American Motors built several performance cars back in the day. Notable was the AMX, which was a 2-seat GT-style muscle car from 1968 to 1970. During 1971 to 1974, the name was attached to the fastest Javelins – and then disappeared. That is, until 1977, when it was resurrected as a trim option on the compact Hornet, without the speed of yesteryear. The seller has one of these one-year-wonders; it can be found in Wadsworth, Ohio, and is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $6,500. Its claim to fame may be that it has a 4-speed manual – but is paired with an inline six. Thanks for the rare tip, “Ted.”
The 1977 Hornet AMX was outsourced to Motortown Corp. for the appearance add-ons. That shop was owned by former Pontiac executive Jim Wangers, who had a hand in putting the GTO on the map. The Hornet AMX was one of many “transformation” cars that Wangers was behind, like the Plymouth Volare Road Runner and Pontiac Can-Am. The $799 option on a Hornet hatchback added body-colored fender flares, a chin spoiler, and some tweaking of the suspension. But a ho-hum 304 V8 was the most muscle you could get under the hood (and Jim had nothing to do with that).
No production figures are known to exist for the Hornet AMX, but estimates range in the hundreds, not thousands. So, finding one of these today (if you were so inclined) may not be easy. This edition has the 258 CI 6-banger (possibly rebuilt) with a 4-speed from the factory (the only throwback to the original AMX). We’re told the car runs well with new brakes and tires with plenty of tread left.
The yellow paint is fading, and some rust bubbles are starting to pop up here and there. The black interior looks pretty good and may have been some of Jim’s handiwork 48 years ago. The seller is uninterested in trades and may deliver the car to you for an extra charge. Is this version of the AMX a desirable machine or simply a footnote to what once was?
These have grown on me.One day I looked out our
back window,& saw a really nice Red one,then a couple of days
later,on the way home from work I saw a really nice Yellow one.
Then a short time back,I saw this one at a local cruise in.
It amazes me that there are that many of them in this area.
Where do you live that you’re seeing these??? I have been searching endlessly missing by weeks the chance to pick one up…. This was my high school ride from 87 to 89 and I totaled it in 92 when a guard rail got the best of me on black ice and a curve. Life happened and years later I still miss my firecracker red 4sp straight 6.
Could be a car from Mad Max movie 🎬
First thing I thought!
Go ahead and laugh, but at least AMC did something in the face of adversity. May I remind you what Ford was offering in ’77. In case you wasn’t ‘der, Charley, by 1977, attitudes towards tire scorching muscle cars had waned, but make no mistake, people still wanted flashy looking cars with names that reminded the buyers of such times. Chrysler did the same thing with the Volare Road Runner or Ventura GTO. Didn’t matter, handwriting was on the wall, and it was goodbye muscle cars, as WE knew them, forever.
Okay, a mere shred of the original AMX, still a 4 speed for you shifty folks, so got fun there, the 6 the best there is. Like all these iconish named cars, mostly banking on the originals popularity, it was bound to generate some sales, until we could perfect the FWD econobox, that is.
You wasn’t der’ Charley- Damn, that’s an old reference. Hornet AMX? I guess JC Whitney special edition didn’t have the same cachet.
That engine looks like it has a plastic valve cover suggesting that a later engine has been installed. (I think AMC started using those awful things in the early 1980s. They always leak.) The HEI ignition is a nice upgrade, much better than the infamous Prestolite ignition AMC was using.
If this car had come with a 304 V8 a 360 or 401 would drop right in. For a six-cylinder model the hot setup would be to install a Jeep 4.0.
Be like driving a banana. But, it is rare, and a stick shift. Maybe someone still has an old 304 rolling around in the shed? When I was 16, and looking for my first car. I found a ’74 Gremlin X, for less than a grand. It had a custom paint job on it, big tires, with Cragars, air shocks in the back, etc. And it was powered by the most anemic 6 cylinder I ever drove, coupled to a slushbox transmission. It was only 2 years old at the time. Yikes!
Is that yellow really a factory color? I don’t believe that rear spoiler is factory.
Yes, Sunshine Yellow, code 6V and I believe you are correct. I can’t find any ’77 AMXs with a spoiler.
Needs a fuel injected 4.0 H.O
Wow – I haven’t seen not even thought of those. I was 19 years old and pretty ga-ga over one of these.Was doing to be my first new vehicle,needed a cosigner to establish credit.My Dad had other ideas,so he nudged me towards a new GMC half ton pickup… something HE could get some use out of lol.
Have a similar story about not finding a co-signer: I was in high school, working at a Sunoco station. A guy had a Nomad for sale for $375, but neither a bank nor my parents would loan me the money. Oh well.
Sounds similar to the 67 Mustang fastback w/390 Gt that my parents wouldn’t loan me the money for when I was 15.
My sisters brother in law was going to sell it to me for $1500!
Talk about being crushed!
I gotta admit I kind of liked these. Refresh this car and keep it relatively stock and turn some heads at your favorite shows. It likely will be the only one there. Red would work better for me than this yellow but yellow is OK. I don’t remember that spoiler?
If only this was black and had a V8….
Just plain BRIGHT yellow might have been okay, but the stripes of different color and the louvers on rear window make this car look over-the-top. Maybe that is the message desired, but with a dirty 6 cylinder?
Lipstick on a pig.
Driven 999,999 miles.
Say WHAT?
Too much ”gingerbread” IMHO.
I miss AMC.
I don’t recall ever seeing one out in the wild.
I had the ‘other’ one year wonder AMX – the ’78 based on the Concord hatchback. Black with gold screaming chicken on the hood and gold tiara stripe from the front fender over the top of the B pillar and across the roof. Levi’s edition with the jeans seats. @Philbo427 I had the 304/727 Torqueflight and no, you wouldn’t have wanted one. This car has had a lot of unnecessary junk glued to it, but still a rare car.
Banana Yellow is OK, but all the stripe work is just too much. And the WING!?!? Just too gaudy, especially on a car powered by a 258/ 6.
I saw the original AMX concept car at the Chicago Auto Show in (’66 or ’67?). Looked very nice, had a V8 & 4 speed but we thought that AMC was trying to mimic the Mustang body style.
Yeah it’s a 6 cylinder, but don’t underestimate that 258. I had a 74 Gremlin X with 258 and 3 speed manual on the floor. It was surprisingly quick. Fooled a lot of people.
God Bless America
Like a bad joke. A straight 6 in a AMX? LOL!