trail of receipts) and is almost immaculate. The seller states that they purchased the car from the original owner.
The window sticker is part of the original documentation included with the car. We’re told it runs but only on starting fluid. Naturally, you’ll want to look the car over very carefully before driving it, but if you are in the market for an inexpensive classic, you could certainly do worse!
The Curse of Butt Rust!
Too bad there are no underside photos. That’s left to our imaginations, and I can imagine some real horrors lurking under there.
Given the inherent low torque output and high fuel consumption of Wankel engines, I can’t imagine that a Wankel Pacer would have been judged a better car than the 6-cylinder versions that made it to production.
Agreed. The grunt from the sixes at least could deal with the car’s mass. Mine had a 258 and seemed to do just fine.
Nice fish bowl, sorry, 139K, and that’s not really a bad thing, I just wish these people would stop treating us like simpletons, that engine compartment doesn’t have 39K and no “zoom” or underside shots always make wonder. The interior is a lot easier to keep nice, especially in Florida, but I bet this car is pretty tired underneath, and with 0 bids, I’m not the only one to think so.
A trail of receipts confirms the low mileage. The rust up high is typical Florida and doesn’t require driving to create. I bought one in Louisiana with similar rust on the hood and hatch as well as the roof, but with good floors. My interior is not nearly as nice and it has more miles. I paid $500 and will invest 10x that much before it is in #3 condition. So, is this priced right or too much? I think mine was a good deal and I only got it because it was in the middle of nowhere and I was willing to go there. $1000 would be good for it I think add $5000 and some labor and you have a real nice Pacer
These were sold in the UK with RHD,meaning the wider of the doors was on the driver’s side!
Body on a scale of 10 a five ?
That’s sort of like claiming one only had a couple of beers after being caught DWI. In actuality it’s always a couple of six packs.
Let’s say a realistic two out of ten.
39,000 hard azz miles it appears.
Headline should be “39k miles but Pacer”
its a rust bucket
No matter what they say, I don’t believe this. They say that interior is pristine and refer to it as “Leather”. I’ve never seen this style interior on a 1975 Pacer. I don’t believe it’s original. First, in the photo where you see the two front seats and the carpet, you can see the seam the front and rear carpets, the rear carpet is faded, the front isn’t, looks like a replacement. Two, the seats are just wrong. They would have had a red and white basket weave insert, not red velour or red fabric, that was simply not an interior combination available in 1975 It may be 39 thousand miles with a lot of rust, but that interior is just not legit. The insert on the door panel is also wrong.
Per the 1975 Pacer brochure, Pacer D/L buyers could choose from the “Basketry” pattern in the photo above, vinyl buckets, or “Hyde Park” fabric. The 1976 brochure shows the Hyde Park fabric and it is consistent with the fabric in this car.
That picture above the same interior as my D/L had. Mine had the floor shift automatic & console between the front seats. Definitely was not leather, but the basket weave upholstery with vinyl edges was regular equipment. The “velour” was definitely aftermarket.
I hope my attached picture makes it through. A Chopped Top Pacer. Does anyone know who built this?
SOLD! $1,600 American. Here is another creative use of a Pacer.
Ended: Apr 19, 2019 , 10:52PM
Winning bid:US $1,600.00
[ 4 bids ]
gees Patrick !
Any other pic…?