The Gremlin was AMC’s answer to the flood of subcompact cars that had arrived from abroad by 1970. Rather than develop another new car, they took a foot out of the wheelbase of a Hornet and chopped the rear end off at an angle to create the Gremlin. It may have looked strange but would sell more than 670,000 copies by the end of 1978. This ’72 edition is a one-owner car that’s had a major drivetrain change – a 401 cubic V8 and a 4-speed have been dropped in where a 304 and 3-speed once lived. This small powerhouse is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and just one bid of $25,000 has been cast so far here on eBay.
This wasn’t the first time that AMC took one product and created another from it. Case-in-point was the 1968 AMX and its ties to the Javelin. They took a pony car and turned it into a 2-seat GT-style muscle car. The Gremlin was not quite a subcompact, but it was the easiest way for cash-strapped AMC to get there. In a sea of Chevy Vegas, Ford Pintos, and the imports, the Gremlin was the only offering with an inline-6 and – eventually a V8 engine. The seller’s car began with the “X” trim package in ’72 with the small-block 8-cylinder and a 3-speed manual. This one-owner Gremlin now has the largest V8 that AMC ever made and the transmission has an extra speed in it.
How this car has managed to only travel 35,000 miles in just over 50 years isn’t known, so perhaps the seller can provide prospective buyers with an interesting story. Besides the obvious, the transition (which took place in 1976) included an Edelbrock manifold with a Holley 4-barrel and HEI. As tempting as it might be, especially with the tires and rims, we’re told the Gremlin has never been raced. Nor has it been driven in Winter, thus not subjected to Midwest snow or ice.
Except for the hood, which was custom-made, the AMC sports its original paint which seems to look good for the age. The seller rates it at 95% and the quality of the interior at 90%. It’s a well-equipped Gremlin with power this and that, and air conditioning, though no mention is made of its cooling capabilities. It’s a good driving car, but you have to wonder if any modifications were needed to make the 401 V8 fit into a space designed for a 304.
Smart choice to stay in the family when upgrading the engine (and possibly the T10 too). NO need for BBC etc…
I LIKE it! The only change I would make would be to remove the 401 from the side stripe, no need to advertise, heh! heh! This one even has the rare opening quarter windows! 401/4 speed, what’s not to like! GLWTA!! :-)
I agree,why advertise.LOL🤣👍!
This is what practically every AMC fan of the time wanted when the V8 option appeared, and the owner carried out their vision. A great answer to “Where’s the rest of your car?”
Probably want to keep it on a straightaway when you stomp the loud pedal though.
Great vintage cruiser and not one often seen daily-or even annually.
One bidder, $25000? Wow!
GLWTA
Well I used to think they were funky looking. But since all the “hot hatches” have come and gone.. My opinions on the Gremlin has changed. Lightweight V8 rear wheel drive, all American? It’s hard not to appreciate a V8 gremmy. It’s easy to add modern touches to bring one up to the times. They definitely have a neat shape to them and who don’t like wheelies? As hard as 401’s are to come by.. 360’s are mighty strong. Even the 304 responds with enthusiasm to anything you do to it. There are no dogs in the 2nd gen AMC V8 family.
Too bad the factory didn’t install 401s. If there was such a car it would be worth much more.
And the AMC 390, which was a short-deck 401…
My little sister had one, for college. She got really tired of “hey Toots, what happened to the rest of ya Ka?!” It was a 6 but served her well. Didn’t have to worry too much about ‘weight distribution’! 😉😊
My first cat was a Gremlin (6 cyl 3speed ) I got a lot of running about it but I laughed at them at the gas pump !! And it was a great training car for rural roads with LOTS of potholes !!
The 401 is dimension wise the same as any AMC V8 so no cutting required. I really like the look of this Gremlin. My initial reaction was 25k seems a lot but maybe not. Lots of fun here and it ain’t another red Camaro. Lol. GLWTS
Probably one of the easiest engine swaps you can have. Trading the 304 for the 401 equals more power with a zero weight gain. The 401 was the hottest engine made by AMC with forged internals and high flow intake ports. This car has to scoot! Factoring our high inflation rates 25K is a bargain for an early bumper Gremlin X. How often do you see these in the wild? Pretty rare car.
The 401 in 1971 AMX was only rated at 255 bhp. The 390 ci. found in the 1969 AMX and the Rebal Machine in 1970 only, was the most powerful engine that AMC produced rated at 340 HP. I personally purchased a new Rebal Machine in 1970. There were less than 2000 actually built and the last time I checked less than 500 still exist in driving condition.
