The AMC Gremlin was a quirky subcompact with a quirky name. It was in production from 1970 to 1978 and American Motors sold 671,000 copies throughout the decade. Under the skin, it was a Hornet with 12 inches removed from the wheelbase. This example from 1977 is said to be in fair condition but has had some recent work done and is available here on craigslist. From Somerville, Texas, this little car can be had for $4,500 OBO. Another tip brought to us by the busy Rocco B.!
American Motors was known to get as much mileage as possible out of a platform. With Chevrolet and Ford entering the subcompact market in 1971, AMC had no money for an all-new car, so it modified the emerging Hornet compact to become a two/three-seat automobile with a lopped-off rear hatch. Unlike its domestic and imported competition, the Gremlin had an inline-6 engine as standard fare, and a small-block V8 was added later. They may not have been quite as good on gas as the Vega or Pinto, but they were probably faster.
By 1977, the average Gremlin was powered by either a 232 or 258 cubic inch inline-6. This one has an automatic transmission and new stuff including the brakes, alternative, and battery. The seller has installed a new set of tires, so there’s no reason to believe this vehicle isn’t ready to be trusted in daily use at 87,000 miles.
The seller says the machine is in fair condition, but the listing and photos might be slightly more optimistic. For a relatively small outlay, you’d have a classic car that should raise a few eyebrows at Cars & Coffee. I can’t recall the last time I saw a Gremlin in person and I’m guessing many of our readers can say the same thing. AMC built solid, though not terribly inspiring automobiles back in the day.
If only it had an LS motor,,,I all but guarantee, this will be much more what folks would want. “Not terribly inspiring”,,ahem, what, but, cough, say what? Websters defines inspiring as, “giving someone positive or creative feelings”,,that said, AMC made the MOST inspiring cars. The Gremlin was no exception. Gremlins were always a novelty car. Given away for promotions, graduation gifts, or for people that just couldn’t go the import route. By ’77, however, the Gremlin had its moment, and foreign cars quickly showed us how out of date the Gremlin really was, but to most buyers, that’s what they wanted. The Gremlin was not a good car, it was a GREAT car, was the 1st to take aim at those pesky imports, that will never make it, or so we thought. And yes, it’s been a while for any Gremlin sightings.
I’m proud to say, Gremlins were made in my hometown, at least the bodies were,( drivetrains in Kenosha) a claim not many can uphold.
What’s wrong with people?
Not everything has to have an LS1.
What’s wrong with a hotted up 6 pack? (Aussie for a straight 6)
Btw, I’m anti GM, lol
Looks like the driver’s door is a little misaligned. Could be due to worn hinge bushings, which are nylon from the factory. If that’s the case, at this point the hinge is probably worn pretty badly. (I’ve been there with Hornet-based AMC models.)
Something is obviously missing on the engine, probably an air pump for emissions. No California for this Gremmie!
Overall a pretty nice looking Gremlin. Too bad it doesn’t have the optional bucket seats though, the standard bench is a back-breaker. The more comfy seats from a Concord will swap right in if you can find a set.
AMC really did more with less than any other OEM. If they had more money and time it would have been interesting to see what they could have done esp with Jeep’s Too bad how things turned out for them. Thankfully there are still many AMC enthusiasts that love these cars and keep them on the road and away from the crusher. There are several AMC’s that i still want to get and i really want to build a 401 for a future AMC project.
There wasn’t a Gremlin within 100 miles that could keep up with my 2 liter Pinto.
I find that very hard to believe , unless it was a severely modified Pinto or there was only one Gremlin in that 100 mile radius , and it didnt run. My 258 and my 304 Gremlin would have left any Pinto in the dust !
I never, ever came across a 304 Gremlin. I know they exist, and I’ve seen one or two at car shows. But never in the wild, back in the day. Maybe the Gremlin drivers I ran up against didn’t know what kind of “performance” car they had?
I must have lived more than a hundred miles from you. I’ve had a pinto and a gremlin and I can guarantee the AMC would definitely outrun the pinto.
Big C–Only if there wasn’t a Gremlin within 100 miles. If there was, it would kick your ass 7 ways to Sunday.
Those slugs saw lots of Pinto tailights. But to be honest, there were very few Gremlin driver’s who weren’t middle aged women, or old folks. Sure wish you’d been around, so you could “kick my arse” with your Gremmy
I ordered my Gremlin when I was stationed in England in 1973. I wanted the smallest car made with v8. The car was short, but I didn’t realize how wide it was in relation to the English roads. Fun times. Some of the factory options included 3.91 Dana posi rear, slalom steering gear, X package and Levis interior. Blue with white stripes. Wish I had that car now! I just recently purchased a 76 Gremlin with the levis interior. I will be putting a late model Hemi in it. Total cost on the blue Gremlin was 2,400.00 in 1973.
Where’s the rest of your car, toots?
The other engine available in the ’77 Gremlin was the VW/Audi 2 liter, four… carbureted… built using the same block as in the Porsche 924. I know, because that’s what my college beater Gremlin had in it… Also had a 4 speed manual (on the floor), Borg-Warner unit I believe. Black with gold trim and a screaming red interior… bucket seats. Front discs brakes also became standard in ’77. Was a good car for me at the time… dependable, simple and cheap… not quick by any stretch, but got 30 mpg on the highway… bad snow car, loved to swap ends without notice… chicks didn’t dig it. Traded it the month I got my engineering degree for a VW Sirocco…
Ok, time to go on a little rant. Don’t get me wrong, because the Gremlin was an adequate car for what the American auto industry was producing during the Malaise Era, but, every one to this day still compares the gremlin to the Pinto and Vega. They are not in the same category, the gremlin is nothing more than the hornet with the butt end lobbed off. It’s still a compact car, where the Pinto and Vega are a sub-compact. The gremlin to my knowledge wasn’t even offered with a 4 cylinder, until the last year or so if my memory serves me correctly, but I could be wrong.
@Bob… read my comment above yours…
While what you say is true, but the Gremlin was also about price. It undercut the then least expensive car in America, the VW bug at $1995, by almost $100 bucks. The original Gremlin did not have a 4 cylinder, and the Audi one mentioned added $253 dollars to the car later. Those times they were a changin’, and AMC built the Gremlin on a shoestring, all off the shelf parts, right when America had little other choice. It paid off big in the sheer numbers, introduced on April Fools, 1970, beating the others by 6 months. And unlike an all new design like Pinto or Vega, which compared to FWD imports, they really weren’t anything new, and Gremlin was a viable choice. Once the FWD econobox craze hit, was when the Gremlin really was out of date.
Needs the Freiberger treatment.
The emblem of the Gremlin on the gas cap got stolen quite a bit.
I bought a 1979 Spirit with a left over Gremlin body. It had the 232 in it. Handled very well, was very comfortable ride and had a lot of pep. Almost regret trading it.
Frank, does that mean it had the Spirit interior and Gremlin exterior? The only one I ever rode in was a roommate of mine, Bob, who worked at the local hospital. His was the Levi’s special, denim blue exterior and blue jean denim seat covers with the orange tab on the seat back along where the seam was sewn. Great little care of it and fun to ride in.
I did, lol, yours got posted while I was typing mine.
If I was in the classic car market for a small runabout I would certainly be looking at this car & it has A/C a must down south unless you like being too hot & sweating just not that type for me thank you!
I really like the gremlin, so I did some research, apparently only one was built in Australia by AMI (Google it) but apparently us Aussies didn’t like it, our loss.
Now to track down the only Aussie built gremlin.