In my last year of high school a friend of mine had a gremlin x that was white with orange pinstriping. I think it was automatic in the floor but the interior upholstery was done in Levi’s from the factory. It was a fun little car and it didn’t break the bank. There wasn’t that much on the engine that could fail, or at least could be fixed at the local AMC dealer.
Some compared it to the rabbit GTI and even Mopar had an entry that was called glh, that I believe had some input from Carol Shelby. Those were the days. I still had hair on my head and muscles on my muscles.
Umm, no, the 401 in ‘71 was rated at 330/335 HP. The ‘68 390 was rated at 315, ‘69 was rated at 315 or 340 in the AMX, and ‘70 was 325 or 340 in The Machine.
Gremlins…..like an English Bulldog, they’re so ugly they’re cute. I’m an hour and a half away from this find, I would just like to hear it and see it in person.
Beautiful, Was looking into a Pro Street Gremlin but this one is way too nice. Fair price right now.
Over 2/3rds of the car’s weight was on the front, in stock form. This surely makes it worse.
If you want to smoke the tires, this is the car. Otherwise it’s probably not much use. Far too much weight up front, and too much torque on the unloaded rear. Give it too much in a curve, and you spin out or roll.
Probably Just Pass You..
If you got a little excited about this Gremlin, look at 68 AMX prototype. AMX front with Gremlin rear, factory side pipes and sexy paint.
304 and 401 are about the same weight wise- the pistons are a bit different so is the crank but the engines the same size on the outside. So…. if a 304 wasn’t that bad a 401 won’t be either- this isn’t a bbc swap or such its not like he’s changed engine family’s or anything either amc didn’t have a small block or a big block they had one v8 engine family only thing that changes is crank rod and pistons blocks the same.
Actually the AMC Block is all the same size all the way from the 304 to the 401 it’s the internals that make all the difference so there is no weight difference between a 304 small block and a 401 cuz they’re all the same on the outside
Did Howard ever drive or ride in one of these Wisconsin weapons ?
Paging Howard A… We need his insights on this Kenosha Cadillac.
Looks like Brian Ambrosinis daily driver, he should be out of jail by now. This may come as a shock, but I don’t recall ever riding in OR driving a Gremlin. As goofy as I am, I too had my limits, and wouldn’t be seen in one. If they were all like this, maybe, but 99% of all Gremlins, were unattractive, cheap, they undercut the VW bug, the then cheapest car in America at $1995, by $75 bucks, and considered by most, a novelty, at best. They were given away as prizes on radio programs or for graduation, and not many actually thought of the Gremlin as their dream car. Just wheels with a heater( and a good one, at that), WAIT,,,I think I DID drive one once. Our HS drivers ed. program featured AMC cars from a local dealer, and I drove one around the parking lot.
The Gremlin was obviously nothing new or fancy, but for a changing time, we got the whole econobox thing rolling with the Gremlin, shown on April, 1, 1970. Say what you will, considering where cars went, the Gremlin was actually a pioneer in such matters, and you can’t argue with numbers. 670,000 cars is impressive in my book and we beat them all,,,for a while.
Your right,it didn’t take too much modifications for the swap. I believe the engines involved shared external dimensions… Just Badass…
Only 35,000 miles – a 1/4 mile at a time?
Great job building a sleeper. AMC Studebaker were all well built autos with good motors. This one really rocks. Would love to have it.
If you read the eBay listing it said the car was never raised it was an adult-owned car and taken very good care of. I’m guessing they smoked the tires on more than one occasion because who wouldn’t? But other than that I believe it was taken very good care of just by the looks of the inside and the outside.
This thing belongs on a vintage t-shirt, totally badass. Agree about deleting the 401 callouts. Leave ‘em scratching their heads in your smoke.
It’s a nice car
Randall Rambler in Mesa, AZ did a factory-approved swap out of the 304 to a 401 when they were new. This looks like a clone of a Randall 401-X-RAY:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/randall-ad-for-gremlin-401xr–813744226413206426/
That’s a Gremlin 401-XR. Damn auto correct…
No it isn’t a Randall 401-XR, it says the engine was changed to a 401 after it was purchased.
Randall built 12 401-XR and they were all sold new.
This appears to be a Randall Gremlin 401-XR clone. Originally a factory-approved swap out by Randall Rambler in Mesa, AZ…ala Motion Performance/Baldwin Chevrolet out on Long Island, NY.
It isn’t a clone.
It doesn’t have 401-XR callouts on it.
Randall built the 12 cars and put callouts on them.
I had a 72 , 304, 3 on the floor. I could smoke a tire off before i hit 35 mph. I swapped out for 360, dropped right in , bolted to tranny no issues. I waxed 305s, 318s, 350s, 360s, 390s. couldn’t touch a spider though. Got every ticket in the book, Twice!!. Glad I don’t have that car anymore?
Wow how people get glassy-eyed when looking at cars. These absolutely sucked to drive. Better run to the bank with that 25k quick. Going to be the only bid in that price range
Winning bid, $35,300.00
41 bids. Somebody really wanted it.
The interior color would not be my first choice, or second, or third, or….. You get the point. It really kills the appearance of the car.
Howard, “Gremlin was actually a pioneer”. You are correct, and American Motors doesn’t get credit for all the innovations they introduced. They were always the 4th place ‘also ran’. I miss AMC!
It isn’t a clone.
It doesn’t have 401-XR callouts on it.
Randall built the 12 cars and put callouts on them.
Actually, AMC rose to 3rd place for 1 year around 1961 beating Chrysler that had some weird unpopular styling while Rambler rose to be US station wagon king.
It even has ac
This Gremlin would be an absolute blast to own. I love the stance and overall look. Thick walled aluminum slots, and BFG Radial T/A tires. The color combo is good. I might change the 401 call out stickers, and get some 401-XR graphics done to make this Gremmie a little more period correct. Make sure the suspension has appropriate sway bars etc for handling, and just have fun with it.
AMC replaced their old Nash V8s, I believe 289 and 327 with all new modern design small block in the mid 1960’s. Three versions with same block we’re 290, 343, 390 and later they were 304, 360, 401.
The first generation AMC V8s were the 250, 287 and 327.
Some consider them “medium” blocks and similar to Buick.
The newer AMCs and the later model Buicks did have similarities in the timing cover, oil pump and distributor drive. The intake manifold gaskets were somewhat alike, too.
Randall Jeep AMC in Mesa AZ built a very limited number based on new Gremlins out of their racing div. There is another verified Mesa built example under restoration now.
The 304 and 401 are both the same Gen 3 tall deck block and so are identical on the outside.
Definitely lose the 401 stickers. I’d also swap out the two gauge dash for a three gauge dash from a Hornet and swap in a matching tach for the clock/filler and get rid of the tach strapped to the column. Would be a much cleaner look. Easy swap, I did it back in the day. Otherwise, very nicely done!
Sent to a new home for $35,300.
That’s ridiculous for a clown…I mean, clone…car! 😂
I still have my 1973 gremlin , it sut in the woods at my house, its my high school car , can get rid of it
AMC 2nd generation V8s were introduced in 1966 as a 290 which went into the redesigned Rambler American. In 1967, a 343 version was made available for all AMCs. 1968 saw the introduction of the “AMX 390” that was available in the AMX and shortly thereafter was available in Javelins, Rebels & Ambassadors. 1969 there were no changes but the 390 was now available in a Rambler American as the SC/Rambler. In 1968 & 1969, the 390 motor was rated at 315 bhp, except in the SS/AMX which carried a nominal rating of 340 bhp. 1970 the AMC V8s were altered with a taller deck height, longer con-rods & dog-leg heads with 1/2 head bolts. In addition, the carb was changed from an AFB to an Autolite and cam lift was upped to .457 on the 390 which was rated at 325 bhp. This was the rating of a bench dyno. Ram-Air did not have anything to do with the new rating as it was not in place for the test. Rebel Machine Y-code motor was rated at 340 bhp because it had a modified intake manifold & better exhaust manifolds. This engine is not to be confused with the SS/AMX motor. The Y-code motor was available only in the Rebel machine with one exception: It was the motor in the Bizzarrini built AMX/3. 1971 saw the introduction of the 401, which had a stroke of 3.68 versus 3.54 in the 390. The 401 also had a more aggressive cam than the 390 and was rated at 330 bhp…….and once again: the 1968-1970 AMX was not “made” from a Javelin.
Very cool. Very clean. Very nice. At least he stayed all amc
Did the same thing many years ago. Dropped a 401 4 speed in my 73 gremlin x . Wound up swapping an automatic in it for street racing
Swapped a 401 in my sport about to make a moneymaking sleeper.
Very nice Gremlin, and what a sleeper with the 401. It could probably eat an AMX for lunch!
Come on – who posts a first bid at 25k??? A brother-in-law seeding the pot. Such nonsense.